Plum Sauce Chicken Wing Baked in a Flash

By Carol Selva Rajah, Malaysian Cooking: A Master Cook Reveals Her Best Recipes

This is an interactive recipe where you can have fun. If some of the sauces are unavailable, clean out your refrigerator and create your own sensual combination by adding a cocktail of sauces for fragrance and taste. The wings make a great finger food when served with a delicate dipping sauce. For a really fragrant alternative, tie strips of pandanus leaf around the chicken wings; the leaf will brown but the flavour remains.

makes: 20
preparation time: 20 mins
cooking time: 25 mins

20 chicken wings, mid-portion only
125 g (1 cup) rice flour or crushed corn flakes
1 pandanus leaf, torn lengthwise into long strips (optional)
Plum Sauce Marinade
2 tablespoons bottled sweet chilli sauce
4 tablespoons plum sauce
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper

Tangy Lime Ginger Dip
Fresh juice of 2 limes
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon Sambal Oelek Chilli Paste or other sweet chilli paste
2 teaspoons ginger juice (pressed from grated fresh ginger)

Combine the Plum Sauce Marinade ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Add the chicken wings and mix until well coated. Allow to marinate for at least 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 170°C (340°F).

Roll the marinated wings in the rice flour or corn flakes to coat on all sides, shaking off the excess flour or flakes. Tie a pandanus leaf strip around each coated wing (if using). Place the chicken wings on a large greased baking pan and bake in the oven for 15 minutes, then turn over and bake for another 10 minutes until done. If preferred, grill the chicken wings on a preheated pan grill or under a broiler for 5–10 minutes on each side, checking often to make sure the chicken does not burn.

Combine the Tangy Lime Ginger Dip ingredients in a serving bowl and mix well. Arrange the baked chicken wings on a serving platter and serve with the dip on the side.

Reprinted with the express permission of Tuttle Publishing, a member of the Periplus Publishing Group.