Grilled Coconut Curry Chicken Wings

Quick and easy, grilled crispy coconut curry chicken wings marinated in an easy coconut curry sauce and cooked over a bbq.

I love chicken wings. They are easy to eat, delicious, and always tastes different depending on what I marinade you use - so, at home, I love experimenting with different kinds of marinades. Lately, I've been kinda obsessed with Thai flavors and have been using a lot of coconut and curry in a lot of my cooking which is how this recipe was born.

This recipe is very similar to my other two chicken skewer recipes (Grilled Thai Coconut Chicken Skewers and Chicken Satay). The main difference between this recipe is, it has more of a curry flavor and it's made with chicken wings. The best part of using chicken wings is when the chicken skin gets crispy when being grilled over a bbq which adds even more flavor and deliciousness.

INGREDIENTS FOR COCONUT CURRY CHICKEN WINGS

For this coconut curry chicken wings recipe, most of the ingredients can be found at your local grocery store.

• Chicken Wings - I like to use chicken wings for this recipe so that I can get that crispy chicken skin. At the very end, after you are almost done grilling the wings, you will be brushing it with a bit of oil to make it even more crispy.
• Lemongrass - You can use fresh lemongrass stalks or frozen pre-ground lemongrass for this recipe. If you are using fresh lemongrass, use the white solid chunk at the bottom of the stalk. The drier looking tips at the top won't have much flavor since it won't contain any lemongrass oils. Make sure you rinse it well before using it, they can sometimes be gritty and sandy. I also find it is easier to cut lemongrass after I have used a rolling pin to flatten it a little - this also releases the lemongrass oils better for more flavor. Both fresh and frozen lemongrass can be found at an Asian grocery store. The pre-ground stuff is usually found in the freezer aisle.
• Sweetened Condensed Milk - I use sweetened condensed milk for this recipe so that it combines with the marinade better. It also gives it a bit of creaminess that helps with browning the chicken wings. You can substitute this with sugar.
• Curry Powder - I normally like using Madras curry powder in all my cooking but you definitely can use any type of yellow curry powder that is available to you.
• Tumeric - Tumeric is used mostly to give the wings its yellow color.

WHY I SKEWERED THE CHICKEN WINGS

You have to admit, chicken wings on a stick seem a bit absurd so why would I do it?

There is a method to my madness, I swear.

• Skewering chicken wings stretched out the wings so they cook faster since they aren't folded.
• Stretching out the wings allowed the heat to reach every nook and cranny of the wings so you maximize the crispiness and caramelization of the skin.
• Skewered chicken wings were easier to work with on the BBQ, you don't have to worry about the wings falling through the gaps of the grill and losing them. I always seem to lose the flats or tips between the grill.
• Less flipping! You flip the stick once, and it flips all 3 parts. If you did that separately that would be 3x as much flipping per wing!

Alternatively, you can always cut them up to sections as well if that's what you are comfortable and it will taste equally as good!

PREPARING, SKEWERING AND GRILLING THE CHICKEN WINGS

To prepare the marinade, you can combine everything into a food processor and blitz it until everything is well blended. Alternatively, you can chop everything by hand if you don't have a food processor but make sure you chop the lemongrass stalks finely. I'd also recommend grating the onion and garlic if you are doing it by hand since you want it coating the chicken very well in the marinade for when you are grilling it for the best flavors. Marinade for a minimum of 4 hours, or overnight if possible.

If you are using bamboo skewers, soak the ends (the part that won't be covered with the chicken wings) in a tall glass of water for an hour to prevent the sticks from burning during grilling.

The most tedious part would be skewering the wings, be careful not to stab yourself with the sticks. Oh, and heads up, turmeric dyes skin and fingernails! If you don't want discolored skin or nails wear gloves before handling the marinated chicken wings and don't wear white clothes.

PEANUT SAUCE TO COMPLEMENT THE COCONUT CURRY CHICKEN WINGS

I like to dip my curry chicken wings in peanut sauce. The sweetness from the peanut sauce pairs wonderfully with the wings, that and I like to dip everything. If you are up for making it from scratch, I have a Thai Peanut Sauce (From Scratch) recipe that requires you to ground your own peanuts and uses wonderful flavors from lemongrass, tamarind, garlic, and coconut milk. If you are looking for an easier peanut sauce recipe, I have one written down which I haven't transferred over to the blog so it's coming soon!

LOOKING FOR MORE GRILLED RECIPES? TRY THESE!

• Marinated and Grilled Halloumi Cheese
• Vietnamese Grilled Shrimp Vermicelli Noodle Bowl
• Sweet and Sticky Char Siu (Chinese BBQ Pork)
• Nem Nuong (Grilled Vietnamese Pork Sausages)
• Grilled Thai Coconut Chicken Skewers

DID YOU MAKE THIS GRILLED COCONUT CURRY CHICKEN WINGS RECIPE?

If you made this grilled coconut curry chicken wings recipe leave me a comment to let me know how it went! I also want to see! Follow Pups with Chopsticks on Instagram, snap a photo, and tag and hashtag it with @pupswithchopsticks and #pupswithchopsticks. I love to know what you are making!

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Grilled Coconut Curry Chicken Wings

5 from 6 votes

Skewered crispy coconut curry chicken wings grilled over a fire!

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Prep Time 15 mins

Cook Time 40 mins

Total Time 55 mins

Servings: 24 Wings

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INGREDIENTS

 

• ▢ 24 large chicken wings (approximately 4 lbs)
• ▢ ¾ cup lemongrass (approximately 3 stalks, white ends only)
• ▢ 4 cloves garlic
• ▢ 2 shallots
• ▢ 3 tablespoons curry powder
• ▢ 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• ▢ 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• ▢ 1 teaspoon tumeric
• ▢ 2 limes (juiced)
• ▢ ¼ cup sweetened condensed milk (or 2 tablespoons of sugar)
• ▢ 2 cups coconut milk
• ▢ 4 tablespoons fish sauce

INSTRUCTIONS

 

Marinating the Coconut Curry Chicken Wings

• Roughly chop the shallots, lemongrass, garlic and shallots into small pieces and blitz it in a food processor. You can also finely chop these by hand if you don’t have a food processor.
• In a large bowl combine all the ingredients (except the wings) and mix into a marinade.
• Add the wings into marinade and marinate it for a mimimum of 4 hours. This will taste best if you marinate it overnight.

Grilling the Coconut Curry Chicken Wings

• If you are using bamboo skewers, soak the ends in a tall cup for an hour, this is to prevent the sticks from burning during grilling. No need to worry about the pointy part half since the chicken will be covering that bit.
• We used our kamado smoker for these wings. Set the temperature to 275F (135C)
• Add the chicken wings on to the grill and cook them for 20 – 25 minutes.
• Open up the grill (and keep it open so the temperature goes up) and apply the marinade on both side of the wings and let it cook for 5 minutes each side.
• To get that crispiness from the wings, brush on some oil and let the heat crisp up both sides.
• Enjoy! 🙂

NOTES

• Turmeric dyes skin and finger nails! If you don’t want discoloured skin or nails wear gloves before handling the marinated chicken.

NUTRITION

Serving: 1Wing | Calories: 101kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 6g | Sodium: 267mg | Sugar: 2g

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