After about a few weeks of pestering I finally managed to figure out what my brother wanted to do for his birthday this year and of course it involved Sriracha. We more or less stuck to his original plan of appetizers at my place then hitting up the brewery up the street for beer and skeeball, but we made a few minor adjustments along the way.
Namely we turned his birthday celebration into a version of the impromptu Game Nights that we love hosting at our place. My family dominated the competition of friends and loved ones at Fish Bowl and could not stop bragging about it for the rest of the night (myself included).
For the food portion of the evening, I decided from my brother’s very vague description of “bite-sized spicy tapas things” what exactly that entailed and put my own spin on it. I went in the bar food direction for this fiesta, and tossed the Sriracha in as many places as I could, namely these chicken wings. They were the last thing to be put on the table and the first thing to be completely devoured. Luckily I was able to snag one for myself before they were gobbled up. These babies are super simple and pack a bold punch of flavor. Moist towelettes not included.
Serves 6+ carnivores.
Ingredient List:
- 2 lbs chicken wings or drumettes
- 1/4 cup cilantro leaves
- sesame seeds
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1/4 cup sriracha
- 1/2 cup soy sauce (Tamari for gluten free)
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 tbsp corn starch
Kitchen Tools:
baking sheet, small saucepan, pastry brush, whisk, gallon ziploc
Prep Work:
As far ahead as you can, you’re going to want to marinate the chicken. I recommend doing this overnight but give it at least an hour. Combine honey, sriracha, sesame oil and soy sauce in a small bowl and whisk until smooth. Place chicken into ziploc bag and cover in marinade. Remove as much air as you can from the bag before sealing it and make sure that all of the chicken is covered in the marinade.
Cooking:
Preheat oven to 400*F. Place marinated chicken skin side up on the baking sheet and pour the remaining marinade into your saucepan. Place chicken in oven and cook for 15-20 minutes until cooked throughout. While your chicken is cooking, heat marinade to medium high and vigorously whisk in cornstarch until there are no clumps. Reduce by about a third until sauce thickens.
Once chicken is cooked through, crank oven to 450*F and use your pastry brush to slather the wings in the sauce. Place in the oven and cook for another 3-5 minutes until the sauce sticks to the chicken and begins to get a little golden.
Assembly:
Serve topped with freshly chopped cilantro and sesame seeds then dig in!
