Sriracha Chicken Wings

So I guess we are all done with the Chinese New Year festivities. Or are we? For us Chinese the celebration ain't over yet until Chap Goh Meh (which falls on 5th March) but for me it is over and I'll be back to work tomorrow. Did you eat something good?

I did. In fact I ate something so good on new year eve that it gave me a stomachache on new year day. LOL! Not that it was bad food but because of the killer chilli sauce. I am talking about Sriracha, a Thai hot chilli sauce. When I say hot, I mean HOT! Super duper hot! Which explains the stomach upset.

Notice the word "EXTRA" on the left of HOT?

I read about Sriracha from the cookbook Nom Nom Paleo and from Mummy, I Can Cook. Shu Han mentioned that she only first saw Sriracha when she moved to London. I looked up and down the supermarket aisles for this mysterious sauce but to no avail. And then one day I saw it at Tesco. But I dare not buy it for fear that I might not like the taste.

Then Ping put up her Hot Sauce (Sriracha) Chicken Wings and that got me curious again. When I asked her, she said that it's a normal tasting hot sauce. She even offered to give me her bottle to save me from buying one. But I didn't want to trouble Ping. So when I went to Tesco, I grabbed a bottle.

On new year eve, I went to Aeon early. I was hoping that all the mad aunties (I am one of them) were already done with their grocery shopping and that the supermarket would be peaceful again. I was there the previous Sunday and it was utter chaos. The place was packed and the queue at the weighing station was a few miles long. I couldn't take it and ended up standing at the fresh coconut section waiting for my partner who was too busy choosing oranges to notice my text message.

Anyway, I was so wrong. This was what greeted me that morning.

There were already uncles and aunties lingering outside the entrance with the grim faced security guard making sure nobody made a quick dash before opening. When it was time, some customers actually ran in and another big crowd poured in from the other entrance. Arrrghh!!!! I quickly grabbed the salmon, salad mix and cucumbers and made it to the cashier all within 5 minutes and got the hell out of there.

But mind you, I wasn't done yet. I needed chicken wings! And I sure was not going to endure the suffocating crowd at Aeon. So the next best thing was to nip over to Cold Storage where it is always nice and quiet (at least during the times when I was there previously). Sure enough, I could shop peacefully and best of all the chicken wings were fresh.

This is an easy recipe which calls for chicken wings, Sriracha, honey, lime juice, kaffir lime leaves and oil (Ping used butter). If you are like me and cannot believe that anything could taste good without garlic, go ahead and add garlic. The end result? Gorgeous and very tasty and aromatic chicken wings. But I warn you, it is super hot. So if you can't tolerate too much heat, it is best to use some other type of chili sauce but the taste may not come out the same.

I recommend that you add extra kaffir lime leaves to the marinade as it really makes the wings so tasty and full of aroma. Despite the tongue stinging Sriracha, I dipped the wings in extra sauce when eating hence my "suffering" the next day hah..hah... Yeah, I am a glutton for punishment.

When pouring the Sriracha, take care because it is runny even when stored in the fridge unlike most other chilli sauces that are thickened. In case you are curious, Sriracha besides being super hot, is pungent, salty, slightly sweetish and sourish. I'm glad I bought this sauce because I love it and will be buying a second bottle soon.

Sriracha Chicken Wings

Recipe source : Adapted from Ping's Pickings

Ingredients :

- 8 chicken wings

- 2 tablespoons honey

- 3 tablespoons Sriracha

- 1 big clove of garlic, finely minced or crushed using a garlic press

- 1 tablespoon olive oil

- 4 kaffir lime leaves, finely shredded

- extra shredded kaffir lime leaves for garnishing

Method :

1. Mix honey, Sriracha, garlic, oil and kaffir lime leaves to make the marinade.

2. Put chicken wings into a freezer bag or big mixing bowl and pour marinade over the wings. Mix thoroughly to coat. Leave in the fridge for 2 hours or more.

3. Preheat oven to 180C and place chicken wings in one single layer on a lined baking tray  and pour the marinade over the wings.

4. Roast for about 35-40 minutes, basting every 10 minutes until the wings are nicely browned and the marinade becomes thick and sticky.

5. Garnish with extra shredded kaffir lime leaves and serve.

This post is linked to Cook and Celebrate Chinese New Year 2015 organised by Yen of Eat Your Heart Out, Diana of The Domestic Goddess Wannabe and Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids.