The way it's cooked is ingenious! I've never deep fried something that doesn't spat at me at least 3 or 4 times. It's like dancing around while lightning strikes when it happens. I know you're supposed to pat dry the meat before deep frying but let's just say... as I've said... I always like shortcuts so... no, I don't normally pat them dry.
With the way the chicken is first steamed then gloriously coated with flour and spices, deep frying it is like a bliss! I bet this method will work really, really, well with other meat!
Tip 1: if you still don't have a steamer until now,,, please get one. There's so many fun recipes you can do with it..
Tip 2: have fun, this dish is for peeps who only knows how to boil an egg :)
Tip 3: if you want your chix mildly hot, go for cayenne powder. I would have loved the kick of chili powder though but I didn't have so I had to go for cayenne.
Tip 4: if you're only going to use the fresh chilies for garnish, then small ones will do... if you want to munch it like crisps, then go for large ones.
Ingredients:
500 grams chicken wings
1/3 cup plain all purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
1 1/2 tablespoons sea salt
4 chilies, cut in half lengthways, deseeded
1/4 cup spring onion, either preferably julienned if not, chopped will work too
1 lemon, halved
Steam your chicken for a good 10 minutes. This will ensure you kickstart the cooking so deep frying stage will mostly be for the skin and its coating.
Drain away excess liquid, if your steamer is slotted, then you won't have much water to take care of. Let it cool on the side while you work on your coating.
Mix flour, salt, chilli powder in a good sized bowl. Add your chicken wings and toss. If you have a lot, then work on it in batches. Shake off excess flour, if you like thick coating then leave it as is.
Heat your oil to almost 380 degrees F, if you don't have a candy thermometer, then just make sure it's hot enough for frying.
Start frying your wings. 5 minutes for small chicken wings like what I used. 10 minutes for jumbo ones. Fish them all out of the fryer and drain on kitchen towel.
On the same pan, fry your fresh chilli halves.
Arrange your chicken on a serving plate, top it with fried chillies and garnish it some more with your spring onions. Either you give your chix a squeeze of lemon or just place the lemon halves on the side, your guest can choose whether to have the lemons added or not.
Happy Eating!