Sticky Caramelized Haitian style sour tamarind wings

I am not a fan of chicken wings. Fact.

Chicken wings are messy, especially with a caramelized sauce. Fact.

I hate getting my fingers dirty while eating. Fact.

If you’re a faithful reader you should know that already. Also, fact.

After all, I am the girl who ate a mango blan with a knife last year. If you don’t know that story, you should click here now. But perhaps you should head over there after reading this article. I am not stopping it for you. I am definitely not. I am going to get back to my wings. I will also leave you a recipe to grab at the bottom.

These sour tamarind wings are juicy, sticky, sweet, sour, tangy, they're perfect. You should give them a try. | tchakayiti.com

About those sour tamarind wings

Now, I am not typically a fan of wings for all the reasons I stated above. But I, sometimes, am willing to make an exception. Yes, I do sometimes get my hands and fingers dirty while eating from time to time. But only for those foods that are finger-licking good. Just like the wings I am serving you today. They’re juicy, they’re sticky, they’re sweet, they’re sour, they’re spicy, they’re tangy…Yes, they’re all that and so much more.

They’re my sour tamarind wings! And you will love them.

I cooked these wings for the first time about two weeks ago. It took me that long to share them with you because I needed to test my recipe. I had to make sure it was at its best when I shared it with you. And that’s exactly what I did last weekend. I perfected my sauce. I made some tweaks here and there. Because of that, today, I am able to tell you that these wings are worth drooling over.

This sour tamarind sauce is sweet, tangy and spicy. It will pair well with your favorite meat. | tchakayiti.com

The secret is in the tamarind sauce. It truly is.

I chose to prepare sour tamarind wings because I had an overload of tamarinds at home. After my tamarind popsicles from last week, I needed a different way to eat those childhood favorites. What could be more different than turning them into a spicy sauce that could coat any meat?

I already knew how to turn prepare a tamarind puree. All I needed was to enhance it with some flavors and get it to caramelize. I opted for brown sugar, soy sauce, ginger, and, of course, my beloved piment bouc. I coated each and every single one of my wings with this mixture before finishing them in the oven. The wings were perfectly caramelized with the perfect balance of sweet and sour. My favorite part, however, was the crust that stayed stuck to the pan.  It was crunchy yet sticky and sour. Better than I would anticipate for food scraps. I think they translated perfectly all the flavors that the wings were packed with.

I am definitely adopting that sour tamarind sauce. I am ready to bet it will also pair well with some fall off the bone ribs. Speaking of ribs, let me head back to my kitchen and try them with that sauce. I’ll share some pictures on social media. If they last long enough for the camera, that is. If you never see them, know that they quickly disappeared in my happy belly.  Later, y’all.

These sour tamarind wings are juicy, sticky, sweet, sour, tangy, they're perfect. You should give them a try. | tchakayiti.com

Haitian sticky sour tamarind wings

Cook Time 1 hour

Ingredients
  

  • 12 chicken wings

For the marinade

  • 1 onion
  • 3-5 garlic heads
  • 1 Piment bouc
  • 1 bell pepper
  • ½ Bunch of parsley
  • Fresh Thyme
  • Sour orange juice
  • Vinegar
  • Salt & Pepper

For the tamarind puree

  • 12-15 tamarind pods
  • 2 cups of water

For the tamarind sauce

  • 1 cup tamarind puree
  • 6 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp cornstarch
  • 6 tbsp sugar
  • 3/4 tsp ginger
  • 1/2 chopped piment bouc
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • 1/2 tsp of ground pepper

Instructions
 

Marinating the wings

  • Puree all the ingredients in a blender. If you have it in you, use a mortar and pestle
  • Rinse your wings and coat them with the marinade
  • Transfer to a plastic bag
  • Let marinate for a few hours or overnight. The longer they marinate the better they will taste

Preparing the tamarind puree

  • Peel your tamarind
  • In a saucepan, place the peeled tamarind and cover with water
  • Bring to a boil
  • Simmer and let cook until the flesh softens up about 20-30mns
  • Strain the liquid making sure to extract as much of the pulp as possible
  • You should get about 1 cup of tamarind puree

Preparing the tamarind sauce

  • In a saucepan, mix the sugar, cornstarch and dry ingredients
  • Add the soy sauce
  • Mix well to dissolve
  • Incorporate the tamarind puree
  • Simmer on low mixing it regularly until the sauce thickens
  • Once it is thick, you’re ready to coat your wings

Putting it all together

  • Place the wings on a cooking sheet and cook in oven for 20 minutes
  • Flip the wings, and cook for another 20 minutes
  • Once your wings are cooked, dip them one by one in the tamarind sauce making sure to coat them completely
  • Return to the oven for about 20 more minutes or until they’re caramelized
  • Coat with remaining sauce before serving
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