Chicken Family friendly

Thai chicken wings with sweet chilli sauce

Name: Thai chicken wings with sweet chilli sauce (gai tod hat yai) recipe
Ingredients: 800g chicken wing nibbles; 1l vegetable oil; 150g rice flour; 5 large garlic cloves; 10 coriander stems, roughly chopped; 20.00 ml whole white peppercorns; 50.00 ml raw sugar; 3 tsp ground turmeric; 60ml soy sauce; 30.00 ml fish sauce; 6 garlic cloves; 2 long red chillies, deseeded; 200g raw sugar; 180ml white vinegar; 3 tsp tapioca starch; 3 red Asian shallots (from Asian grocers); 3 tsp plain flour; 4 garlic cloves

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Gai tod hat yai (Fried Thai chicken wings with sweet chilli sauce)

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by delicious. team

delicious. team

Jun 26, 2024

"The marinade (gai tod hat yai) is named after the city of Hat Yai, in southern Thailand. The recipe was such a hit that it became practically the only chicken marinade in all of Thailand." – Orathay Souksisavanh.

You'll need to start this recipe at least two hours ahead.

This recipe is an edited extract from Thai Home Cooking by Orathay Souksisavanh, published by Murdoch Books, RRP $49.99. Available in stores nationally.

800g chicken wing nibbles
4 cups (1L) vegetable oil, for deep-frying
150g rice flour

Marinade

5 large garlic cloves
10 coriander stems, roughly chopped
1 tbs whole white peppercorns
2 1/2 tbs raw sugar
3 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 cup (60ml) soy sauce
1 1/2 tbs fish sauce

Sweet chilli sauce

6 garlic cloves
2 long red chillies, deseeded
200g raw sugar
3/4 cup (180ml) white vinegar
3 tsp tapioca starch

Topping

3 red Asian shallots (from Asian grocers)
3 tsp plain flour
4 garlic cloves

Method

1.

Prepare the marinade. Using a mortar and pestle, pound the garlic, coriander stems and peppercorns to form a paste. Add the sugar, turmeric, soy sauce, fish sauce and 50ml water. Use a stick blender to process it all together. (If you do not have a mortar and pestle, put everything in a food processor, but crush the peppercorns beforehand.) Pour marinade over chicken and combine. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, ideally overnight.
2.

Make the sweet chilli sauce. Using a mortar and pestle, pound the garlic and chillies, or finely chop with a knife. Add sugar, vinegar and 1 tsp fine salt to a saucepan over high heat. Bring to the boil. Dissolve the starch in 1/4 cup (60ml) water, then pour mixture into pan. Stir and remove from the heat as soon as the sauce thickens. Add the garlic and chilli. Allow to cool before pouring into a sterilised jar.
3.

Prepare the topping. Slice shallots, coat them with the flour and remove the excess by shaking them in a sieve. Slice the garlic.
4.

Heat the frying oil to 180°C in a large saucepan (a cube of bread will turn golden in 60 seconds when the oil is hot enough). Fry the garlic slices, using a skimmer to remove them as soon as they are golden. Then fry the shallots until golden, and remove.
5.

Pour the rice flour into a dish. Flour the chicken wings on both sides, then fry in the oil at 180°C until they are nicely golden, around 8 minutes.
6.

Sprinkle the chicken with the fried garlic and shallots. Serve with the sweet chilli sauce. You can add chopped coriander leaves to the sauce, if desired.