Crispy Chicken Drumsticks/Legs

As a young kid, chicken chilli, chicken noodles, one of my favourite school lunchbox item, chowmein and the never ending list of Indo-Chinese delicacies definitely made me think of these food items as authentic Chinese food which later got rectified with the exposure to authentic ones.

Cooking for my family post-marriage on a regular basis and my career as a Freelance Writer few years back made me acquainted with some interesting facts about the Indo-Chinese style of food which came into existence with a small Chinese community in the city of Kolkata a century ago.

Some vital condiments and spices apart from soy sauce, chilli sauce, monosodium glutamate and sesame oil making the authentic Chinese food flavourful are black beans sauce, plum sauce, Chinkiang/rice vinegar, rice wine(made of fermented glutinous rice) and five spice powder (made of ground Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, fennel seeds and cinnamon, used as dry rubs and marinades for poultry and meats, also as a seasoning mixed with salt and pepper).

Secondly, the Chinese cooking uses cilantro/Chinese parsley, fresh garlic, ginger, fresh chillies, onion greens/spring onions for flavour.

Lastly, traditional veggies such as Bok choy/Chinese mustard greens, snow cabbage/Chinese cabbage, Chinese broccoli/Gai lan, soy bean sprouts, snow peas, tender bamboo shoots, white radish and Chinese mushrooms are used in preparing common traditional Chinese food.

Of all the foreign cuisines, Chinese food is an integral part of any Indo-Chinese food lover’s palate in India with most of the region adopting and coming up with their own scrumptious creations, be it the Chinese samosa, Chinese bhel  or the Chinese dosa etc.

The cooking process isn’t complicated at all! Few basic ingredients are enough for you to cook and serve delicacies without compromising on the flavour.

The Indian adaptation of Chinese cooking therefore is the techniques and seasonings with unique tempering aimed at pleasing our desi taste buds.

Tried creating honey-glazed Crispy Chicken Drumsticks/Legs the Indian way. I spent a day wondering as to what ingredients will make it as tasty as the original honey-glazed crispy chicken.

After much thinking, I selected two vital ingredients for the recipe curry leaves and Kashmiri Red Chilli powder, as per my Indo-Chinese food eating experience since a decade stay in the Western region of India.

Made a separate condiment/sauce with ginger and garlic which was poured over the fried Crispy Chicken Drumsticks/Legs. This sauce is sweet, the sweetness can be adjusted as per your taste.

Goes great with plain white rice or simply as an appetizer.

Crispy Chicken Drumsticks/Legs

Ingredients

For Marinade

6-8 Chicken Drumsticks/Legs

2 Tbsp Dark Soy Sauce

For Sauce

1 Tbsp fresh Ginger, chopped

1 Tbsp Garlic, chopped

A large pinch White Pepper powder

1 Tbsp dark or light Soy Sauce

1 Tbsp Red Chilli Sauce

1 Tbsp Tomato Sauce (optional)

1/2 Tbsp Honey or Caster Sugar

1/2 Tbsp Kashmiri Chilli or any mild Chilli powder

1-2 Sprigs fresh Curry leaves

2 Spring Onions, finely sliced

1 cup White oil for frying

1/2 tsp Salt

3 Tbsp Water

For the Batter

1/2 cup (120 ml) All Purpose Flour/Maida

1/4 cup Corn Flour

1 Egg

A pinch of Salt

A pinch of White Pepper powder

Method

1.Make few incisions/cuts on each drumstick for better marination. Marinade them with soy sauce for 20 mins.

2.Meanwhile, sift the flour, corn flour together in a mixing bowl, add the egg, pepper powder, salt, 1/4 cup water and whisk with a fork or wire whisk till the batter is smooth, without any lumps. Set aside.

3.In a wok or pan heat oil on medium. Dip the marinated leg pieces in the batter one by one and fry them in the wok until crisp and browned lightly on all sides. Remove onto kitchen paper and set aside.

2.To prepare the ginger and garlic sauce, heat 2 Tbsp out of the remaining oil in the same wok or pan on medium flame, add the chopped ginger and garlic. Stir-fry until fragnant.

3.Add the white portions of the sliced spring onions, curry leaves, soy sauce, red chilli sauce, pepper powder, honey, salt, water and bring everything to a boil on medium flame. Turn off the heat.

4. Plate the fried chicken drumsticks and pour the ginger-garlic sauce over them. Garnish with chopped onion greens and serve hot.

Note: You can adjust the sweetness as per your taste.

This Crispy Chicken Drumsticks is part of our 37th #foodiemonday #bloghop theme #IndoChinese.