If you know me well enuff, you would know how much I missed Filipino cuisine. And salted egg chicken wings is my top 5 Filipino dish that I adore (or craved). Don't get me wrong. But this Filipino style is better than the Singaporean/Malaysian version.
Maybe because it contains more spices? Or maybe because the wings are fried twice? Or I am just being biased. Lol! Don't be surprised that Filipinos use salted eggs in their dishes more than the Chinese.
Hexa Salted Egg Sauce Powder...
If you are a Singaporean, you will know that salted egg exploded everywhere on almost every dish ever since that salted egg lava croissant incident. Sometimes, Singaporeans take their creativity too far (sarcasm). Either way, I am not gonna bash the food culture in Singapore, I just wanna share this underrated Filipino version of salted egg chicken wings. My final question: flat or drum?
Ingredients:
(Serve 4)
Chicken Flats or Drumlets, 500g
Sea Salt, Pinch
White Pepper, Pinch
Granulated Sugar, Pinch
Mushroom Powder, Pinch
Chinese Rice Wine, 2 TBSP
Egg Lightly Beaten, 1
Unbleached All Purpose Flour, 2 Heaped TBSP
Potato Starch, 1 Heaped TBSP
Smoked Paprika, 1/2 TSP
Garlic Powder, 1/2 TSP
Onion Powder, 1/2 TSP
Grapeseed / Peanut / Sunflower / Canola Oil, For Frying
Duck Fat, 50g
Unsalted Butter, 65g
Hexa Salted Egg Sauce Powder, 80g
Chili Flakes, Pinch (Optional)
Parsley Finely Chopped, A Handful
Equipment:
Dutch Oven / Deep Fryer
Large Cast Iron Skillet / Pan
Directions:
In a large bowl, add chicken flats, salt, white pepper, sugar, mushroom powder, rice wine and egg.
Mix to combine well (it is much better to just mix it with your clean hands).
Cover with cling film and marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hrs.
In a shallow bowl, add flour, starch, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, white pepper and mushroom powder.
Mix until well combined.
Add about 4 inches of oil to a dutch oven.
Turn the heat up to medium.
*To check the temperature, insert a wooden chopstick into the oil. If bubbles start to form, not rapidly, the temperature is ready.*
Dredge the chicken into the flour mixture, coating the chicken well.
Swirl half of the chicken into the oil for a few seconds before dropping gently into the oil. This is to prevent sticking at the bottom.
Once the chicken starts to brown lightly on both sides, remove from heat and set aside on a wire cooling rack to drain off excess oil.
Repeat the steps for the remaining chicken.
*Do not crowd the dutch oven. Fry the chicken in batches.*
Set the chicken aside to rest for about 30 mins.
Turn the heat up to medium high.
*This time, the bubbles should be bubbling rapidly around the tip of the chopstick.*
Gently drop the chicken into the oil.
Deep fry until golden brown.
The color should be much darker than the 1st fry.
Drain off excess oil on a wire cooling rack.
Set aside until ready to use.
Melt duck fat and butter in a skillet over medium heat.
Once the fat and butter have completely melted, add in Hexa Salted Egg Sauce Powder.
Stir to combine well.
*It may seem that the mixture starts to split at the beginning, continue stirring. It will come together into a sauce.*
Add in some chili flakes if desired.
Continue stirring and cooking until the color has darkened slightly.
Add in the fried chicken.
Toss to fully coat the chicken.
Remove from heat and transfer onto a serving platter.
Garnish with some parsley.
Serve immediately.
Never could have done it without Hexa Salted Egg Sauce Powder...
Spot the difference? 1 is fried once, the other is double fried...
I am a flat kinda guy...
1 word. Succulent...