Chicken wings with green mango salad

By: Antony Suvalko, Leanne Kitchen
From: East
Serves: 4
Photographer: Leanne Kitchen

In the West we tend to favour cuts of meat that come without the perceived challenges of skin, bones and connective tissue. But these are the very elements that make wings so darned delicious! It’s such a satisfying experience, gnawing the succulent flesh off a grilled or fried wing, taking in all the lip-smacking skin, tendon and lush bits of fat. In Southeast Asia they have no such qualms about ‘lesser’ cuts, particularly in Cambodia, where we’ve eaten many a fine wing. The green mango salad is wonderful but not essential.

Ingredients

Quantity	Ingredient
60ml	fish sauce
5	garlic cloves, crushed
2 teaspoons	caster sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons	ground white pepper
8	chicken wings, wing tips trimmed
	vegetable oil, for deep-frying
	rice flour, for coating

Palm sugar sauce

Quantity	Ingredient
2 1/2 tablespoons	shaved palm sugar
1 tablespoon	light soy sauce
1 tablespoon	oyster sauce
1 tablespoon	sriracha sauce

Green mango salad

Quantity	Ingredient
1 1/2 tablespoons	shaved palm sugar
2 tablespoons	lime juice
2 tablespoons	rice vinegar
2	garlic cloves, crushed
3 teaspoons	sesame oil
3	green mangoes, flesh shredded into fine ribbons or cut into matchsticks
handful	torn thai basil leaves
handful	torn coriander leaves
2	medium red chillies, sliced
50g	roasted cashew nuts, chopped
150g	mung bean sprouts, (optional)
1	red onion, thinly sliced

Method

Combine the fish sauce, garlic, sugar and pepper in a large bowl. Add the chicken wings and, using your hands, rub the marinade all over the chicken. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight, turning the wings occasionally.
For the palm sugar sauce, combine the palm sugar with 2 1⁄2 tablespoons water in a small saucepan over low heat, and cook, stirring, until the sugar has dissolved. Add the remaining ingredients and cook, stirring, until smooth. Remove from the heat and set aside.
For the green mango salad, in a small bowl whisk together the palm sugar, lime juice, rice vinegar, garlic and sesame oil. Combine the mango in a large bowl with the herbs, chillies, cashew nuts, mung bean sprouts, if using, and the sliced onion. Set aside.
Remove the chicken from the marinade and drain well, discarding the marinade. Heat enough oil for deep-frying in a large saucepan until it reaches 180°C, or until a cube of bread turns golden in 15 seconds. Dust the chicken in the rice flour, making sure it is well coated all over. Deep-fry the chicken, in batches if necessary, for 10 minutes or until deep golden and cooked through. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towel to drain any excess oil. Serve with the palm sugar sauce for drizzling over and the green mango salad.