Thai Stuffed Chicken by Yvonne Sahnam-Chin

THAI STUFFED CHICKEN WINGS (KAI SAWT SAI TAWT)

(Recipe for 4 persons)

Ingredients

8 big chicken wings, tips and mid-joints only, washed and dried
Marinade
5 pieces coriander root, pounded
1 large shallot, pounded
2 tsp fish sauce
2 tsp light soya sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
½ tsp salt
2 tsp brandy
2 tsp ginger juice
½ tsp sugar
¼ tsp ground white pepper
¼ cup sweet potato flour
vegetable oil for deep-frying
Filling
300 g prawns
3 water chestnuts,
peel, wash and chop roughly
4 bird's eye chilli, or to taste
wash, trim, and chop finely
½ tsp salt
1 tbsp roughly chopped coriander
dash of ground white pepper

Method

To make 'chicken pockets', cut tendons around exposed tip of bones. Scrape/cut meat from each bone with a knife without damaging chicken skin. When bones are almost fully exposed, twist and remove smaller bone. Cut and remove bigger bone from joint.

Thoroughly mix chicken wings with marinade. Marinate for 6-8 hours.

To make the filling, shell and wash prawns. Dry thoroughly with paper towels. On a dry chopping board, with the side of a dry cleaver, flatten each prawn with a hard whack (or two). Place prawns in a bowl. Stir vigorously with a pair of chopsticks in one direction till sticky. This should take no more than a few minutes if prawns are dry. When prawn paste is sticky, add all other filling ingredients and mix thoroughly.

To deep-fry, fill chicken wings with prawn mixture till about 80% full. Dredge with sweet potato flour. Set aside for 5 minutes to let flour adhere well to chicken wings. Tap gently to remove any excess. Deep-fry wings in moderately hot oil over medium-low heat till just cooked and lightly brown, 4-5 minutes depending on size. Remove wings from oil. Reheat oil till just smoking. Refry wings till golden brown. Serve immediately with sweet chilli sauce on the side.