Preparation time
overnight
Cooking time
over 2 hours
Serves
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
For the chicken wings
- 1 litre/1¾ pint buttermilk
- 50g/1¾oz salt
- 1kg/2lb 4oz chicken wings, jointed
- 125g/4½oz rice flour
- 125g/4½oz potato flour
- 125g/4½oz plain flour
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- vegetable oil, for deep-frying
For the sticky chilli sauce
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 red bird’s-eye chilli, finely chopped
- 75g/2½oz palm sugar
- 2 tbsp tamarind paste
For the Thai pickled watermelon salad
- 600g/1lb 5oz watermelon, cut into 1cm/½in cubes
- 1 tbsp palm sugar
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 lime, juice only
- ½ garlic clove, crushed
- ½ Thai red chilli
- handful fresh coriander leaves
- handful fresh mint leaves
- handful roasted peanuts
For the garnish
- 1 tsp finely chopped fresh coriander leaves
- ½ tsp finely chopped fresh Thai basil leaves
- 1 tsp finely chopped fresh mint leaves
- 1 tsp crispy garlic
- 1 tsp crispy shallots
- 1 tsp pickled red chillies
- 1 tsp finely chopped fresh coriander leaves
- ½ tsp finely chopped fresh Thai basil leaves
- 1 tsp finely chopped fresh mint leaves
- 1 tsp crispy garlic
- 1 tsp crispy shallots
- 1 tsp pickled red chillies
Method
For the chicken wings, in a large bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and all but 1 tsp of the salt. Add the chicken and stir well. Cover and marinate in the fridge for 24 hours.
Mix together the flours, black pepper and the remaining salt in a large bowl. Thoroughly coat the chicken in the seasoned flour ready for frying.
Heat a deep-fat fryer to 150C. (CAUTION: hot oil can be dangerous. Do not leave unattended.). Fry the wings in batches for 7 minutes. Place on kitchen paper and set aside to cool slightly. Cover and place in the fridge for 3 hours, until completely chilled.
For the salad, put the watermelon in a large bowl, cover and chill in the fridge for 3 hours.
Meanwhile, gently simmer all the sticky chilli sauce ingredients with 1 tablespoon water in a saucepan over a low heat for 2 minutes. Set aside to cool.
For the salad dressing, put the palm sugar, fish sauce, lime juice, garlic and Thai red chilli together in a food processor and blend until smooth. Mix with the cold watermelon in a very cold bowl, then fold in the herbs and peanuts.
Heat the deep-fat fryer to 180C. (CAUTION: hot oil can be dangerous. Do not leave unattended.). Fry the wings again until golden brown and crispy. Drain on kitchen paper and set aside to cool slightly. Coat the wings in the sticky chilli sauce.
Mix together all the garnish ingredients. Divide the chicken wings between four to six plates and serve with the salad, garnished with the herb and spice mixture.