Chicken lollipops, Asian style

Just like any fried chicken dish, there are countless marinades that you can use to cook and garnish your chicken lollipops. Coat with cornmeal for a Southern-style fried chicken appetizer. Or marinate in Asian sauces and spices for a truly tantalizing experience. And, for incomparable texture, sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds just before serving.

But it really all starts with five-spice powder. Although what the five spices are can vary, the same basic principle remains — it is a mixture of piquant (I so hate to use the word pungent when describing something so good), sweet, sour, salty and a shade bitter. Five-spice powder can be bought in packets in most supermarkets but if you like to try making your own, just place some star anise (sanque), fennel seeds, Sichuan pepper, cloves and cinnamon in a mortar and grind until fine.

Once you have your five-spice powder, you’re ready to prepare these delicious Asian-style chicken lollipops.

Serves four to five.

Ingredients:

20 chicken lollipops
1 tsp. of five-spice powder
3 to 4 tbsps. of light soy sauce
3 to 4 tbsps. of rice wine
1 to 2 tbsps. of oyster sauce
a pinch of chili flakes
1/2 c. of corn or tapioca starch
about 2 c. of cooking oil for deep frying

To finish the dish:

2 heaping tbsps. of hoisin sauce
2 tbsps. of toasted sesame seeds

Place the chicken lollipops in a shallow bowl. Add the five-spice powder, soy sauce, rice wine, oyster sauce and chili flakes. Mix well. Cover and keep in the fridge for a couple of hours.

Heat the cooking oil in a wok or frying pan.

Add the starch to the chicken, toss to coat each piece well. Fry in hot oil, in batches, until golden. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels.

When all the chicken lollipops have been fried, take a clean frying pan and pour in the hoisin sauce. Heat gently, spreading the sauce over the entire bottom of the pan. Add the cooked chicken lollipops. Sprinkle the toasted sesame seeds over them. Toss to coat each chicken piece with hoisin sauce and sesame seeds. When all of the sauce has been absorbed, transfer the chicken lollipops to a serving plate and serve at once.