Lemongrass Chicken Wings

Last night was a lazy day to recover from the intense weekend.  My B and I caught up on all the TV series we missed during the week and did most of the boring house chores we neglected (or put off).  We even fitted in a game of scrabble, needless to say I lost miserably.






After such a productive day we decided to treat ourselves to a yummy dinner that required little preparation.

Lemongrass chicken wings is an adaptation to the marinade my mum uses for BBQ wings in the Summer.  The lemongrass combined with other fragrant herbs and the essential garlic, ginger and chilli is out of this world! At least on this cold October evening a little something reminding us of the wonderful times we all shared in the Summer months, filled with barbecues and picnics is always a great "pick me up".

The preparation is more the chopping up of the ingredients before hand.  But if you are better equipped in the kitchen than I am, do use a mini blender to make a fragrant paste instead.

When the chicken wings are baking in the oven, the house is consumed with the warming aroma of the herbs used in the marinade.  The sticky wings are addictive, and be warned, it is very hard to stop at one or two wings.

We served this dish as a main, but it could very easily be served as a snack of some sort.  I could imagine it being served with a chilled bottle of beer whilst watching a gripping film.  Who needs popcorn when you have wings?!

Lemongrass Chicken Wings

• 1kg chicken wings
• 1 stalk lemongrass (remove 1st layer and mince the rest)
• 4 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
• 1inch piece of ginger (finely chopped)
• 1 whole thin chilli (finely chopped)
• 4 tbsp garlic chilli sauce
• 1tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp runny honey
• salt and pepper to taste

Wash the chicken wings and leave to drain.  De-joint the wings to separate the drumlettes, mid wing and wing tips.  I like eating the wing tips so I add this to the recipe, but you can discard if you don't like it (alternatively keep it to make chicken stock at a later date).  Set chicken aside.

Mix the lemongrass, garlic, ginger, chilli, garlic chilli sauce and soy sauce together in a bowl to make the marinade.  Mix this marinade in with the chicken wings and leave in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours to allow the flavours to meld together.  

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.

After two hours put the chicken wings in a roasting dish and bake for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes turn the chicken pieces over and drizzle the honey on top of the wings.  Bake for another 20-30 minutes, depending on the size of your wings.  

Remove from the oven once the wings are cooked (clear juices run from the meat).  Season to taste.

Serve as a main dish or snack.