A Rainy 21st Birthday BBQ — Char Siu Wings, Lamb Kebabs & No Wasted Food
Updated: 4 hours ago
Sometimes, the best celebrations are the ones that don't go according to plan.
My youngest daughter turned 21.
Twenty-one! I still find it difficult to believe how quickly time has passed. One moment, she was a little girl, and now she's officially stepping into adulthood.
To celebrate, we booked a chalet with a BBQ pit. Nothing particularly extravagant. Just good food, family, friends, and an evening spent together.
And, of course, I was in charge of the food.
I had planned quite a spread: 6kg of chicken wings, five packets of hot dogs, and 1kg minced lamb for homemade Middle Eastern kebabs. There would also be homemade piyaz, garlic yogurt sauce, and a Japanese-inspired coleslaw.
I wanted something relatively straightforward. After all, this was my daughter's birthday, not another one of my elaborate cooking experiments.
Although, knowing myself, I still ended up preparing almost everything from scratch.
Everything was going rather well.
The hot dogs, served in soft buns with mustard and ketchup, disappeared ridiculously quickly. The wings and kebabs were ready for the grill, and everyone was enjoying themselves.
Then, it rained.
Not exactly what you want when you've booked a chalet specifically for a BBQ.
We had no choice but to abandon the outdoor cooking and move the celebration indoors.
But here's the wonderful thing.
Nobody allowed the weather to ruin the evening.
There were games, conversations, laughter, and plenty of catching up. The party continued until after 11 pm!
The BBQ might have been cut short, but the birthday celebration certainly wasn't.
And as for all that leftover food?
There was absolutely no way I was letting any of it go to waste!
The following day, I rolled up my sleeves, raided the refrigerator, and turned those leftovers into another round of delicious meals for my daughters.
Who says the birthday feast has to end when the party is over?
Preparing the Birthday Feast
I wanted a mixture of flavours rather than sticking to one particular cuisine.
For the chicken wings, I went with a Chinese-inspired char siu glaze. Sweet, savoury, slightly aromatic, and perfect for caramelising over charcoal.
The minced lamb was prepared using my own All Purpose Middle Eastern Minced Lamb mixture, with plenty of herbs, spices, and a little heat.
To accompany the lamb, I made piyaz, a refreshing tomato and onion salad dressed with sumac and pomegranate molasses, along with a simple garlic yogurt sauce.
And to balance the richness of the char siu wings, I prepared a Japanese-inspired coleslaw with Kewpie mayonnaise, rice vinegar, nori, sesame seeds, and shichimi togarashi.
Finally, there were the hot dogs.
Nothing fancy. Just sausages tucked into buns and dressed with mustard and ketchup.
Ironically, those were the first things to disappear!
Sometimes, simplicity wins.
The Simplest Hot Dogs
Of everything I prepared, these disappeared the fastest.
No elaborate toppings. No homemade sauces. Nothing particularly adventurous.
Just hot dogs in buns with mustard and ketchup.
And apparently, that was exactly what everyone wanted!
Ingredients:
Hot Dogs or Sausages, 5 Packs
Hot Dog Buns, Enough for the Sausages
Mustard, As Needed
Ketchup, As Needed
Directions:
Grill the hot dogs over charcoal, turning occasionally until heated through and lightly browned.
Lightly toast the buns if desired.
Place a sausage into each bun.
Dress with mustard and ketchup.
Serve immediately.
Sometimes, you really don't need to complicate things.
Chinese Char Siu Chicken Wings
Makes: 6kg chicken wings
Preparation: Sous vide, followed by charcoal grilling or oven broiling
I decided to sous vide the chicken wings ahead of the celebration.
Cooking 6kg of wings over charcoal while trying to entertain guests isn't exactly my idea of a relaxing birthday party.
Sous vide allowed me to cook the wings beforehand, chill them, and finish them over the grill when needed.
The idea was simple: perfectly cooked wings with a sticky, caramelised char siu glaze.
Ingredients:
Chicken Wings
Chicken Wings, 6kg
Sea Salt, 36g
White Pepper, For Seasoning
Chinese Char Siu Glaze
Hoisin Sauce, 240g
Light Soy Sauce, 150g
Honey, 150g
Oyster Sauce, 75g
Shaoxing Wine, 90g
Garlic Powder, 1 TSP
Ginger Powder, 1 TSP
Chinese 5 Spice Powder, 1 TSP
Sesame Oil, 30g
Rice Vinegar, 2 TBSP
Directions:
Preparing the Chicken Wings
Pat the chicken wings dry with kitchen paper.
Season the wings evenly with sea salt.
Divide them into several sous vide bags, arranging them in relatively thin, even layers.
Vacuum seal the bags.
Preheat a sous vide water bath to 74°C.
Submerge the bags completely, ensuring the water can circulate freely around them.
Cook for approximately 90 minutes after the bath has returned to temperature, allowing additional time if necessary for thicker bags.
Once cooked, immediately transfer the sealed bags into a large mixing bowl.
Drain and reserve any liquid from the wings.
Sprinkle white pepper on each layer of wings,
Chill thoroughly in the refrigerator, keeping the wings at 4°C or below until needed.
Preparing the Char Siu Glaze
Bring the drained and reserved liquid to a simmer in a pot.
Continue cooking until reduced.
Strain into a larger pot and discard all residue.
Add the hoisin sauce, light soy sauce, honey, oyster sauce, Shaoxing wine, garlic powder, ginger powder, 5 spice powder, and sesame oil to that pot.
Whisk until thoroughly combined.
Bring to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat.
Continue simmering for approximately 3–5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the ingredients are incorporated and the glaze thickens slightly.
Add in the rice vinegar to balance out the richness.
Give it a final stir.
Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate until needed.
Finishing Over Charcoal
Remove the chilled wings from their bags and pat them thoroughly dry.
Lightly brush with neutral oil.
Arrange the wings over a medium-hot charcoal grill.
Grill, turning occasionally, until the skin begins to brown and develop a light char.
Brush the wings with the char siu glaze.
Continue grilling, turning frequently and applying another thin layer of glaze.
Once the wings are thoroughly reheated to 74°C internally and the glaze has caramelised, remove from the grill.
Serve immediately.
What Actually Happened
Because of the rain, we ended up with plenty of wings left over.
The following day, I decided to finish them in the oven instead.
I arranged the cooked wings on a baking tray, brushed them generously with the char siu glaze, and placed them under the broiler.
I broiled them for approximately 8–10 minutes on each side, watching carefully until the glaze had caramelised and developed a little char.
The exact timing will depend on the broiler and how close the wings are to the heating element. The important thing is to heat the wings thoroughly without burning the sugary glaze.
And you know what?
They turned out wonderfully.
The glaze was sticky, the edges were lightly charred, and the meat remained juicy.
I served them with the leftover Japanese-inspired coleslaw.
An entirely new meal from something that could easily have gone to waste.
Paired with Japanese-Inspired Coleslaw
The Following Day — Turning Leftovers Into Another Feast
The following day, I opened the refrigerator and looked at everything we had left.
There were chicken wings, minced lamb, piyaz, garlic yogurt sauce, and coleslaw.
I certainly wasn't going to throw any of it away.
So I decided to turn the leftovers into brunch and dinner.
Char Siu Wings With Japanese Coleslaw
The chicken wings were straightforward.
Since they had already been cooked sous vide, all I needed to do was finish them under the broiler.
I coated the wings with the char siu glaze and broiled them for approximately 8–10 minutes on each side until thoroughly reheated, lightly charred, and beautifully caramelised.
The leftover coleslaw went straight onto the plate.
And just like that, we had another delicious meal.
Middle Eastern Lamb Tortilla Flatbreads
This was probably my favourite way of repurposing the lamb.
Instead of shaping the remaining minced lamb into kebabs, I grabbed some store-bought tortillas.
Nothing fancy.
I spread a thin layer of the seasoned minced lamb directly onto each tortilla.
Then I lightly greased a non-stick pan with oil and placed the tortilla lamb-side down.
I allowed the lamb to cook until nicely browned and lightly charred, then flipped the tortilla to toast the other side, making sure the minced lamb was fully cooked.
The result was something reminiscent of a simplified lahmacun or arayes.
Crispy tortilla, fragrant spiced lamb, and beautifully browned edges.
I served the flatbreads with the leftover piyaz and garlic yogurt sauce.
The combination was fantastic.
The fresh tomatoes and onions balanced the richness of the lamb, while the yogurt sauce brought everything together.
And the best part?
Almost no additional preparation was required.
Garlic Yogurt Sauce
Sometimes, the simplest sauces are the best.
This garlic yogurt sauce takes only a few minutes to prepare, but it complements the lamb beautifully.
The yogurt provides a cooling contrast to the spices, while the garlic adds a pleasant sharpness.
Ingredients:
Greek Yogurt, 200g
Garlic Grated, 1 clove
Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 2 TBSP
Fresh Lemon Juice, 1 Lemon
Fresh Lemon Zest, 1 Lemon
Sea Salt, Pinch
Black Pepper, Pinch
Directions:
Add the Greek yogurt to a mixing bowl.
Stir in the grated garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, and sea salt.
Mix until smooth and creamy.
Taste and adjust the seasoning.
Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
A Birthday Celebration to Remember
Looking back, I think this birthday celebration turned out rather differently from what I had imagined.
I had planned an outdoor BBQ with plenty of grilled food.
Instead, the rain forced everyone indoors, and we had to stop grilling altogether.
But nobody seemed particularly bothered.
The conversations continued. The games went on. Everyone was laughing and enjoying themselves.
The celebration carried on until late into the night.
And that, to me, was far more important than whether the chicken wings developed the perfect char over charcoal.
The following day, I managed to turn the remaining food into another round of meals.
Nothing wasted.
More importantly, my daughters were well fed.
As someone who spends a considerable amount of time developing recipes, experimenting with ingredients, and trying to perfect cooking techniques, it's easy to become overly focused on the food itself.
But occasions like this remind me why I started cooking in the first place.
Food brings people together.
It gives us something to share, something to talk about, and sometimes, something to laugh about when things don't go according to plan.
My youngest daughter is now 21.
I don't know where all those years went.
But I'm grateful that we could celebrate this milestone together, surrounded by people who care about her.
And if there's one thing I'll remember about this birthday, it won't be the rain.
It'll be the laughter, the conversations, the food, and the fact that everyone had a wonderful time despite everything.
Happy 21st birthday, my girl.
And here's to many more celebrations, hopefully with slightly better weather.
Although, knowing Singapore, I wouldn't count on it.
Until the next recipe, happy cooking.
Fat Dough
Comments