Sticky Lemongrass Soy Chicken Bites

Sticky Lemongrass Soy Chicken Bites

      These tasty morsels can be served as an 

        appetizer or part of an easy meal with rice 

        or fried rice and lots of Asian greens.                                     

        Marinating can be done the night 

        before needed. The original recipe was in 

        Feast Magazine but it used 400 ml of Fish 

        Sauce. I have reduced and altered to part 

        substitute Low Salt soy sauce.  I hope you 

        enjoy my version – please alter quantities 

        to suit your preference.

  Ingredients  

      1 kg chicken nibblets – various names - sold as chicken wings with wing tip removed   – yields approx 24

      (Side-note:  If you are planning on later making a soup etc, buy 1 ½ kg of the whole wings and remove  tips to reserve to add in to a soup or for a homemade stock).

      PS I have tried recipe with drumsticks, but does not seem as juicy – though could be worth trying.

     Ingredients for My Marinade

   100 ml Fish Sauce

   100 ml Low Salt Soy Sauce –  Low Salt version is important otherwise this will be way too salty

   200 gram castor sugar

   2 stalks lemongrass – white section only - finely sliced.  Peel away the rough tough green outer layers.

   3 cloves garlic – crushed

   ½ - 1 teaspoon ground white pepper.  White pepper has more oomph – this gives it spicy kick

   ½  teaspoon chilli flakes –  (amount not very hot)  Omit if you are not a chilli fan. Or increase if you are a fan.

  Method

  Use a large plastic freezer bag and mix all the marinade ingredients in the bag.

  Place the plastic bag into a rectangular flat baking style dish – hold opening up and add the chicken pieces into the bag.

  Moosh the chicken and squish the marinade into all the chicken pieces.

  Allow the bag to flatten out in the tray, and tie up the top of the bag (I use a peg). 

  Chill in the fridge overnight (min 4 hours) and turn and moosh around as often as you open fridge.

  When ready to cook  - Preheat oven 200 Celsius Fan forced    (need to allow warming up time).

  Prepare 2 medium – large oven trays.  Trays need to have a lip to hold any dripped marinade / fat, but not too deep a tray or they won’t brown.  A tray about 2 cm deep is fine.

  Will need at least two layers of foil in each tray

  And also an oiled rack for each tray to support the chicken pieces. I don’t like the chicken pieces sitting in the rendered chicken fat.  I prefer to let the fat drain off by using the rack.

  Remove chicken pieces from the plastic bag and the marinade mix.

  Place marinated chicken pieces on rack.  

  Reserve the unused marinade in a small saucepan.  (will be needed later).

  Allow pieces to sit on rack and drop some of marinade onto first layer of foil   (say 2 - 3 minutes)

You can either –

  Lift the chicken rack off the tray, remove this oozed layer of foil and return chicken rack to sit above clean foil in tray.   OR

  mop up (paper towel etc) and remove some of the excess that has dripped onto the foil layer

Because of high cooking temp – this marinade would have ugh - smoked/ burnt)

– this step helps reduce burning smell within oven due to marinade sugar content

Place prepared trays of marinated chicken pieces in oven

While the chicken pieces are baking in the oven:

Boil marinade in saucepan 5 mins.  (If it goes too too thick add a dash of water and stir well)

Then gently simmer to thicken slightly so some can be used for basting and rest as a sauce.

Pour the basting portion (about 1/4 - 1/3 cup) into a cup / dish for basting.

The remaining boiled marinade can be used as an accompanying sauce.         

SEE note below

Baste chicken pieces with left over marinade every ten minutes during the cooking process.

This helps glossy end result. Keep an eye on them so they don’t char severely.  Maybe turn the trays.

Bake 35 – 40 minutes.  Depends on your oven.

Options

Serve with steamed rice or fried rice and also a

-        Selection of chopped tomato and cucumber – refreshing

-        Sprinkle of chopped coriander

-        Lots of steamed mixed Asian greens

TIPS / HINTS

Because the marinade has been in contact with raw chicken, it is important to boil the marinade for 5 minutes to ensure it is safe to use as a sauce. 

I specify separating the basting portion from the sauce portion as your basting brush will be in contact with semi-raw chicken when you are basting and by dunking your brush back into your basting portion you could re-introduce raw chicken specks to your baste and risk contamination.

Keeping the sauce separate ensures it has been thoroughly cooked and will be safe to use as a sauce.

                              Enjoy -   Colleen