Balinese Chicken Wings

On a recent trip to Bali, my Balinese stepmother, Putu, let me help her prepare chicken - and I furiously committed her 'non-recipe' to memory to bring home. She has a big mortar and pestle for this kind of thing; I don't, so I end up using both sides of my meat mallet; you just want to get the ingredients well combined and at least somewhat reduced in mass. And since they're baked, not deep-fried, they're a (relatively) healthy pile of wings! I particularly like them with roasted sweet potatoes.

• Preparation Time: 20 mins
• Cooking Time: 30 mins
• Total Time: 50 mins
• Calories: 253 Calories

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 fresh red chile pepper, finely chopped
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1 (1 inch) piece fresh turmeric root, peeled and minced
• 12 chicken wings, separated at joints, tips discarded

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Combine garlic, chile pepper, shallot, turmeric, and kosher salt; bruise with a mortar and pestle, or with the flat side of a cleaver. Place into a bowl, and stir in brown sugar, and olive oil. Toss chicken wings with marinade, cover, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Step 2

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Toss the chicken wings again to recoat in marinade, then spread out onto prepared baking sheet.

Step 3

Bake in preheated oven until deep, golden brown, about 30 minutes.