Hawaiian Chicken Wings -- The Taste of Celebration, Wherever It Finds You

Labor Day weekend. The irony of the holiday's name is not lost on me — I'm about to return to labor after laboring to produce a child. English is a strange language. Amma's birthday is this week — she turns sixty-five. We celebrated on Sunday at my parents' house. I brought a cake from the Indian bakery (pineapple cream, the universal celebration cake) and Arvind brought flowers and Raj brought wine (which Amma accepted with the diplomatic smile of a woman who disapproves of alcohol but appreciates the gesture). Anaya, now ten weeks old, was the real gift. Amma held her through most of the celebration, sitting in her favorite armchair, singing Tamil songs in a voice so soft I had to lean in to hear. Anaya gazed at her grandmother with the specific attention babies give to the faces they love. I watched Amma and I thought about the MMSE score — 25 out of 30, six months ago. The follow-up is coming soon. Another test. Another number. Another data point on the line that I pray is holding steady. But today she was here. Fully here. Singing to her granddaughter in a language I speak but my daughter will only understand. Making filter coffee and biryani and feeding everyone with the abundant, excessive, unquantifiable love that is Lakshmi Krishnamurthy's primary mode of existence. I made a card for Amma. Not a Hallmark card — a handmade one, with Anaya's footprints in purple ink. (Getting a baby's footprints in ink is exactly as chaotic as it sounds. There was purple everywhere. Raj helped and made it worse.) Amma looked at the card. Looked at the tiny footprints. Looked at Anaya. "These are small feet," she said. "She's small." "They'll grow." "They will." "Keep the card," she said. "One day these feet will be as big as yours and you'll want to remember when they were this small." I'm keeping the card. I'm keeping everything. Every card, every recipe, every word she says, every song she sings. I'm keeping it all because I don't know how much time I have to keep it. Happy birthday, Amma. Sixty-five years. Thirty-two jars of spice. One granddaughter with purple feet.

Amma’s birthday table had everything: pineapple cream cake from the bakery, biryani that filled the whole house with cardamom and bay leaf, filter coffee in the small steel tumblers she’s had for thirty years. There’s something about pineapple at a celebration — that particular sweetness — that I keep coming back to, wanting to carry it forward into the week. These Hawaiian chicken wings aren’t biryani, and they’re not Amma’s cooking, but the pineapple glaze brings the same bright, festive warmth that felt so right around her table — the kind of food that says: this is a good day, let’s eat together.

Hawaiian Chicken Wings

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 45 min | Total Time: 1 hr | Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 3 lbs chicken wings, split at the joint, tips removed
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 cup pineapple juice
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons cold water
• Sliced green onions and sesame seeds, for garnish
• Pineapple rings or chunks, for serving (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat and prep. Preheat your oven to 400°F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil and place a wire rack on top. Pat the chicken wings dry with paper towels — this helps them get crispy.
2. Season the wings. Toss the wings with salt, pepper, and garlic powder until evenly coated. Arrange in a single layer on the wire rack.
3. Bake. Bake for 40–45 minutes, flipping once halfway through, until the wings are golden and cooked through with an internal temperature of 165°F.
4. Make the Hawaiian glaze. While the wings bake, combine pineapple juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, ketchup, rice vinegar, garlic, and ginger in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the cornstarch slurry and stir constantly for 2–3 minutes until the sauce thickens to a glaze consistency. Remove from heat.
5. Glaze and finish. Transfer the baked wings to a large bowl. Pour the warm glaze over the wings and toss until every wing is well coated. Return to the rack and bake for an additional 5 minutes to set the glaze.
6. Serve. Arrange on a platter, garnish with sliced green onions, sesame seeds, and pineapple chunks if desired. Serve immediately.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 380 | Protein: 28g | Fat: 18g | Carbs: 24g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 780mg