Drums of Heaven are basically Chicken Lollipops tossed in a sweet, spicy sauce. The key to an amazing recipe is in the sauce which has to have the right balance of sweet and spicy! That’s what I’m showing you here today – how to make crispy lollipops and getting that well balanced sauce.
Drums of Heaven are really an extension of Chicken Lollipops. And I love them just as much. There is something about a plate full of drums of heaven that you get through leaving only bones and sticky fingers at the end. Sooo good!
What you’ll need for Drums of Heaven
- Fried Chicken Lollipops: I have a recipe for Chicken Lollipop here that uses simple ingredients available at home, no artificial food colouring and a really crispy batter!
- Ginger, Garlic, Green Chillies and Onions: All of these are chopped really finely so that after cooking, you don’t really get these distinctly in every bite. You can use a vegetable chopper or food processor to get a fine chop
- Schezwan Sauce: Spicy schezwan sauce is key to a good sauce for these lollipops. You can use store bought or easily make a big batch at home and store it like I do.
- Soy Sauce: I use light soy sauce for that deep colour, and extra umami flavour
- Cornstarch or Cornflour: This is optional but a little cornflour slurry added to the sauce and cooked gives it a nice glossy finish and thickens it.
- Chopped Coriander (Cilantro) and Spring Onions: Coriander might seem like an odd ingredient in Chinese cooking, but it really adds flavour to this and makes it authentic Indo Chinese 😂if you know what I mean. So don’t skip it. Chopped spring onions add freshness and a nice zing to this recipe.
Everytime I made chicken lollipops at home, I make sure to fry an extra batch so I can toss them up in some sauce too. That way we have two different appetizers from one recipe!
If you are missing Chinese food as much as I am, this Drums of Heaven recipe will take care of those cravings. And because you make them at home, you know exactly what’s going into them; the lollipops remain crisp and there’s no artificial food colouring in the sauce!
More Chinese Recipes:
- Easy Chinese Chilli Chicken Dry
- Crunchy Chinese Chicken Salad
- Chinese Potli Samosa Wontons
- Soya Manchurian
Watch How to make Drums of Heaven Recipe Video
Drums of Heaven - Spicy and Saucy!
Ingredients
For the Chicken Lollipops:
- 500 grams (1.1 lb) Chicken lollipop
- 1/4 cup Soy sauce
- 1 tbsp Vinegar
- 1 tbsp Tomato ketchup
- 1 tbsp Red chilli powder
- 1 tbsp Garlic paste
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1/4 cup Cornflour
- 2 tbsp All purpose flour
- 2 tbsp Rice flour
- 1 Egg
- 1 tbsp Ginger paste
- Oil for frying
For the Drums of Heaven:
- 12-14 Chicken Lollipops Fried
- 2 tablespoons Oil
- 1 tablespoon Ginger finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon Garlic finely chopped
- 1/4 cup Onions finely chopped
- 2 Green Chillies finely chopped
- 1/4 cup Schezwan Sauce or Sriracha
- 1 tablespoon Light Soy Sauce
- 2 tablespoons Tomato Ketchup
- 1 teaspoon Sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon Cornstarch / Cornflour mixed in 4 tablespoons water to make a slurry
- 2 tablespoons Coriander finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons Spring Onions finely chopped (green part only)
Instructions
For the Chicken Lollipops:
- Whisk together soy sauce, vinegar, tomato ketchup, red chilli powder, garlic paste, salt in a bowl and toss the chicken lollipops in it. Marinade for half an hour.
- In the same bowl, add cornflour, all purpose flour, rice flour, egg and ginger paste and mix well to create a thick batter and coat the lollipops in it.
- Heat about two inches oil in a wok or kadhai to 350F/ 176C. Add the battered lollipops one by one to the oil in such a way that the meat is at the bottom and the bone is on top (watch the video to see how I do it). Fry these on medium high heat till golden brown – approx 3-4 minutes.
- Take these out on a tissue paper to blot out any excess oil and set aside.
For the Drums of Heaven:
- In a wok or kadhai, heat oil and add ginger and garlic. Stir fry on high heat for a minute and add chopped onions. Keep stir frying till the onions soften and add green chillies. After a few seconds, add schezwan sauce, soy sauce, ketchup and sugar. Cook the sauce for 2 minutes, stir frying as it cooks.
- Add the cornflour slurry and keep stir frying till it thickens (approx a minute or so). Add the chicken lollipop and coriander and toss well. Top it with chopped spring onions and serve.
I tried this recipe and absolutely loved it! Super easy to make & finger licking good! Thanks Richa for sharing these superb & easy to make recipes.
Thanks so much Neelasha! Really happy you liked the recipe
Wow! Thank you for this amazing recipe! I tried it with chicken breast..still tasted awesome!❤️
Heavenly, right? 🙂 Thanks, Malavika!
It’s a delicious recipe. Everyone enjoyed and complimented it. It’s a must try. My mom loves this dish.
It’s a very delicious dish. Everyone enjoyed and complimented it. It’s a must try. My mom loves this dish.
It’s the easiest and tastiest chicken recipe EVERR!!! Absolutely loved it😍
Yay! Thank you so much for leaving a comment Shruti! Glad you liked the recipe
These drums of heaven were so goood..!! I tried it myself..! Loved it ❤️
Thanks Crezel! These drums of heaven are our favourite!