Crispy Yam Chicken

I got this recipe from a Taiwan Cooking show call "食全食美" that airs every weekday late afternoon. I love that show, most of the recipes they teach are home cook dishes, so stay home moms like me can try them out. Furthermore I love yam (or they call it taro in America), whether it's in desert or savory dishes.

Ingredients:
1 big Chicken drum (including thigh)
120g of yam, peeled and sliced to 0.5inch thick
2 tbsp of dried shrimp, soaked and minced
2 slices of ham, dice small (or bacon, but need to reduce the salt when seasoning)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 small shallot, minded
3 tbsp of fresh milk
1 tsp of cornflour
Salt, pepper and sugar to taste

Method:

• Steam the sliced yam for 10 minutes until it's cooked and mash easily with a fork.
• Heat up some oil in a wok at medium heat and stir fry the garlic and shallot until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the minced dried shrimp and diced ham, stir fry for another 2 minutes and remove from wok and set aside.
• Add the stir fried ham and dried shrimp mixture to the mashed yam and 3 tbsp of milk . Also add 3/4 tsp salt, a dash of pepper and 1/2 tsp of sugar and mix well.
• De-bone the chicken drumstick leaving only only the tip (it's ankle), for easy handling.
• The drumstick should look like below. Season the chicken with 1/4 tsp of salt.
• Pat the yam mixture on to the drumstick on the meat side, not skin side. Sprinkle the cornflour over the yam surface for a crispier finish (see below). You can remove the chicken skin for healthier option, but I much prefer the crispy skin after frying it.
• Add enough frying oil in the wok to fry the chicken at medium low fire, so the yam does not burn before the chicken drumstick is cooked through. Fry for 8 to 10 minutes before flipping and fry for another 8 to 10 minutes until golden and crispy before removing from oil.

After removing the chicken from the wok, leave on plate for 10 minutes before cutting it to smaller slices. Doing this will keep the juice of the chicken in, hence more moist . Serve warm with a bowl of steamy white rice. :) Yummy!!