Fish Sauce Chicken Wings
I still can’t believe a restaurant charged me eight dollars for just two chicken wings. Don’t get me wrong. They were delicious, but I knew I could make them at home for a fraction of the price and a whole lot more wings to share. These crispy Vietnamese fish sauce wings are sticky, tangy, and packed with flavor. And the best part? They only need a quick 5- 10 minute marinade!
Marinade Chicken Wings with Fish Sauce
- chicken wings : Best to use the ones that separated flats and drummetts
- garlic powder
- bouillon : This will speed up the marinade process and keep it flavorful. Use the Aisan chicken bouillon like Knorr if possible to avoid other Western spices.
- fish sauce
- pepper (white pepper preferred)
- sugar : To balance flavor
- baking powder : To keep skin crispy
- corn starch : Or rice flour or gluten-free flour to get crispy skin and keep it gluten free
- water: Add water and starch then mix with the wings right before frying.
- oil : As needed for frying. Keep in mind that deep frying makes it faster than shallow fry.
Simple Fish Sauce Glaze for Chicken Wings
- fish sauce
- sugar
- white vinegar
- lime juice
- chilies : chopped
- fresh cilantro (chopped or garnish)
- fried garlic : (optional) for more fragrant and crunch. I cheated and just used the store bought version.
How to Make Vietnamese Fish Sauce Chicken Wings
- Marinate the Wings: In a large bowl, combine wings with garlic powder, bouillon, fish sauce, pepper, and sugar. Mix well and let them marinate for at least 5-10 minutes.
- Make the Sauce: While the wings rest, whisk together fish sauce, sugar, vinegar, and chopped chilies. Stir on medium heat for 1-2 minutes. Add lime juice. Set aside.
- Coat and Fry: Mix cornstarch and baking powder in separate bowl. Add the cornstarch mixture directly to the wings. Add 1/3 cup of water and massage to coat evenly. Heat oil to 350°F (175°C). Personally, I just dip a chopstick in the oil. When I see bubbles around it, I know the temperature is about 330 – 350 degrees and ready to fry. Fry the wings about 3-4 minutes per side or until golden. For extra crispiness, double fry for 1 -2 more minute after finish frying the whole batch.
- Glaze and Serve: Toss hot wings in the sauce until sticky and shiny. Garnish with fresh cilantro and serve immediately.
Tips & Serving Ideas
- Batch size: Use 3 pounds of wings for a family dinner, or 5 pounds if you’re serving a crowd (double the sauce if using 5 pounds). The marinade ingredients are the same even for 5 pounds chicken.
- Make ahead: You can fry the wings once, let them cool, then double-fry right before serving for guaranteed crunch.
- Heat level: Adjust the number of chilies to your spice preference.
Storage & Reheating
- If you know that you won’t be eating all at once, do not glaze all the chicken. Store the fried chicken and glaze separately in air tight containers and refrigerate up to 3 days. The glaze chicken won’t be crispy when reheat so you might as well just microwave it.
- Reheat in the oven or air fryer at 350°F until crispy (about 5-8 minutes).
Can I Air Fry Fish Fish Sauce Wings?
If you prefer the air frying method, keep in mind that the wings will not be as crispy as air frying. They will still be crispy and in fact, it is my favorite method to make these wings. However, my husband hates cleaning the air frying basket with a passion lol! DO NOT add water that is mentioned in the recipe card for this method. Add the cornstarch or rice flour or gluten flour to the marinated chicken. Coat them well. Then spray the air frying basket with oil before arranging the chicken in the basket and over the wings. Then and air fry at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.
Related Recipes
Fish Sauce Chicken Wings
Equipment
- 1 wok
- 1 mixing bowl
Ingredients
For Fried Chicken
- 3 lb chicken wings (best if separate drummettes and flats)
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp bouillon
- 3 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tsp ground pepper (preferably white pepper)
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 cup cornstarch
- 1/3 cup water
- oil (as needed for frying)
For the Fish Sauce Glaze
- 3 tbsp fish sauce
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp vinegar
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 3 chilies
- 2 TBSP cilantro (chopped)
- 1 TBSP fried garlic (optional)
Instructions
- Marinate the Wings: In a large bowl, combine wings with garlic powder, bouillon, fish sauce, pepper, and sugar. Mix well and let them marinate for at least 5-10 minutes.
- Make the Sauce: While the wings rest, whisk together fish sauce, sugar, vinegar, and chopped chilies. Stir on medium heat for 1-2 minutes. Add lime juice. Set aside.
- Coat and Fry: Mix cornstarch and baking powder in a small bowl. Add the starch mixture directly to the wings. Add 1/3 cup of water and stir to coat evenly. Heat oil to 350°F (175°C). Fry the wings about 3-4 minutes per side or until golden. For extra crispiness, double fry for 1 -2 more minute after finish frying the whole batch.
- Glaze and Serve: Toss hot wings in the sauce until sticky and shiny. Garnish with fresh cilantro and optionally crispy fried garlic. Serve immediately and enjoy!
For Air Fry Wings
- Marinate the Wings: In a large bowl, combine wings with garlic powder, bouillon, fish sauce, pepper, and sugar. Mix well and let them marinate for at least 5-10 minutes.
- Make the Sauce: While the wings rest, whisk together fish sauce, sugar, vinegar, and chopped chilies. Stir on medium heat for 1-2 minutes. Add lime juice. Set aside.
- Coat and Air Fry: Mix cornstarch and baking powder in a small bowl. Add the starch mixture directly to the wings. Spray the air frying basket with oil. Arrange the wings in the air fryer basket and spray oil over the chicken again. Air fry at 400 ℉ degrees for 20 minutes. Flip the wings when your air fryer beeps and tell you to turn the food or after 10 minutes.
- Glaze and Serve: Toss hot wings in the sauce until sticky and shiny. Garnish with fresh cilantro and optionally crispy fried garlic. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Video
@stickyricethaikitchen I just can’t make myself give the second order when it cost $8 for just 2 wings. Fish Sauce Chicken Wings Ingredients For Fried Chicken 3 lb chicken wings (best if separate drummettes and flats) 1 tbsp garlic powder 1 tbsp bouillon 3 tbsp fish sauce 1 tsp ground pepper (preferably white pepper) 2 tbsp sugar 1 tsp baking powder 1 cup cornstarch 1/3 cup water oil (as needed for frying) For the Fish Sauce Glaze 3 tbsp fish sauce 3 tbsp sugar 1 tbsp vinegar 2 tbsp lime juice 3 chilies 2 TBSP cilantro (chopped) 1 TBSP fried garlic (optional) #fishsaucechickenwings#vietnamesechickenwings#chickenwings#fingerfood
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