Chicken Lollipop

The votes are in! The "Bear"-ffalo Chicken Lollipops have a slight lead over the "Colt"-en Shrimp Fritters. However, due to popular request, it seems like I'll be going into overtime and fixing both of these delicious Super Bowl party treats. Okay, first to kick off is the Chicken Lollipop recipe. Remember when I made the Tea Eggs with Chicken Wings ? I only used the wing part and the drumettes I saved are perfect for this recipe. Anyway, someone was making fun of chinese cheese the other day and dared me to use some of that stinky yogurty chinese cheese to fry some chicken :P So, I did! I used the chinese red cheese, aka "nan roo" in mandarin, which means "fermented red beancurd". Yes, the westerners call it chinese cheese !!

"Chinese cheese" comes in different varieties. In the Cantonese Cuisine, the fermented red beancurd is used in braised pork recipes. My grandmother, who is of Hakka descent, used to marinate pork bellies with the fermented beancurd in a rich wine sauce to prepare her "wood ear fungi" pork recipe. I remember once or twice when I sneakily finished half a plate of the deep-fried pork before it even got braised, haha! In Taiwanese cuisine, the fermented white beancurd is commonly used in vegetable stir-fries. When the weather is cold, I occasionally like to curl up with a bowl of hot congee with some deep fried salted fish, a preserved century egg, and of course, a cube of the spicy version of the fermented white beancurd. A little nutritional fact i found out - fermented beancurd works just as well as yogurt or other forms of probiotic supplements to promote growth of friendly bacteria in the intestine.

So here it is, my Chicken Lollipops recipe with fermented red beancurd and a final touch of panko breading. I am sure this classic appetizer with a twist will be a welcomed guest to any party.


Chicken Lollipops Recipe

Ingredients :
5 chicken drumettes
1 tsp minced ginger
1 cube fermented red beancurd, mashed ( optional, all-purpose cajun seasoning is great too )
1 egg white
1 egg yolk
shaoxing wine ( OR other chinese cooking wine )
ground black pepper
salt and sugar to taste
cornflour
panko breadcrumbs

Method :

1) With a knife, pull and scrape the meat off the top to the bottom of the chicken drumette.
2) Marinate the chicken with minced ginger, mashed fermented red beancurd, egg white, black pepper, salt and sugar.
3) Set the chicken in the refrigerator and let it marinate for about 10 minutes.
4) Dip the chicken drumettes into the cornflour, then dip them into the egg yolk wash, and continue the same with the breadcrumbs.
( TIP : Quick chill in the freezer while the oil is heating up on the frying wok, to prevent breadcrumbs from falling off into the oil while frying )
5) Deep fry the chicken drumettes on medium-high heat until golden brown.