Har Cheong Kai 虾酱鸡翅

Besides KFC, Roast Spring Chicken (skin must be crispy type), my husband love to eat Har Cheong Kai. We used to order this whenever we eat at Zi Char stalls. Just love the crispiness and the aroma of this dish. Since my husband love it so much, I have decided to "pamper" him with this dish. I am not a great chef to experiment this dish therefore I seek the help of the food bloggers again :) This time round I have found 2 ways of cooking this dish. One way is from The Little Teochew(http://www.thelittleteochew.com/2009/05/
shrimp-paste-chicken-har-cheong-kai.html) and the other is from Blogger's Recipe (http://bloggersrecipe.
blogspot.com/2007/11/har-cheong-kai.html). I have decided to try the recipe from The Little Teochew as I still have a big chunk of belachan at home and I don't want to buy fine shrimp sauce just for cooking this dish. My fridge is already full of all types of sauces and my cabinets are also full of cooking stuff, no more space for sauces which I seldom use.

This is the 2nd time I have tried cooking this dish. The 1st time turn out pretty good as in the taste and aroma is there. But as I did not deep fried it (I oven baked it cos as you know I hate the messiness), my husband says not so good as he prefers the crispy type. Therefore this time round since I wanted to pamper him I have decided to deep fry the wings. But I slightly tweaked the recipe by not coating it with flour. Anyway I gave my husband a choice with or without flour and he chose without. Ok the result is crispier than the 1st time but still not as crispy as with flour coated. But my husband says ok so pass this time. I have made another batch which I have oven baked it. This is for me as I want a healthier choice. Turn out to be crispier than the 1st time as I have used the broiler to make the skin browner and crispier. Of cos taste wise the deep fried ones are more yummy.

It is actually a simple dish so if you like to eat Har Cheong Kai why not try doing it yourself.

The deep fried ones

Ingredients:
1) 15 Chicken wings (you can use whole chicken or drumlets too)
2) A small piece of belachan slightly toasted
3) 2 piece of Nam Yee (red fermented bean curd, 南乳. Different brands will differ in the saltiness so you can add more or less)
4) Dashes of fish sauce
5) Pepper
6) Shaoxing wine
7) Sesame seed oil

Steps:
1) Wash the wings and pat dry.
2) Put all the wings in a ziploc bag.
3) Crush the belachan and Nam Yee in a bowl. Than add in the other seasonings. You can add in sugar if you find the seasonings too salty. If it is too dry add in some of the  reddishNam yee liquid.
4) Pour all the seasonings into the ziploc bag and give it a good shake to mix well.
5) Leave it in the fridge over night.
6) Use paper towels to pat dry the wings before deep frying.
7) Heat oil till medium hot and deep fry till it turns brown.

The oven baked ones

(If you use the oven. preheat it to 200 degrees C. Brush the wings with olive oil than put them into the oven. Baked it for around 20 minutes than turn on the broiler or grill function and let the skin turn brown. Must watch carefully if not it will get burnt easily)