When my mother came to visit last spring, she reminded me of a dish she used to serve us when we were children. This dish now features on the Asap menu and is a sell-out every day. If you would prefer chicken breast to chicken legs, use chicken supremes and flatten the breast into thin escalopes.

INGREDIENTS

• 4 chicken legs (deboned)
• 2 cups vegetable cooking oil for deep frying

Marinade

• 1 tablespoonful light soy sauce
• 1 teaspoonful ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoonful cornstarch
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 dessertspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
• 1 dessertspoon dark soy sauce
• 6 oz water
• 1 tablespoonful chopped coriander leaves

METHOD

Remove the skin from the chicken legs and cut into 2 inch chunks. Marinade the chicken with ground black pepper, soy sauce and dust with cornflour.

Heat vegetable cooking oil in deep saucepan or wok to smoking point and deep fry the chicken pieces a few pieces at a time until crispy. When it is cooked and crispy, remove from the oil and drain on kitchen paper. Continue to fry remaining pieces of chicken.

In a separate saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable cooking oil and fry chopped garlic until they start to take on some colour. Add remaining ingredients and bring to the boil. Add fried chicken pieces and allow the sauce to thicken as the cornflour from the chicken integrates into the sauce.

Serve with chopped coriander leaves.

Serves: 4