Malaysian Glazed Chicken Wings

This recipe ran in Food and Wine in 2006, and we've enjoyed it countless times.  The recipe comes from a NYC restaurant called "Fatty Crab," and they have a line of sauces at Williams-Sonoma.
This recipe is really very simple, and the flavors are sweet, hot, and salty all at once.  You can modulate the heat somewhat by using fewer chile peppers or less piquant ones.  I went a little crazy this time and used Arbol's which are really hot.  Usually I use Tien tsin's which are hot, but not searing.   You can also substitute chile flakes, which will give you even more control over the heat.  Don't be concerned that they will be too hot, because there's enough sweetness in the sauce to moderate it.

The recipe calls for 5 1/2 pounds of chicken wings, which usually come with all three segments attached.  However, since I buy the organic ones at Wegman's, they only come divided into the two useable segments, so I bought 5 pounds of them.  If you do use the ones that are already broken down, you will need to decrease the roasting time from 40 minutes to about 30 to 35 minutes.

MALAYSIAN GLAZED CHICKEN WINGS

12 small dried red chiles (or substitute 1 Tablespoon chile flakes)
3 Tablespoons coriander seeds
1 1/2 Tablespoons fennel seeds
1 Tablespoon cumin seeds

1/2 cup sugar
2/3 cups molasses
1/2 cup Asian fish sauce
1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/3 cup soy sauce
8 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
One 4-inch piece of fresh ginger, thinly sliced

5 1/2 pounds chicken wings

Toasting spices:

In a small skillet, toast the chiles, coriander seeds, fennel seeds and cumin seeds over moderate heat until fragrant, about 3 minutes.  Cool and then transfer to a spice grinder or mortar, and grind to a fine powder.

Marinade:

In a medium bowl (or I like to use a 4 cup measuring cup since I'll need to pour it over the wings later on), whisk together the sugar, molasses, fish sauce, soy sauces, garlic, ginger, and the toasted spices.

I use a 2-gallon plastic bag, or you can use two 1-gallon bags, in which case you will have to approximately divide the marinade between them.

Place the bag (or bags) in a pan, just in case there is leakage.  Refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight, turning occasionally.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.  Remove the wings from the marinade and pat dry with paper towels; reserve the marinade.  Arrange the wings on 2 wire racks set over a foil-covered baking sheet.

Roast for about 40 minutes, or until well browned and cooked through.

Meanwhile, strain the marinade into a medium saucepan,

and bring to a boil.

Cook over moderately high heat until thick and sticky, about 20 minutes.  Transfer the marinade to a large bowl.  when the wings are done,

add them to the bowl and toss to coat with the sauce.

Pile on plates and serve immediately.  They're messy AND delicious.

(In the photo above, I served them with barbecued pork fried rice, which I'll write about in a future post).