THAI GAI YANG CHICKEN

INGREDIENTS
3 lbs chicken wings
2 Tbsp chopped garlic
¼ cup sliced shallots
¼ cup chopped cilantro stems, use the thickest parts possible.
¼ chopped lemongrass, use only the bottom 4-5 inches of a stalk
1 Tbsp ground white pepper. You can do more or less here to fit your flavor profile
2 Tsp ground turmeric
2 Tbsp oil
3 Tbsp oyster sauce
2 Tbsp fish sauce
2 Tbsp sweet soy sauce
1 Tbsp thin soy sauce
1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 Tbsp honey, microwave for 20-30 seconds
INSTRUCTIONS
Wash the chicken wings and drumsticks, pat dry with paper towels, and place the chicken in a gallon zip lock bag.
Chop, peel and measure out all the ingredients then put everything in a small food processor.
Blend until the sauce is smooth and creamy. You will have some chunks of herbs in the marinating sauce. It’s ok, leave it, they will give the extra crunch when finished baking.
Pour the marinating sauce into the zip lock bag with the chicken wings, close the bag and gently shake the bag until the meat is evenly coated. Lay the bag flat on a plate and marinate in the refrigerator for 1-5 hours. Flip the bag upside down once or twice during this marinating time to get the sauce on both sides of the wings.
Move the chicken from the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for 30-45 minutes before baking.
Turn the oven to 420 degrees. Place aluminum foil over a baking sheet, then place a baking rack on top of the foil for easy clean-up. Some of the sauce will drip during baking and may burn a little, it’s normal. Just discard the foil when you are done cooking. Place the chicken pieces on the baking rack. Use some of the leftover marinating sauce in the ziplock bag and with a spoon or a cooking brush, lather the wings before baking. This will add extra tenderness and flavors to the meat.
Bake the wings for 20 minutes, carefully remove the rack out of the oven, brush the remaining sauce from the ziplock bag on the wings. (Be very careful with the heat on the baking pan and rack.) Do this to both sides of the wings, and return to baking another 20 minutes. Check with an instant-read thermometer to read at 165 degrees to make sure the chicken is completely cooked. Add another 5-10 minutes, depending on the size of your wings and drumsticks, if necessary to be sure the meat is thoroughly cooked.
Turn the oven off, remove the rack from the oven and let the meat cool for 10 minutes before serving. Serve with Thai sweet chili sauce and a side of sticky rice.