It’s a little late but I have not forgotten this week’s recipe! The party continues with Sookie’s Angel Wings with Dipping Sauce for Rory’s 16th birthday. This was another one I had never heard of before. It wasn’t until I started listening to the Gilmore Guys podcast that I really realized how many things I let slide over my head without wondering what was really being said. Like calling the headmaster of your child’s private school il Duce? Not that I have had the urge to bring that reference out in casual conversation, but how many other things have I unknowingly called others because Lorelai Gilmore delivers the line so wittingly? Anyway, I digress.
If you were also unaware, angel wings are traditionally a Thai dish made from fried chicken wing drummettes stuffed with a pork and shrimp filling. Paired with a sweet spicy chile sauce, they’re essentially Thai hot wings. And they. Are. The. BOMB. I was so skeptical of these, mainly because I don’t have a lot of experience eating, let alone cooking Thai food. There also aren’t a lot of recipes out there for this specific description of appetizer either. Maybe I was looking in the wrong place, but the only recipes I found were either from blogs or were a Polish pastry. Because “dipping sauce” was included in the title, it narrowed it down to this one!
I decided on using the recipe from The Bald Chef. He also includes a nifty instructional video which I could have never done this without because you literally have to FLIP THE WING INSIDE OUT in order to stuff it. Plus there’s fish sauce involved. I know I’m not making the best case for this recipe so far, but hear me out - I was so pleasantly surprised with how easy and delicious these babies turned out.
I *may* have betrayed Sookie just a little bit with this recipe because I used three shortcuts:
I bought the frozen chicken drumettes and thawed them out in the fridge
I used cocktail shrimp instead of fresh (I’m ballin’ on a budget here, okay? There is no restaurant overhead to sustain these recipes)
I used store-bought Thai chile garlic dipping sauce. Honestly, I have no regrets there. It is so good.
I think I’m willing to say that this recipe is easy enough to try as an appetizer for your next party. Remember when Lorelai made their house into Asia for Rory? These absolutely should have been on the menu. And I bet Lorelai could have even made them herself ... Maybe. Well, or maybe Vineyard Valentine Rory could have. At least she knew how to use a knife.
Final Review: If you’re feeling daring and in the mood to party - I encourage you to try them! There are a few detailed steps involved, so I will leave the directions down below.
Also, I totally love the relationship building that happens in this episode. Lorelai and Emily form a cute little bond over shopping for Rory, who, by the way, gets two birthday parties thrown in her honor? Even though Emily’s party was a nice gesture (at least she thought so), there’s something about the imagery of seeing Rory’s Stars Hollow birthday party that hits me right in the feels. The colored paper lantern string lights wrapped around the trees and onto the porch remind me of my family reunions at the lake. The warm lighting in the house and familiar friends hanging around gives me such a warm fuzzy feeling inside. I think that’s why this show means as much as it does to so many people. The creators and actors were able to create such a visual representation of belonging. I don’t see any of the as “misfits” as much as they were just themselves and accepted. I think that’s a space we all want to see ourselves in.
Rating: SO good...Might I even say… heavenly? Grab your pink feather boa and chow down on these for your next Gilmore watch party.
Angel wings with Dipping Sauce modified from The Bald Chef
Ingredients
15 chicken wing drummettes
1/2 cup rice noodles
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1/4 cup ground pork
10 medium shrimp
3 tablespoons thin sliced carrot
1/2 tablespoon garlic
3 tablespoons corn starch
½ teaspoon salt + pepper
1 ½ - 2 cups cooking oil
Directions
Take your chicken wings and slice the meat closest to the bottom of the drumstick slightly on each side. You can also slice the whole way around at the bottom to detach the skin fully from the bone. Gently pull the meat upwards until it inverts and creates a pocket to be stuffed. See picture below for reference.
Once all the drumettes are prepared toss them in a bowl with a tablespoon of fish sauce, three tablespoons of cornstarch and a ½ teaspoon of both salt and pepper and set aside. Soak the rice noodles in a separate bowl of hot water until softened.
Then heat a few tablespoons of oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Saute the shredded carrot with the minced garlic and season with a sprinkling of Thai chili seasoning or chili powder with a pinch of cayenne. Remove from heat when carrots are tender.
In a food processor pulse together the shrimp and ground pork until just combined and mix in the carrots and rice noodles. Begin heating the cooking oil in a wok or large pot. Stuff the chicken wings with the stuffing mixture shaping the end of the drumettes into a ball. Once all the drumettes are stuffed, fry in batches of four or five until brown and crisp on the outside and meat is cooked through in the middle, about 5 minutes. I added a little more color by broiling after they had rested for a minute out of the oil.
Serve with sriracha or chili sauce and enjoy! I used this sauce for mine.