Indo-Chinese Chicken Lollipop Drumsticks
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A famous appetizer in Hakka cuisine, you’ll see why these Indo-Chinese Chicken Lollipop Drumsticks are coined the term “Drums of Heaven!” Crispy fried drumsticks slathered in a spicy sauce, every bite is meaty, juicy and so satisfying! You won’t be able to keep your hands off of them!
The holidays are upon us and you might be looking for some special appetizers to serve your loved ones. These Indo-Chinese Chicken Lollipop Drumsticks truly are Drums of Heaven, and they’re going to be the star of the show!
We’ve got crunchy fried drumsticks that’s bursting with flavour from an Indo-Chinese marinade. You’ll learn how to cut your chicken legs into chicken lollipops, how to make the marinade, and how to fry the chicken drumsticks. We’ll also make a quick and easy sauce where you’ll toss the Indo-Chinese Chicken Lollipops to achieve mouthwatering drums of heaven!
If you’re subscribed to my YouTube channel, then you know the month of November has focused on delicious fried snacks! We’ve explored Crispy Aloo Tikki Chaat, McDonald’s India McAloo Tikki Burger, Buffalo Chicken Nachos with Popcorn Chicken and Crispy Paneer Pakora. My free guide, Make Cooking Fun!!, goes into detail about how having a theme can spark your creativity in the kitchen and really give you a push! I love Indo-Chinese cooking and Drums of Heaven is a dish that I’ve never actually tried in India before (raised a vegetarian and when I did eat meat butter chicken and chicken tikka were my go-tos!), but I’ve seen a lot of online and they totally looked delicious. After lots of drooling at my screen, it was finally time to make these - this fried snacks month was the perfect occasion! Now I see why these chicken lollipops are given that name!
If you’ve always wanted to try this Indo-Chinese staple, then be sure to cross Chicken Lollipops off your bucket list as part of your Live to Cook one month challenge! You can get the challenge and my motivational guide by signing up to my newsletter, plus you’ll get all my new recipes delivered straight to your inbox!
Be sure to watch the video at the bottom of this post to follow along and grasp all the concepts presented in this recipe! Let’s get cooking!
What Is Chicken Lollipop?
The dish is called “chicken lollipop” because the chicken drumsticks have been cut and the skin at the bottom has been removed to reveal the bone. The chicken drumstick looks like a lollipop! In India, these are a popular appetizer at restaurants and they are also served streetside.
What’s the difference between chicken lollipop and drums of heaven?
The term is used interchangeably in restaurants, however, there is a small difference. “Drums of heaven” means that you toss your fried lollipops in a spicy sauce, resulting in a semi-dry gravy coating your chicken drumsticks. We’ll actually be making drums of heaven here! If you want just “chicken lollipops,” then feel free to skip the sauce steps.
Why You’ll Love this drums of heaven recipe!
Fun to eat: If you’re a drumstick lover, then you’ll adore these! In fact, you’ll see that lollipops are even easier to eat than regular drumsticks because of the skin removed at the bone.
Insanely flavourful: This Chicken Lollipop has wonderful Indo-Chinese flavours coming from the marinade and from the sauce.
Crispy skin: Who doesn’t love some amazing fried chicken? These Drums of Heaven will be deep fried to perfection! If you’re worried about deep frying then fear not! I’ll guide you through the entire process step by step so you can fry with ease, and you’ll see how much fun it is to deep fry!
Saucy: I love some awesome saucy chicken! The drums will be lathered up in them, and you can dip your drums with even more sauce if you’d like! There’ll be plenty left over in the pan!
What does “frenching” the Chicken leg mean?
“Frenching” the chicken leg means removing the skin at the bottom to reveal the bone. It helps making the chicken leg easier and honestly it’s just to achieve the “lollipop” look! This can even be done with chicken wing pieces.
I didn’t know this until researching this recipe, but in India you can actually buy cuts of chicken which are “lollipops,” where this process has already been done for you. I’ve never actually purchased chicken in India before as my family is vegetarian so I had no clue! If you have the option of buying chicken lollipops, then feel free to do so to save some time and a mess - this is a bit tedious!
Equipment needed for Drums of Heaven
Ramekin (to dip more sauce!)
Tips & Tricks For a Lip-Smacking Chicken Lollipop
While frenching the chicken, pat the chicken dry and use a paper towel to grip the chicken to make it easier to prepare.
Make sure the oil is not too hot (375F and up). This will cause the crust to develop too quickly and not give the chicken skin the time it needs to render out and become crispy.
Once the chicken has been added, adjust the heat as necessary to ensure the breading does not brown too quickly. The chicken should always be gently sizzling.
Keep the sauce warm to ensure the sauce coats the warm chicken well and keeps it warm.
Do a test piece of chicken to make sure your oil is hot and to allow you to get the hang of the frying!
Ingredients for Chicken Lollipop
Don’t forget to scroll to the bottom of this post for the FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD to see all ingredient quantities and to save the recipe for later. You can also scale the recipe based on how many Chicken Lollipops you’re planning in preparing, and the ingredient quantities will automatically adjust for you! No need to mentally calculate ratios!
For the Chicken Lollipop
Chicken drumsticks
ginger
garlic
Vegetable oil for frying
For the sauce
How to Make Indo-Chinese Popcorn chicken
To prepare the chicken
Pat the chicken dry and then prepare the lollipops by "frenching" the chicken, exposing the bone on one end and pushing any meat towards the meaty side. Cut away any excess skin/tendon pieces using sharp kitchen shears.
Add the chicken to a large bowl and add ginger, garlic, red chilli powder, soy sauce salt and pepper. Marinate for at least 2 hours, or preferably overnight.
Once the marination is done, heat vegetable oil to around 350 F for shallow frying or deep frying in a wok or pot. To the chicken, add the flour and cornstarch and mix well until you see crumbs on the breading.
To Make the Sauce
While the chicken is frying, add all the ingredients for the sauce in a separate pan. Whisk well and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook until slightly thickened and then turn off the heat. Taste and adjust for seasoning.
To Make the Chicken Lollipop Drums of Heaven
Carefully, transfer each breaded chicken to the oil and fry until crispy golden brown outside, make sure to turn the chicken every 2-3 minutes to ensure even colour on each side.
Once the chicken is added, the oil temperature should drop to 300F, adjust heat as required to ensure the oil maintains this temperature.
After 12-18 minutes, check some of the chicken pieces to see if the internal temperature at the thickest part of the chicken is 165F. For any pieces that are under and the outer breading is golden brown, transfer the pieces on the middle rack of an oven heated at 350 F and cook for 5-10 minutes or until they are cooked through.
While the chicken is frying, add all the ingredients for the sauce in a separate pan. Whisk well and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook until slightly thickened and then turn off the heat. Taste and adjust for seasoning.
Once the chicken is ready, toss them with the sauce until coated well.
Garnish with green onions, serve hot and enjoy!
Serving Suggestions
Indo-Chinese Chicken Lollipop Drumsticks are typically served with an appetizer, so you can enjoy them with pretty much any main! If you’d like, you can serve them with Restaurant-Style French Fries because you’ll already have oil ready to go! Otherwise, feel free to enjoy them with simple Steamed Rice and maybe some Sautéed Garlic-Butter Broccoli if you want to make these the protein for a satisfying meal!
Other Delicious Chicken Snacks!
Other Indo-Chinese Recipes
Watch how to make Indo-Chinese Chicken Lollipop here:
Let me know what you think of this recipe in the comments! If you’ve tried this recipe, be sure to post it on social media and tag it with #cookingwithanadi and mention me @cookingwithanadi. Thank you!
Indo-Chinese Chicken Lollipop: Drums of Heaven
Ingredients
- 7-8 chicken drumsticks
- 1 Tbsp ginger, minced
- 1 Tbsp garlic, minced
- 1 Tbsp red chilli powder
- 3 Tbsp soy sauce
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 Cup all purpose flour, for breading
- 1/2 - 3/4 Cup cornstarch, for breading
- vegetable oil for frying
- 1/4 Cup Passata or Pureed tomatoes
- 2 heaping Tbsp chilli garlic sauce
- 3-4 Tbsp Honey
- 1 Tbsp Soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp Sesame oil
- 1 1/2 Tbsp minced garlic
Instructions
- Pat the chicken dry and then prepare the lollipops by "frenching" the chicken, exposing the bone on one end and pushing any meat towards the meaty side. Cut away any excess skin/tendon pieces using sharp kitchen shears.
- Add the chicken to a large bowl and add ginger, garlic, red chilli powder, soy sauce salt and pepper. Marinate for at least 2 hours, or preferably overnight.
- Once the marination is done, heat vegetable oil to around 350 F for shallow frying or deep frying in a wok or pot. To the chicken, add the flour and cornstarch and mix well until you see crumbs on the breading.
- Carefully, transfer each breaded chicken to the oil and fry until crispy golden brown outside, make sure to turn the chicken every 2-3 minutes to ensure even colour on each side.
- Once the chicken is added, the oil temperature should drop to 300F, adjust heat as required to ensure the oil maintains this temperature.
- After 12-18 minutes, check some of the chicken pieces to see if the internal temperature at the thickest part of the chicken is 165F. For any pieces that are under and the outer breading is golden brown, transfer the pieces on the middle rack of an oven heated at 350 F and cook for 5-10 minutes or until they are cooked through.
- While the chicken is frying, add all the ingredients for the sauce in a separate pan. Whisk well and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook until slightly thickened and then turn off the heat. Taste and adjust for seasoning.
- Once the chicken is ready, toss them with the sauce until coated well.
- Garnish with green onions, serve hot and enjoy!
Nutrition Facts
Calories
319.55Fat (grams)
11.94Sat. Fat (grams)
2.64Carbs (grams)
34.9Fiber (grams)
1.51Net carbs
33.38Sugar (grams)
10.24Protein (grams)
17.74Sodium (milligrams)
948.68Cholesterol (grams)
74.63Nutrition info is an estimate.
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Welcome to Cooking With Anadi. This platform is all about making cooking exciting and finding new ways to bring classic flavours and recipes at your service. Join me in my personal journey in the world of cooking. Hope you have a great ride!
