Crispy Curry Fried Chicken Wings 香脆咖喱粉炸鸡翼 Mom's Recipe #3

Picking up from where I last stopped in my Mom's Recipes collection, here's one of my big-time favorite - mom's fried chicken! This is one that I have fallen in love forever, probably as soon as I had started learning on how to nibble on chicken bones safely. A recipe that has survived through the decades of me growing up, it was the guaranteed center of attention in each and every birthday party that dad and mom had hosted for my brother and I when we were kiddos still.

A must-have on each of those occasions and a regular on other days a home, there is just nothing not to love about these wings.

Over the years, the recipe has been modified, detailed and perfected time and again. Mom has always been one who cooks by feel, so were all the changes that she would be making from time to time, all of which she obviously deemed as necessary (when I would have thought that it is already as perfect as it can get!). And as of the last time I checked with her just a couple of months back - this is her latest version of the recipe. A treasure now mine, it is now quickly becoming a favorite of ours here at home too.

A good accompaniment to go with rice, noodles or just a snack on its own, it makes a great dish to be presented on the dining table and even a greater candidate for a party food!

The making is relatively easy and yet the taste is never compromised. Deep frying done right with the right temperature and the right heat locks in the moist real well and marinating it well ahead of time - that's where all the flavors really do come from. So what you get in the end are pieces of fried chicken wings that are crunchy on the outside and perfectly juicy and flavorful on the inside.

And yes... they're finger lickin' good!

Crispy Curry Fried Chicken Wings 香脆咖喱粉炸鸡翼
Makes 1/2 a dozen chicken wings
6 chicken wings (~800g in weight)
1 tbsp curry powder
1/3 tsp salt
1 tbsp corn starch
1 tbsp tapioca flour (or tapioca starch)
1 egg, beaten
enough cooking oil for deep frying

1. Trim the chicken wings off any excess fat and rinse clean. Cut each wings into two sections - the wingettes and the drumettes. Pat dry with paper towels and set aside.

2. Place the sectioned wings into a mixing bowl. Add in the curry powder, beaten egg, salt, corn starch and tapioca starch.

3. Mix thoroughly. Cover the bowl with a cling wrap and leave to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours. The longer it is left to marinade, the better the flavor will be. I usually start the marination early in the day and leave them to marinate until cooking time in the evening.
4. Heat up enough cooking oil in the wok on high. Make sure that the oil is well heated prior to deep frying. As usual, I tested it with a wooden chopstick. A stream of mini bubbles seen indicates that they are ready. Give it another minute or two otherwise. Turn the heat down to medium.
5. Slowly and carefully lower the wing sections (one at a time) into the hot oil. Let deep fry undisturbed, turning then once about every 5-10 minutes. Fry until they look golden brown on the outside (and a cut right through to the bone reveals that the wing is no longer pink inside). I would say that it generally takes about 30 minutes before the bubbling ceases (indicating readiness). And drumettes usually take longer compared to the wingettes.

6. Remove the wings, shake off excess oil and let rest on a sieve or a cooling rack for a couple of minutes to lightly air it crisp and dry.

7. Transfer onto a serving plate and serve hot!