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To garnish

Nutrition: per serving

  • kcal391
  • fat19g
  • saturates5g
  • carbs26g
  • sugars25g
  • fibre0g
  • protein28g
  • salt3.2g
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Method

  • step 1

    Put the sugar in a medium sauté pan with enough water to make it go sludgy. Place on a low heat and bring to the boil, then cook until you have a dark amber caramel (see tip, below).

  • step 2

    At arms length, add the other ingredients, except for the chicken and garnish, and bring to a simmer – take care as it will spit. Once it has calmed down a little and you have a thick sauce, stir in the wings until well coated. Pour over 100ml water and simmer on a medium heat for about 30 mins, stirring every now and then until the sauce is a thicker consistency – add a splash more water if needed.

  • step 3

    Turn down the heat and continue to cook, covered, for a further 15 mins, stirring occasionally, until the wings are lacquered and tender and the sauce is very thick. Turn off the heat and quickly stir through half the spring onion, ginger and chilli. Tip the wings and sauce onto a platter. Scatter with the remaining garnish and coriander, and serve with extra lime and rice.

RECIPE TIPS
BE BRAVE WITH CARAMEL

If you don’t take your caramel far enough (dark enough), you’ll have over-sweet, sugary chicken wings. as the caramel cooks and darkens, it becomes richer and less sweet in flavour, with a slight bitter note – that’s the key to this dish. 

USING CARAMEL IN SAVOURY DISHES

Using caramel in savoury dishes is normal in Asian cooking. The caramelisation adds a great depth of flavour and the sweetness helps to balance out the sour, plus it also beautifully lacquers anything you cook in it. Chunks of pork belly or ribs are also delicious prepared like this

Recipe from Good Food magazine, November 2013

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Comments, questions and tips (4)

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Overall rating

A star rating of 5 out of 5.8 ratings

coombs2004

A star rating of 5 out of 5.

Delicious!!! Just one point....caramel needs a high heat. A low heat just crystallises the sugar I discovered, but add a touch more water and turning up the heat sorts this out. Now a family favourite.

kt_nizette

If you want to go gluten free on this one, we use cabbage leaves to serve on. They also make a good wrap alternative too.

emilymcgovern avatar

emilymcgovern

I contest the 'easy' rating as I found making the caramel really quite difficult. My first batch went completely wrong and attempt two was almost a write off but I read somewhere else that adding lemon juice stops it from crystallising and it saved the day. I think it would have been helpful to…

badzilla avatar

badzilla

The magazine over-emphasises the importance of cooking the caramel far enough - since the chicken needs plenty of cooking anyway, there is ample opportunity for the caramel to become black and sticky. For full review and photo, please see my blog…

foodie200

I made this last night and although it tasted fantastic, my sauce was thin and watery, not sticky at all. Can someone tell me where I went wrong.

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