Chilli pineapple chicken pops
Ingredients
- CHILLI PINEAPPLE
- ½ red pepper, roughly chopped
- 2 red chillies, seeded and chopped
- 1 x 120g tin pineapple, drained and juice reserved
- 3 star anise
- 15ml (1 tbsp) tamarind paste
- 15ml (1 tbsp) sugar
- 5ml (1 tsp) vinegar
- CHICKEN BATTER
- 120g self-raising flour
- a pinch of salt
- 125ml (½ cup) soda water
- 100ml cold water
- 100g cornflour
- oil, for frying
Instructions
To make the chicken pops, you need to cut the tendon that is attached to the chicken bone and gently push the meat down to form a ball.
To make the chilli pineapple, place the pepper, chillies, pineapple and juice in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Cover and continue to cook for a further 10 minutes. Pour the pineapple mixture into a food processor and purée until smooth.
Pour the mixture back into a clean saucepan and add star anise, tamarind, sugar and vinegar. Simmer until the mixture has reduced and is sticky, about 10 minutes. Set aside and keep warm until needed.
For the batter, mix the flour and salt in a bowl and add soda water and water. Whisk to a smooth batter.
Put the cornflour into a shallow bowl and set aside. Line a tray with paper towel.
Heat the oil. Dust the chicken with cornflour, dip into the batter and carefully lower into the oil. Fry the chicken in batches, turning only once until cooked, about 6 minutes. Drain and keep warm until all the chicken pops are fried.
Serve the chicken pops hot with pineapple sauce alongside.
