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.

Original recipe makes 12 wings

Ingredients

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

PREP

20 mins
COOK

30 mins
READY IN

1 hr 50 mins

Directions

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