Wok-fried Sichuan chicken wings

Ingredients

• Vegetable oil, for deep-frying, plus extra
• 150 g tapioca flour
• 8 thin slices ginger
• 1 bunch spring onions, cut into batons
• 1 bunch coriander, leaves picked, stems finely chopped
• 200 g magic chilli (see Note)
• Lime cheeks, to serve

For the chicken and marinade

• 1 kg chicken wingettes (see Note)
• 60 g Shaoxing cooking wine
• 65 g chicken concentrate liquid
• 40 g chicken booster stock powder
• 45 ml soy sauce
• 5 ml dark soy sauce
• 80 g cornflour
• 4 garlic cloves, finely grated
• 12 g whole Sichuan peppercorns, ground

For the seasoning salt

• 10 g sea salt flakes
• 1 tbsp storebought Sichuan seasoning
• 8 g whole Sichuan peppercorns

Marinating time: 2½-12 hours

Instructions

1. To marinate the chicken, in a large bowl combine the chicken wings and cooking wine. Allow to soak for 5-10 minutes, then stir through the remaining ingredients. Refrigerate for 2½ hours to overnight.
2. Combine the ingredients for the seasoning salt in a spice blender and blitz until fine. Set aside.
3. Once ready to cook, heat enough oil to deep-fry in a large saucepan or deep-fryer to 180°C. Sprinkle the tapioca flour over the marinated chicken and mix well to combine. Deep-fry the chicken wings in batches. Once almost cooked, add the ginger slices to the oil, frying the chicken until deep golden and cooked through. Use tongs to remove to a wire rack to drain of any excess oil.
4. Heat a generous drizzle of oil in a large frying pan or wok over high heat. Once hot, add the spring onion, coriander stems (save the leaves to garnish!), magic chilli, fried ginger and chicken wings to the pan, tossing to coat. Sprinkle over the seasoning salt and toss to combine. Once coated, remove from the heat and transfer to a large serving platter. Sprinkle with the reserved coriander leaves and serve with lime cheeks on the side.

Note

• To prepare chicken wingettes from wings, remove wing tip from chicken wing. Then cut wing in half through the joint, and again lengthways to create “ribs”.
• Sichuan seasoning can be purchased from your local supermarket.
• Magic Chilli, also known as Huang Fei Hong chilli with peanuts, is a popular Chinese snack made from fried chillies, peanuts, sesame seeds, and other spices. It can be eaten as a snack or cooked in dishes like this one. You can find it at your local Chinese grocery store.

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