Singapore is renowned for its unique fast-food culture. We call it “unique” because you won’t find the same type of fast food that you would usually in other Western countries. After all, the Lion City offers the exquisite blend of Indian, Malay, and Chinese cuisine, perfectly showcasing the multicultural and multiracial aspect of the Singaporean lifestyle. Crab, fish head, dumplings, or satay – there’s so much to discover and experience where food is concerned!
Out of all the culinary delicacies, we have zeroed on the recipe for the wildly popular hawker dish called Singapore BBQ chicken wings to bring the taste of Singapore to your home. Let’s dig right in!
Recipe for Singapore BBQ Chicken Wings
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Serves: 10 pcs chicken wings
Note: You can make this dish in an oven, air fryer, or use any popular, Asian-style grill if you want that rich smoky flavour.
Ingredients:
10 pieces or 35 ounces of chicken wings
For the Garlic Ginger Paste
25 g Shallot
10 g ginger
2 tbsp or 4 cloves of chopped garlic
2 tbsp sesame oil
For the Seasoning Rub
1/2 tsp white ground pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp chili flakes
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp dark soy sauce (caramelized)
2 tbsp light soy sauce
For the Balachan Chili Mix
1 tbsp balachan chili
1 tbsp hot water
Method:
- Start with blending all the ingredients of making ginger-garlic paste in the blender. Make sure that the paste has a smooth consistency. Try to use fresh garlic-ginger paste for best results.
- Place your chicken wings on the counter – wings plus the drumette – and pat-dry using a kitchen tissue.
- Take a large mixing bowl, and add the ginger-garlic paste, seasoning condiments, and the chicken pieces. Mix the ingredients well and then cover the bowl with a cling wrap.
- Leave the bowl overnight in the fridge to marinate. If you’re in a hurry or just wait to feast on the wings, you take the bowl out after three to four hours.
- Now comes the grilling part. If you’re using a BBQ Grill, get the grill/smoker up to 275°F with indirect heat; put in pecan wood.
- If you’re using the oven, preheat the appliance at ‘grilling + fan mode‘ at 390°F. In the case of air fryers, set the temperature to 350°F for five minutes.
- Skewer the wings, and then transfer them into the grilling/baking tray. Make sure that you brush the chicken wings generously with the remaining marinade for that extra burst of flavor. In fact, the thicker, the better!
- Start grilling the chicken wings. Grill it for an hour or until the internal temperature on the wings reaches 165°F in the grill/smoker. When grilling in an oven, it should take around 15 minutes; 10 minutes in the air fryer.
- To prepare the balachan mix, take a small bowl, and add the balachan chili and hot water. Mix well until smooth.
- Serve your delicious Singapore BBQ chicken wings with sliced lime and sambal chilli mix.
Quick Pointers to Remember to Nail the Singapore BBQ Chicken Recipe
Although the recipe we mentioned above is thorough, we’ve still compiled a list of important pointers to discuss that you should keep in mind before you kick start cooking. Let’s take a quick look!
- The marinade is the most important part of your recipe. So before you start cooking your smoked BBQ chicken wings, make sure that all your seasonings and marinades are in place to enhance the flavour.
Otherwise, you’ll be left with bland pieces of chicken – something that you want to avoid at all costs. In addition to this, you‘ll have to marinate your chicken wings for a long period. Remember, the longer you marinate, the more flavour you’ll get.
- If you plan on using a grill, we would recommend using kamado grills. But really, any BBQ grill will work as long as you use indirect heat.
- Again you have the flexibility to use any type of wood, but we would recommend using pecan wood chunks for a smoother taste and nice smell to your chicken wings.
The Bottom Line
So this was our favourite Singapore BBQ chicken wings recipe for all Asian food lovers. With a total prep time of 30 minutes – provided you cook ten pieces of chicken wings – it’s simple yet delicious.
This recipe is just one of the dishes you can try under Asian cuisine to pass your time during the quarantine. So if you’ve been bitten by the cooking bug, don’t forget to try out other Singaporean dishes.
Happy cooking!
