Spicy chicken wings à la 'Legian indah'

Ingredients for 2 servings:

• 1 small red chili pepper(s)
• 2 garlic cloves, fresh
• 1 kaffir lime leaf
• 400 g water
• 2 tbsp white sugar
• 6 g instant chicken broth
• 3 tbsp apricot jam
• 2 tbsp tamarind paste
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp, leveled tapioca flour
• 2 tbsp rice wine, Chinese (Arak Masak)
• 1 small carrot(s)
• 2 m.-large tomato(s), fully ripe
• 1 Pepper, long, red
• 1 spring onion(s)
• 1 tbsp celery leaves, fresh or frozen
• 40 g cashew nuts, roasted with honey
• 1 pinch(s) five-spice powder, Chinese
• n. B. Fruits, cut into pieces
• n. B. flowers and leaves
• n. B. Cucumber(s), see my recipe spicy cucumber pieces à la Hong Kong
• e.g. Dill, fresh
• 10 chicken wings, spicy, frozen
• 1 liter frying oil, for the chicken wings
• 3 tbsp olive oil, green, for the vegetables

Instructions

Working time approx. 20 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 50 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 10 minutes

Sweet and sour, very tasty chicken wings à la ‘Beautiful Legian’, original title: Sayap Ayam asam manis ala ‘Legian indah’, recipe from Bali, Indonesia

For the sauce and for marinating the chicken wings, thaw the spicy chicken wings. Wash the chili, deseed it, and slice it crosswise into thin strips. Trim both ends of the garlic cloves and squeeze the juice. Roll the kaffir lime leaf lengthwise and slice it crosswise into thin strands. Dilute the apricot jam and tamarind juice with a little of the water. Dissolve the tapioca flour in the rice wine and set aside. Now add all the sauce ingredients, except the tapioca and rice wine mixture, and the chicken wings to a sufficiently large pot. Mix well and simmer with the lid on for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then let the sauce cool slightly, strain it, and pat the chicken wings dry. Meanwhile, wash the carrot, trim both ends, peel, and slice crosswise into approximately 2 mm thick slices. Peel and deseed the tomatoes. Cut lengthwise into 8 pieces. Wash and deseed the bell peppers, then cut diagonally into approximately 5 mm wide strips. Remove the wilted leaves and roots from the spring onions, wash the rest, and cut the white or white-green part diagonally into approximately 8 mm wide strips. Cut the green part crosswise into approximately 1 cm wide rings. Use only about 20 g of this. Wash the fresh celery leaves and roughly chop them. Weigh the cashew nuts. Prepare the five-spice powder. Heat the frying oil in a wok to approximately 200 degrees Celsius. Meanwhile, heat the 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a sufficiently large pan. Add the vegetable ingredients and stir-fry for 4 minutes. Add the spices and stir-fry for another minute. Deglaze the vegetables with 4 tablespoons of the sauce and remove from the heat. Arrange the vegetables on serving plates. Brown the chicken wings in the hot frying oil for 1 minute and place them on top of the vegetables. Blend the sauce with the tapioca flour and rice wine mixture, bring to a boil briefly, and drizzle over the chicken wings. Garnish the dish and serve immediately. In Legian, I ordered “nasi putih” (white rice) with it. Note: Stir-frying is a term used in Chinese cuisine. The ingredients are stirred around the wok, mostly on the sides, over high heat, and thus roasted. Then, the water is deglazed and served immediately. Legian, a sleepy fishing village many years ago, is located north of Kuta, and its hotels often have spacious parks. The cuisine there is more imaginative than in Denpasar and Kuta, offering international dishes as well as delicious local specialties.