Serves 4 as an entrée or 6 to 12 as an appetizer
24 chicken wings
1 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
½ cup Vietnamese or Thai fish sauce
½ cup mango, guava, or papaya nectar 2 tablespoons Asian chile sauce
4 cloves garlic, minced ⅓ cup chopped cilantro sprigs ¼ cup minced ginger
¼ cup minced lemongrass, stem only ¼ cup minced roasted, unsalted peanuts 4 cups shredded iceberg lettuce
Cut off the wing tips and save them for making stock. In a bowl large enough to hold the wings, combine the lime juice, brown sugar, fish sauce, mango nectar, chile sauce, garlic, cilan-tro, ginger, lemongrass, and peanuts. Add the wings, and mix thoroughly. Marinate the wings in the refrigerator for 1 to 24 hours (the longer, the better).
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a shallow baking pan with foil. Coat a wire rack with nonstick cooking spray and place the rack in the baking pan. Drain the chicken and reserve the marinade. Arrange the wings on the rack (smooth surface down) and roast for 30 minutes. Drain the accumulated liquid from the pan. Baste the wings with the reserved marinade, turn them over, and baste again. Roast until the wings turn a mahogany color, about another 30 minutes. Cut the wings in half through the joint. Place a layer of lettuce on a platter. Add the wings on top of the lettuce. Serve.
Carpenter, H., & Sandison, T. (2008). The Great Wings Book. Chartwell Books, Inc.