Frogs legs (or chicken wings) with chilli and basil

This is my take on a classic thai dish (Kha kob phat phet) and euphemistically it is sometimes called "paddy chicken".

For those not too keen on the idea of frogs legs, or if not readily available, the recipe works equally well using the first cut (the drummette) of a chicken wing. This is a delightful dish and a great addition to a thai meal featuring several main courses.

Ingredients:

vegetable oil

8 pairs of frogs legs or 12 chicken drummettes

1 tablespoon green peppercorns

3 red chillies, sliced length-ways

8cm fresh ginger or galangal (if available) finely sliced and julienned

2 teaspoons fish sauce

1/2 teaspoon chopped palm sugar

large handful of basil leaves (thai if possible for the aniseed flavour)

If using chicken wings, to ensure that they are fully cooked I place them into the oven at 180 C for 10 minutes before cooking in the wok - I splash over a little fish sauce also to prevent them from drying out.

Heat the oil in a wok or heavy bottomed pan until very hot and add the frogs legs/ partially cooked chicken wings and peppercorns and stir fry over a high heat for a couple of minutes.

Now add the chilli, fresh ginger/galangal, fish sauce and palm sugar. Mix well and cook for another minute. Now stir in the basil, take of the heat and serve.

Serve as part of a thai banquet or just with fragrant thai rice.

A simple but deliciously tasty dish!