Don’t miss checking out lemon garlic chicken - keto, Sweet and spicy orange chicken, and chicken wraps.
About the recipe
Chicken lollipop, also called drums of heaven or dragon chicken, is an Indo-Chinese restaurant-style recipe where the frenched chicken winglet or drumettes are marinated and deep-fried until crispy and served with the spicy schezwan sauce as an appetizer or served as a side with Indo-Chinese fried rice or hakka noodles. Meat is cut from the bone end and pushed down, making it look like a lollipop. Kids also love them as chicken lollipop candy. Chicken lollypop is a crowd-pleaser chicken recipe for your next dinner party, get-together, super bowl, or game night. Every restaurant has its own way of preparing and serving chicken lollipops or drums of heaven. Many restaurants serve them dry with spicy red chile sauce and vinegar; some serve it coleslaw and schezwan sauce, while some other Chinese restaurants make a chicken lollipop masala or gravy, which is very similar to szechuan sauce and toss it to the fried chicken rather than serving it as dip or condiment. They call this version Drums of Heaven. Indo-Chinese food is the most preferred restaurant we love to visit or order on a tiring or boring day to lift our mood. Is it the same with you? While you are here, also check out our garlic rice noodles, similar to triple schezwan rice or the famous honey chili potatoes.
What is the difference between chicken lollipop and drums of heaven?
Restaurants use these names interchangeably. But the difference is that a chicken lollipop is prepared, which is tossed with spicy schezwan sauce to make it drums of heaven. I generally keep the sauce and fried chicken separate, serve the sauce as a dip because the sauce is extra spicy, and people who can tolerate the heat can always dip and eat.
Ingredients
For the marination: Chicken drums or flats, vinegar or lemon juice, ginger garlic paste, salt, Kashmiri red chile powder. For the batter: To make crispy fried chicken, the batter should be of the right consistency. You need flour, corn flour or rice flour, red chile powder, pepper powder, ginger garlic paste, salt, and spring onions. See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
How to make Drums of Heaven at home?
Marinate the chicken
Prepare the lollipop chicken batter
Chicken Lollipop Fry
Tips
Kashmiri red chile powder is similar to paprika, i.e., not spicy, and is used to get that deep red color with moderate spiciness. You can reduce the amount if needed. My kids love chicken lollipops, and when I make these for them, I reduce the amount of red chile powder. Corn flour can be substituted with rice flour. You can also lightly coat each fried chicken lollipop in schezwan sauce to make it drums of heaven or dragon chicken. Add ¼ teaspoon of red food color to the batter if you want the same bright red-colored chicken lollipops as you get at restaurants. Want to avoid frying? You can also grill or bake lollipop chicken in your preheated 220-degree C oven for 22 to 25 minutes or until cooked through, rotating halfway through.
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Recipe card
This post for restaurant-style lollipop chicken was first published in January 2022. Updated with stepwise pictures, recipe, and calories.
