Gut-Friendly Lunch: Air-Fried Chicken Wings & Salad (Mon-Tues)

This is the lunch for Monday and Tuesday in my series, “My Gut-Friendly, Balanced, What I Eat Series” — the series where I share with you all the meals Grandmaster Lim, my source for gut health and ancient East Asian wellness techniques for my body, crafted together for me to eat throughout the week. I had asked him to help me put together recipes with which the ingredients are easy to access for most (aka not only Korean food which most of my recipes are comprised of). All of these ingredients are thoughtfully paired to provide energy and/or be balanced, nutritious, or gut-friendly.

Why This Meal?

Chicken wings or thighs are known to provide a lot of energy to the body. However, chicken typically has a lot of oil in it, which is why I’ve air-fried it instead of deep-frying. Also, the colorful salad is a great way of adding more prebiotics to your diet (prebiotics are fibrous “food” for the healthy bacteria in your gut to eat — your gut needs a balance of good and bad bacteria to be healthy). The olive oil and lemon drizzled into the salad as well as the jasmine green tea also helps offset the oiliness effects of the chicken too.

Ingredients (for 1 day):

• Chicken:

  • 8 chicken wings (we’ll be preparing them all today, but air-frying only 4 the first day)

  • 1 tablespoon of garlic powder

  • 1 teaspoon of onion powder

  • A dash of salt

  • 1 teaspoon of black pepper

  • A dash of paprika

  • 1/4 cup of soy sauce (optional if you like soy-glazed chicken)

  • 1 tablespoon of brown sugar (optional if you like soy-glazed chicken)

• Salad:

  • 1 tomato

  • 1/2 red onion

  • 1 carrot

  • 1 celery

  • 1 lemon

  • 1 tablespoon of olive oil

    • Note: Olive oil is super gut-friendly because it helps take in what your gut needs and helps eliminate the waste

  • 1 teaspoon of vinegar

• Drink:

  • jasmine green tea leaves (optional)

Materials:

• Air-fryer

• Small strainer for tea leaves or a tea cup

Directions:

• Prep the chicken wings by washing them.

  • Tip: If you’re sensitive to the smell of poultry, spritz some lemon over them and dunk them in white vinegar for 5 minutes.

• Season the chicken by adding garlic powder, salt, black pepper, and paprika (as well as the soy sauce and brown sugar if you’re making the soy version). Drizzle half a tablespoon of olive oil if you’re not adding olive oil (optional).

• Preheat the air-fryer to 400 degrees.

• Mix the chicken and condiments in a bowl with gloves or shake in a baggie.

• Air fry four wings on 400 degrees for 9 minutes (keep the four others in the fridge to marinate for the next day). Then, flip and air-fry for another 6-9 minutes or until fully cooked.

• In the meantime, dice the tomato, celery, red onion, carrot and throw in a bowl for salad. Save half for the next day

  • Tip: Honestly, just use whatever ingredients you want — as long as they vary in color!

• Add a drizzle (tablespoon) of olive oil, a sprinkle of salt and pepper, and a drizzle of lemon.

• Boil water in a kettle / electric kettle / stove for tea. Add tea leaves to strainer, then pour hot water on top.

• Serve and enjoy the chicken wings, salad, and tea together!

---