Spicy Grilled Buffalo Wings

We were watching a new Thai Movie (Khmer-Dubbed) called “Bok Lahong Yek បុកល្ហុងយក្ស” which translate to Giant Papaya Salad or in Thai “Som Tum”. Just the title itself got our tummy rolling and then the image of Papaya Salad got us drooling. I quickly remembered that we have some papaya in the fridge. So off I go and grab my ingredients to make some Papaya Salad. I saw some chicken wings in the fridge as well which I planned to make some Buffalo Wings. I used to make them often but then I began to cut back ( I was trying to eat healthy LOL)  due to the fat content from both the wings, the battered and the oil from having it deep fried. So today I tried something new – at least to me. Perhaps some of you are aware of this method but this was my very first attempt.

Instead of deep frying the wings, I pre-cooked it with some spices and then toss it with a bit of marinade/sauce before transferring it to the grill. Because it’s partially cooked I wasn’t concern about undercooking (pink inside). Plus, it didn’t take long on the grill either. Once the outer skin is crispy and ready to serve, I toss the grilled wings with the sauce again. At first I was a bit wary of the taste because when it’s deep-fried, you get that crunch and since I pre-boiled it and then grill, I wasn’t too sure. But after the first bite, I am positive this is now my preferred method when making Buffalo  Wings. The crunch was still there since the skin dries up to a crispy texture when you grill it and the inside was still moist. This is such a healthier version than the deep-fried (sometime battered) hot wings. So here’s my recipe for Spicy [Grilled] Buffalo Wings.  As I was eating it with my Papaya Salad, I thought of it as an East meets West dish. You can find recipes for my Papaya Salad here.

Spicy Buffalo Wings with Papaya Salad

Ingredients
1 lb of chicken wings
5 cups of water
½ onion, skin peeled
7 cloves of garlic, smashed
1 teaspoon Shaoxing Cooking wine (or distilled white vinegar)
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1/8 cup Frank’s Original Red Hot sauce
1/8 cup Tabasco Hot Sauce
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorn, crushed

Method:
Bring 5 cups of water, onion, wine and smashed garlic to a boil. Add chicken wings and boil for about 5-7 minutes (depending on the size of the wings). Drained and dry with paper towel.

In a mixing boil, mix melted butter, Frank’s Original Red Hot Sauce and Tabasco Sauce.  Add the wings and coat evenly. Transfer to the grill and grill for about 15 minutes on each side.  Reserve the sauce.

Spicy Grilled Buffalo Wings

Just before serving toss crushed black peppercorn in the remanding sauce and add the grilled wings. Coat it evenly and transfer to a serving plate/tray. You can serve it with the traditional sides such as celery sticks, carrots and ranch|blue cheese dressing or for a healthier version you can eat it like me, with Khmer Papaya Salad or Pickled Carrots & Daikon.

Spicy Buffalo Wings with Pickled Veggies

After being away from home for several days and eating mainly American food and some typical Chinese food at the buffets,  I wanted to satisfy my taste-bud with some Khmer food. Pop my fridge opened and what do I see? A small un-ripe papaya that is about to go bad, some left-over grape tomatoes and a few sprigs of Asian mint that are usable. So, I put it all together and made me a Papaya Salad (Bok Lahong) with some Grill Chicken. I didn’t have time to marinate the chicken long enough so the flavors didn’t really seep through, however with the help from the papaya salad, it all worked well, for the time being until next time

Bok Lahong is pretty versatile in terms of what you can add to it. It depends on your likes and preference. Some people add carrots, long snake beans, water spinach, and even rice noodles. If you like’em all and you have’em all, why not? But if you don’t -like me at the time, then just play around and see what you can do. Don’t let just a couple of missing ingredients stop you. Explore and have fun with your food.

This is just one of the many Bok Lahong I will share with you. This just happened to be my first for this Blog but I have made different kinds of Bok Lahong.

Papaya Salad with Salty Crabs

Papaya Salad with Salty Crab

Papaya Salad with Roasted Baby Chicken

Papaya Salad with Roasted Baby Chicken