Thai Style Mango Chicken 泰式芒果鸡

Growing up in Kuantan, my family would have a favorite restaurant that we would go on all or maybe even no occasions, and there I would always have my few favorites. This thai style mango chicken is one of them. Crispy in nature, it is served with thai sweet chili sauce enriched with some simple spices, topped off with a heap of mango salad. Simple it may seem, but each bite is so filled with different flavors it is simply hard not to love it. What used to be named Restaurant 88, Seri Pantai Seafood Restaurant is still the place to go should I ever recommend this to anyone in town. 

Thai Style Mango Chicken 泰式芒果鸡
Serves 3-4
4 chicken thighs, deboned and fat removed leaving skin on
2 tsps light soy sauce
2 tsps sesame oil
dash of white pepper powder

Batter (sifted together to mix well)
6 heaped tbsps all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt 1 egg, beaten lightly
Oil for deep frying

Mango salad (mixed well together)
1 medium green mango, finely shredded
1 medium red onion, finely shredded
2 birds eye chilies, finely chopped

Sweet chili sauce
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 shallot, minced
1 tbsp finely chopped lemon grass
1 tbsp lemon juice
8 tbsps thai sweet chili sauce
~1 tsp of cooking oil

1. Pat dry the cleaned chicken thighs with paper towels. Marinate them thoroughly with soy sauce, sesame oil and white pepper powder, rubbing in under skin and in between foldings. Leave refrigerated for as long as possible until cooking time.
2. In a saucepan, heat up a little oil and add in the minced garlic and shallot. Once fragrant, bring in the chopped lemongrass and mix well. Stir in the lemon juice and the thai sweet chili sauce next and mix everything well. Once heated up, remove from heat and reserve them for later use.
3. Heat up enough oil in the wok. Combine the frying batter in a deep dish, and prepare the beaten egg in a separate bowl next to the batter. Dip the marinated chicken thigh first in the egg, then transfer it to the batter coating evenly, shaking off excess flour.
4. Gently lower the the battered chicken into the hot oil, one at a time, and let fry undisturbed.
5. Once the chicken thighs have turned golden brown, remove them from the work and rest them on a cooling rack for 8-9 minutes. Return them into the hot oil, frying them the second time for a crispier crust. The second round of frying will only take about a minute or two.
6. Drain the oil, and again leave the chicken thighs to cool down on the rack (cutting them while they are hot from the wok will break the crust easily). When ready, slice the chicken into strips.

7. Spoon the sweet chili sauce over the sliced chicken.

8. Finish with topping it with the mango salad.