Chicken Lollipops... for a kiddie feast!

The name says it all. Chicken shaped into lollipops. Or Chicken Cherries:)

For a first timer, these are not something I would call 'a breeze to make': infact the stage where you have to prepare the batter for the chicken and deep fry them, is the only 'breeze' part of it. Preparing the chicken wing into a lollipop takes up a little time, but once you do it 3 or 4 times, you can be a master of it and whip out by dozens in a minute, take my word!

The final product is this:) Ofcourse, feel free to play around with how you would like to marinate the lollipops and fry/grill them.

CUTTING UP A CHICKEN WING:

This is how the chicken wing looks like when you buy them.

It has three parts. The tapered end or the wing tip is going to be discarded as there is not much meat in it. The middle part has two bones in it and experienced lollipop-makers cut away the smaller bone of it and use the rest to make the lollipop, but I find that a bit difficult. So I cut away the middle part and use it for making chicken stock or toss it in a curry. The third and the thickest part is what we want.

First, cut away the tapering end of the wing. You can use a sharp knife but I find using the kitchen scissors convenient. Bend the tapering end towards the opposite side and cut through the soft cartilage (not the bone). The cartilage easily comes apart when you bend it in the opposite direction and a slight tug with your knife/scissors should do the trick.

Continue with the next joint. Find the cartilage and cut through it. As you see below.

Now you will be left with the thickest, last part which we will use to make the lollipop.

The thickest part resembles a drumstick and we will transform it into a lollipop. Hold the tip of it firmly and using a sharp knife, cut the meat surrounding the bone, bringing it down towards the broader tip. Donot use any force, the knife will do the work. All the meat from the tip should be scraped and pushed down to the other end.

 Pull the meat to the thicker end of the wing so that it is inside out.

 And that is about it. It would take approximately around 2 minutes to work each wing, but as you gain confidence you can be faster.

Once the lollipops are ready, you can proceed to cook them any way you want.

My recipe goes like this.

INGREDIENTS:

For the Marinade:
Chicken Lollipops - 6
Ginger - 1/2 inch piece, crushed fine
Garlic - 3 flakes, crushed fine
Chilly powder - 1/2 tsp
Ground White/Black Pepper - 1/4 tsp
Red Chilly Sauce - 1 tsp
Light Soy Sauce - 2 tsps
Beaten Egg - Half
Salt.

For Coating:
All-Purpose Flour - 3 tbsps
Salt - 1/2 tsp

For Deep Frying:
Any Vegetable Oil as required

METHOD:
Marinate the chicken lollipops with the ingredients listed under marinade. Please go slow with the red chilly powder, ground pepper and red chilli sauce. If you prefer them less hot and spicy, please adjust/omit these three ingredients accroding to your taste. Keep the lollipops marinated for atleast 2 hours.
Mix the all purpose flour with the salt in a flat dish.
Heat the oil for deep frying the lollipops.
When the oil is sufficiently hot, reduce it to medium.
Take each lollipop from the marinade and coat them with the flour mixture.
Deep fry them in oil, keeping the flame to the minimum to let the chicken cook well from inside. You may need to toss them once in between.
When deep, golden brown in colour, take them out into a kitchen towel.
Serve.

You can  fry the lollipops beforehand and heat them up in the oven when you need to serve them, provided it is on the same day. They go well as starters during a meal or just as a snack for a party. Especially a kiddie feast!

Lots of love and happiness:)