XO Marinated Salt & Pepper Chicken Ribs

Chicken Ribs... FRIED CHICKEN RIBS... In all it's crunch and crispiness... Juicy and tender flesh... 

I don't think I'd be the first one to say this but I have never heard of chicken ribs until I moved to Melbourne. It's odd. Though to be fair, it's not technically the ribs of the chicken. More like the wish bone to be exact. But, what's delicious about it is that it's got the texture of the thigh meat and easy to eat off of because it only has a single bone in the middle. Even more excellent when fried with salt and pepper or the duck egg yolk.

It's a dish that I've always been a fan of at low key, fuss free Chinese restaurants (especially the one at Rose Garden, ZOMG). Even though I see them sell chicken ribs and markets all the time, I actually never attempted cooking it at home until recently. No real reason in particular, just never got around to it.

I whipped up this recipe with whatever I had in the fridge and pantry. I think what really enhances a good salt and pepper dish is the fried toppings of onions, garlic and chillies. Oh, and the right amount of salt and white pepper, of course. Note: always use white pepper in Chinese cooking. I never paid much attention to the toppings previously and if I'm honest, I normally scrape it off to the side of my plate when having it at restaurants. But I realised that it actually adds so much more flavour and texture in each bite when having it together. It's so good, yum...

Anyway, this dish is seriously easy, tasty and cheap to make too. Such a winner as my sister and I couldn't have enough of it! Not messy to make because you're only frying it in a shallow pan and no splatter experienced. Hope you give this one a go.

XO Marinated Salt & Pepper Chicken Ribs

(an original recipe)

Click here to print the recipe

Ingredients:

For the chicken:

500g chicken ribs

2 tbsp XO sauce

2 cloves garlic (minced)

1 1/2 cup corn flour

Oil for frying

For the topping:

4 tbsp diced onions

1 clove garlic (minced)

1 - 2 birds eye chillies (sliced thinly) *

White pepper

Other:

Salt and white pepper

Sliced spring onions (to garnish)

* Note: May be substituted with diced capsicum

Method:

1)  Marinate the chicken ribs with the XO sauce and minced garlic for at least 3 hours or overnight in the fridge.

2) Just before cooking, coat the chicken in corn flour and set aside. Heat up the oil in a shallow pan filled to about 1 cm high. 

3) Once the oil is hot, fry the chicken in batches for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes per side. Remove and allow to cool for about 5 minutes on a wire rack.

4) While the chicken is cooling, drain the pan leaving about 1 tbsp of oil. Fry the onions, garlic and chillies for about 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add several dashes of white pepper and mix well. Set aside.

5) Place the chicken on a plate and top with fried onions, garlic and chillies. Season with salt and white pepper. Garnish with sliced spring onions. Serve immediately.