Asian Sweet Chilli Wings

Today is my second favorite day of the year. With the first favorite being opening day of the football season. But today was Fantasy Football draft day. In my house, we do this day up right with wings and whatever other finger food we have in the freezer, but there's an emphasis on the wings. Today I made 3 types of wings, but we'll just focus on my favorite of the day--Asian Sweet Chilli Wings! These wings are easy and take about 35 minutes to make.

Ingredients:
This list might look a little intimidating, but you can find most of these items in the sections you probably walk past everyday in the store. The oils and chilli sauce can all be found in the Asian section of your market (along with some other seemingly strange but amazing things).

• 2lb Chicken Wing Sections, divided
• 1/8 Cup Sesame Oil
• 1/8 Cup Hot Chili Oil
• 1Tbsp Garlic Powder
• 1tsp Ground Cayenne Pepper
• 1tsp Kosher Salt
• 1tsp Ground Pepper
• 2Tbsp Ground Ginger
• 1-1/2 Cups Sweet Chilli Sauce (Get the good stuff. It usually comes in a larger bottle in the Asian food section of your supermarket. The shadier the bottle looks, the better it probably is. I use Cock Brand...stop snickering...perverts).

Method

1. Preheat oven to 375 Degrees
2. Place wings in a larger bowl than you think you'll need.
3. Add sesame oil and hot chili oil. Toss/stir to coat.
4. Add garlic powder, cayenne, salt, pepper and ginger. Stir again to coat.
5. Place wings on a foil wrapped sheet pan and insert into oven for 20 minutes.
6. Wash original bowl or use a new bowl of comparable size.
7. When the timer goes off, remove wings from oven. A good deal of juices will have separated from the wings. Use a spatula to place the wings into the bowl. Discard the juices.
8. Pour the Sweet Chilli Sauce onto your wings. Toss or stir  in bowl until fully coated with sauce. Place them back into the over for another 10 minutes or until chicken reaches a temperature of 165 Degrees.
9. Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes. This helps the sauce to get a bit tacky and will allow it to stick to the wing a little better.

These wings have a little heat to them but the sweetness really mellows it out to help the flavors come through. If you aren't one for the spicy stuff, lower the amount of cayenne pepper you use. These wings will go nicely with a cold beer and a Sunday full of football. Check out the tutorial video of me and my Sunday football buddies showing you the proper way to eat a wing! It pains me to see plates of wings with tons of delicious meat left on the bone. This method solves that problem. :) 

Kayla's White & Green Chicken Chili

My wife, Kayla, makes this amazing chicken chili. It's a white chili that has so many flavors to it that all hit you at different times of the bite but meld into one great flavor at the end. It has some bite but finishes clean and keeps you ready for another bite. I use scoop style chips to get a whole lot of the chili in each bite but thin blue corn chips have their merit as well.

Here is her recipe. I make no claims to this stuff. This is completely her creation but it's so good I had to share! The following was pulled directly from her blog. The pink text is hers and the notes I make will be in black.

The absolute best thing about this recipe is that if you substitute red curry powder instead of using cumin and it makes a completely different, amazing chili. Try it!

You will need:

• 4-5 Chicken Breasts, or the equivalent amount of chicken tenders. I've used both. I like thigh meat better than breasts. It's got better flavor, but I'll never complain about my wife's white meat usage.
• 3 cups Chicken Broth
• 1 jar Salsa Verde. Don't use the trendy looking jars of green stuff. Get the cans from the Mexican section that look like you could get sick from eating it. Those products always make the best food!
• 1 purple onion (chopped)
• 1 jalapeno (chopped) 1? 1? How about 4!
• 3 Cans Great Northern Beans. Smash one of the can's beans to oblivion and pour it in. It will help with the thickening process. Otherwise you might end up with "White & Green Chicken Soup".
• Cumin (I do mine to taste). Be generous! If you're not sure of what cumin brings to the table, just remember that cumin is what makes taco bell taste like taco bell. It is useless in small quantities, but if you are generous, it will return the favor with flavor.
• Crushed coriander seed (I do mine to taste). I would roast them if they weren't roasted prior to jarring.
• Salt (to taste)
• Pepper (to taste)
• Olive Oil
• Cilantro. USE A TON! I LOVE THIS STUFF!!!
• Limes
• Mexican Cheese (Shredded)
• Your favorite tortilla chip (I prefer the blue corn! Yum!)

1. *Boil water and add chicken breasts. Cook until done.
2. *Chop chicken. I like to use a pizza cutter to dice it. It gives good sizes and is quick and easy!
3. *In a pot (I like to my cast iron dutch oven!) heat olive oil. Add chicken, salt and pepper and let it simmer a little.
4. *Add purple onion and jalapeno. Cook for approximately 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. *Add cumin and crushed coriander and stir. Then add the salsa verde
6. *After cooking for a few minutes, add chicken broth.
7. *Add one and a half cans of the beans. With the other can and a half, smash beans first, to make a more chili feel, if you prefer.
8. *Squeeze in some lime juice and let it simmer until its hot enough to your liking!
9. *Add cilantro shortly before serving.
10. Serve with shredded cheese and limes, and dip with the chips to your hearts content.