Chicken Wings with Coconut-Peanut Sauce - serves 6
For chicken wings:
4 garlic cloves
2 shallots
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp Chinese five-spice powder (available at Asian markets and most supermarkets)
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp crumbled dried rosemary
1/2 tsp cayenne, or to taste
2 tbsp peanut oil
4 pounds chicken wings (about 30), the tips cut off and reserved for the stock pot.
Sauce:
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup canned cream of coconut
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup chopped roasted red bell pepper
1/8 tsp dried hot red pepper flakes
1 tsp soy sauce
Garnish with cilantro
Mince and mash the garlic and the shallots to a paste with the salt and in a large bowl stir the paste together well with the five-spice powder, the paprika, the rosemary, the cayenne, and the oil. Add the chicken wings, stirring to coat them well with the marinade, and let them marinate, covered and chilled, for 4 hours or overnight. Arrange the wings, skin sides up, on the rack of a foil-lined large broiler pan and bake them in the upper third of a preheated 425�F. oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until they are golden brown. The wings may be prepared 1 day in advance, kept covered and chilled, and reheated.
Sauce:
In a blender blend together the peanut butter, the cream of coconut, the garlic, the water, the bell pepper, the red pepper flakes, and the soy sauce until the mixture is smooth and season the sauce with salt.
Transfer the sauce to a serving bowl set on a platter, arrange the wings around the bowl, and garnish the platter with the cilantro.