Cooking Lesson #189 Sticky Honey Indonesian Chicken

The 2020 Holidays Recipe Collection

How you doin’? There is this great little restaurant on the border of Culver City and Los Angles that makes the best Indonesian food. When I say the best, I mean it’s better tasting food than you can get in Jakarta. Until the pandemic struck, I would try to get to Simpang Asia for lunch at least 2 or 3 times a month. I started at the top of the menu until I had ordered everything they offered at least once. Any of their chicken entrées were great, but Sticky Honey Chicken was about the best.
 
To better understand and appreciate Indonesian here is a little primer… Indonesian cuisine is a collection of various regional culinary traditions that formed the archipelagic nation of Indonesia. There are a wide variety of recipes and cuisines in part because Indonesia is composed of approximately 6,000 populated islands making it the world's largest archipelago. It is very diverse with more than 300 ethnic groups calling Indonesia home.
 
Indonesia has around 5,350 traditional recipes. Many regional cuisines exist, often based upon indigenous culture with some foreign influences. Indonesian cuisine varies greatly by region and has many different influences—Sumatran, Middle Eastern and Indian with some hints of Chinese. Throughout its history, Indonesia has been involved in trade due to its location and natural resources. Additionally, there are even influences from Europe. Spanish and Portuguese traders brought New World produce even before the Dutch came to colonize most of the archipelago.
 
Indonesian cuisine is complex and rich in flavor. They are often described as savory, hot and spicy, sweet, salty, sour and bitter. Most Indonesians favor hot and spicy food, thus sambal—Indonesian hot and spicy chili sauce—is used in many dishes. The five most popular and well-known dishes of Indonesia are Soto, Rendang, Satay, Nasi Goreng and Gado-Gado.
 
My sticky chicken recipe takes the best of what Indonesia has to offer. It is honey sweetened, roasted in the oven covered in a Honey-Soy sauce with ginger and garlic and is ready in 30 minutes! Serve it with steamed rice for the perfect quick and easy meal!
 
Prep time: 5 minutes
Marinade time: 4 hours or overnight
Cook time: 25 minutes
Yield: 4 servings (about 4 wings a person)
 
Ingredients:
1 cup honey
3/4 cup soy sauce (low sodium)
1/4 cup minced garlic
2 tablespoons fresh-graded ginger
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons mirin (Japanese cooking wine)
2 tablespoons Sambal Oelek (garlic-chile mixture)
3 pounds whole chicken wings
2 3-inch cuts of green onion
 
Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 375⁰ F.
2. In a large bowl, mix the honey, soy sauce, garlic, gingers balsamic vinegar, mirin and Sambal together.
3. Transfer the honey mixture to a large bowl or zip lock bag and add the chicken.
4. Let the chicken marinate for 4 hours.
5. Place the chicken skin side up and the green onions pieces on an aluminum foil-covered sheet pan. Save the marinade and set aside.
6. Cook for 30 to 35 minutes (or until the internal temperature reaches 165⁰F).
7. While the chicken is cooking transfer the marinade to a small pot and cook it down by one half.
8. About 10 minutes before the chicken is done, ladle a little of the reduced marinade on top of each piece of chicken.
9. Switch the oven from bake to broil and brown the chicken pieces for the last 10 minutes of cooking.

ChefSecrets

• Marinade the chicken in the sauce overnight for a much deeper flavor. 
• How hot do you want it?  Add 1/2 tablespoon Sriracha or 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper to the marinade mix.
• Add large 2-inch chunks of pineapple or red bell pepper to the mix and roast together with the chicken.

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Covid-19 Quip of the Day:  Oops! I just noticed that the buttons on my jeans have started Social Distancing from one another. How about you?
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