Har Cheong Kai

I went on a har cheong kai frenzy a few months back...it was an entire week of trying to make the perfect har cheong kai. End of story - they did not turn out as nice as those you get in the restaurants, but its still worth a try, just for some variety in your chicken :) Its actually quite easy, chucking everything together to marinate. It only gets abit messy with the deep frying.

5tbs chopped ginger
3.5 Chinese Rose wine (or cooking wine)
2tbs shrimp sauce
1tbs corn starch
1tbs sugar or honey
Half tbs sesame oil
Pinch of white pepper
150gm Tapioca flour

1. Pound ginger to extract 2 tbs of juice. Stir well with wine, shrimp paste, cornstarch, sugar, pepper and sesame oil.

2. Marinate chicken, refrigerate for 4-6 hours.

3. Heat oil - medium high heat. Roll chicken pieces in tapioca flour, ensure they are evenly coated.

4. Fry chicken for 5-6 minutes - pale brown. Drain.

5. Reheat oil until very hot, and fry chicken again for 1-2 minutes, until golden brown.