I know I spent Monday extolling the virtues of NOT grilling, and I’ve only ever really grilled once in my life, but I made an exception for these wings. Plus, Alasdair and I bought an indoor grill/griddle over the winter that has not seen enough use (probably because it sets off our fire alarm way too much thanks to lack of ventilation in our kitchen). So indoor grill = no charcoal and lighter fluid necessary = no excuse for me not to use it. I’ll leave the outdoor grilling to our Memorial Day party guests. 🙂

Let’s talk about wings. When I was younger and more robust, I used to down buffalo wings like a champ. The spicier the better. In college, I was the girl at B-Dubs ordering the wings that come with a warning note from the chef. Oh, blazing wings, how I miss you. Over the years, I’ve downgraded my spicy wing status from blazing to hot to medium to things like garlic butter wings or honey BBQ wings. I still do spice occasionally but I’m likely popping Zantacs for days afterwards. <—wings wimp.

Enter these wings. The perfect mixture of flavor and heat and crispy char-grilled goodness. The inspiration came from the menu at Doi Moi – a D.C. restaurant that Alasdair and I have overeaten at quite a few times (it’s delish!). During our last visit, I saw coconut and lemongrass wings with green chili emulsion on the menu. They sounded amazing but we had already hit our ordering limit with noodles, crispy rice, soups, pork belly salads, lemongrass beef stir fry, etc., so I refrained. I figured I would order the wings on our next visit. Well, that visit never happened. But these wings did.

Turns out that Bon Appetit has a coconut and lemongrass chicken wing recipe (sans green chili emulsion). Perfect! Using their recipe as a base, I busted out these hearty wings and took them to the next level with the chili sauce. The best part about a spicy dipping sauce for a spice sensitive girl with a heart burn issue is that rather than scarfing down wings overly slathered in spicy sauce, I can dip or spoon just the right amount of sauce over each wing – just enough heat to make me happy without dealing with a 4-alarm fire situation in my esophagus.

The green chili emulsion makes these wings. I mean, they’re yummers without the sauce but they’re WOWZA with the sauce. As for cooking technique, baking works just as well as grilling. You won’t get that nice charred flavor (and the crispy char is worth it here), but it’s a super healthy option and less work than grilling. Can’t argue with that. Actually, you can’t argue with anything about these wings – they’re crispy and moist, they’re gluten-free, they’re dairy-free, and they’re an absolute must for your Memorial Day cookout. A MUST I tell you!