How to make perfect stir-fried chicken & my favourite Honey Chicken recipe

Over the years, many friends have commented that my chicken stir-fries are always juicy, flavoursome and never dry. Just like my mum’s! Growing up we had stir-fried something at least every second night and I consider my mum to be a super wok-cooker.

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Chicken Adobo

This Filipino classic is one of Mr Black’s favourite dishes, and mine as well. I absolutely adore vinegar – as a child I would drink leftover dressing straight from my salad bowl. If you love vinegar, you’ll love adobo! Best of all it’s dead simple to make, perfect for either a midweek dinner or an easy party dish.

Al Carbón @ La Lupita Pop-Up Restaurant, Canterbury

In general, I’m not into pop-ups, food trucks and other trendy things. However, I do love good food, and am always willing to try something new. So when I heard that the home of the famed Al Carbón food truck was just up the road from me in Canterbury, and that it was (occasionally) home to a pop-up restaurant called La Lupita, I was intrigued to try it.

Chicken with Pedro Ximenez sherry and vinegar

Growing up, my dad used cooking sherry in many dishes including my favourite honey soy chicken wings. Consequently I now adore the fragrance of sherry and love experimenting with using it in a variety of dishes. Pedro Ximenez is a type of grape traditionally used to make sweet, rich sherry. I recently also bought a vinegar made from the PX sherry. I absolutely love the flavour and use it whenever I can!

Mamak, Chinatown

Cheap, delicious and BYO, Mamak is my kind of place. It is deservedly popular, and arriving at 6.30pm on a Friday means an hour-long wait. Not always practical but worth it when you need a good Malaysian roti fix!

Hariri Halal Chicken, Lakemba

Working near Haldon Street in Lakemba, one is spoilt rotten for delicious lunch options. Today’s new discovery was Hariri Halal Chicken.

Da Vinci’s, Summer Hill

On Thursday nights, my mum and I have dinner together. We try to keep it local and inexpensive – the Entertainment Book vouchers come in handy! We recently realised that despite being so close to Summer Hill, we’d never been there for dinner. So we rocked on over to give Da Vinci’s a try.

Crispy smoked paprika chicken wingettes with aioli

This recipe is featured on Masterchef Food Hub

I asked for advice from many people and did a lot of internet research to find out how to make my chicken wings super crunchy. And let me tell you, there is a lot of information out there. Overall, it seems to boil down to three main aspects:

1. Removing moisture from the wings prior to cooking
2. Using some kind of baking powder in the dry rub
3. Roasting over a rack in a hot oven

So, here is my version of crispy wings, using these three key elements. I used 1.5kg wings per batch, with the tip removed and cut into two (as in my honey soy chicken wingettes).

Honey soy chicken wingettes

Here is a modified version of mut jup mun gai yik – smaller, less saucy pieces cooked in the oven make this version easier to eat, easier to cook and perfect for party food.

Mut jup mun gai yik (a.k.a. honey soy chicken wings) and a lovely riesling

These sticky wings are absolutely divine and incredibly popular with young and old alike. According to my parents, this has been my favourite food since before I could talk!