Carabao Wings with Coriander and Cucumber Salad

I've been cooking this dish for my staff for quite some time now because its fast (chicken wings tend to cook faster)and at the same time, its addictive! I created the recipe after tinkering with the tamarind flavor (there was a time when i was indeed obsessed with the tamarind taste and i often experimented where it would work best) then I figured out, why not have a twist on the classic Buffalo Wings? There i named it Carabao Wings. haha!

The recipe is kinda laborious but everything can be done withing under 2 hours.

1 1/2 k of chicken wings, washed and drain thoroughly.
2 packs crispy fry breading mix, placed inside a 1.5 gallon empty ice cream container, or any other plastic container with lid for coating the chicken, mix in a cup of flour, since the breading mix is kinda salty for my taste.

The Salad: Slice cold cucumbers lengthwise with a small knife, making sure to cut until where the seeds are. do this slices 1 centimeter apart throughout the girth of the cucumber, then start shaving off slivers of the cucumber lengthwise with the use of a potato peeler. the dressing is basically mixing 2 cloves of finely chopped garlic, 1 tbsp of honey, juice of half a lemon, 1 tbsp vinegar, salt and pepper, and 1 tsp of chopped coriander leaves, in a small lid jar. shake well and dress the cucumber with the dressing. let cool in the fridge.

In a Blender:

2 peeled garlic bulbs (yes two whole bulbs)
1 inch of ginger, rough chop
2 stalks of lemon grass bottoms, rough chop
1 200g tetra pack of tomato sauce
1 tbsp soysauce
1 tbsp vinegar
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 coriander roots including an inch of the stalks (save the leaves for later)
1 star anise
1 tbsp salt, half pepper
3 hot chili peppers
rind of half a lemon
juice of half a lemon (save the other half for later)
4 tbsp of sour tamarind paste (or you could boil those big wrapped old school sampalok from the fruit stands with a cup of water and strain, while pressing with a spatula to get pulp)

Blitz until smooth in consistency.

in a container with lid, place chicken and spice mixture and stir. place on medium heat and when it starts to steam, change to low fire, stir carefully and occasionally so the chicken wont break. the goal here is to infuse the chicken with the flavors of the marinade, and cook it just enough. you know theyre done when the sauce doubled in amount because of the chicken juices oozing out. remove the chicken to drain and save the liquid for the sauce...

when the chicken is cool, place a couple inside the container with the breading mix and shake until each wing is coated, pan fry till golden brown. drain well with kitchen towel so they would remain crispy. set aside.

going back to the liquid, turn the heat to high and stirring constantly, add 2 tbsp of honey, and 1 tbsp of tabasco or any hot sauce, stir until reduced and thick. let cool.

Assembly:

place the fried chicken wing with the Sauce mixture and stir carefully until every wing is coated, serve over the Coriander and Cucumber Salad, and garnish with a sprinkling of Coriander leaves... Serve Immediately. your goal is to have your wings saucy on the first bite, crunchy on the next and juicy meat on the last...

serves 10 people. or a lot of 5 gluttons. lols!