When it comes to chicken wings, in the past I’ve espoused a philosophy that prioritizes simplicity (case in point: Three Ingredient Chicken Wings).
Though as a family we’ve definitely dipped our toes into a nice little cache of wing recipes in the past: (Fried Chicken Wings Takeout Style, Kung Pao Chicken Wings, Honey Sriracha Chicken Wings, Thai Red Curry Lime Wings, and “Three Cup Chicken.”
But, enter Vietnamese fish sauce chicken wings. They do take a little bit of time and coordination but are definitely worth it. But I’ll go ahead and address the elephant in the room. There are two kinds of people–those whose ears are perking up at the mention of fish sauce chicken wings and those who are thinking, *fish* sauce…and chicken wings…No……
The Umami & Complexity of Fish Sauce
For those who are unfamiliar, let’s talk about fish sauce for a second. Growing up, I too wondered what the allure was to fish sauce. Climbing onto the kitchen counters to fetch sauces for my mom or dad began as a sniff test exercise, where I would experimentally open the most compelling looking of the tall bottles of dark brown sauce to see what was up.
The heady smells of dark mushroom soy sauce and Shaoxing cooking wine were always more familiar and comforting, but then came that deceptively cute bottle of Vietnamese fish sauce with the three crabs on the label.
The smallest of quick cursory sniffs resulted in a powerful and lingering waft of funky umami fishiness (and indeed fish sauce is the result of fermenting fish). As you can imagine, for my young nose, this resulted in a lot of melodramatic faux-gagging.
But of course, today I know that fish sauce is a pretty epic flavor agent that adds that additional layer of complexity to many of our favorite dishes. If you ask me, these fish sauce chicken wings are right up there with fried chicken wings and buffalo wings in terms of being a classic go-to.
Adapted from a Pok Pok Recipe
This recipe is lightly adapted from the fish sauce chicken wings served at Andy Ricker’s Pok Pok restaurant in New York. I’ve never actually eaten them, but Ricker and his head chef Ich (“Ike”) Truong seem to be the resident experts on the matter in the US.
The chicken in this recipe is notably baked, not fried, and I’ve cut back on the salt a bit, as the fish sauce and Thai roasted chili paste (if using) are both very salty! Taste as you go, where possible, if you’re sensitive to saltiness.
Let’s start!
Fish Sauce Chicken Wings: Recipe Instructions
First make the marinade. Mince the garlic with the salt. We used a garlic press and mixed the salt in. Add the warm water and let sit for 10 minutes. Add the fish sauce and sugar, stirring to dissolve. This recipe originally called for 1/2 cup of fish sauce. We have adjusted the range to 1/4-1/2 cup as some love it with 1/2 cup and some find it to salty. Please adjust to your tastes in terms of salt level and how much you enjoy the flavor of fish sauce.
Place the chicken wings in a separate large bowl with ½ cup of the fish sauce mixture and toss. Marinate for 4 hours or overnight, setting aside the rest of the fish sauce mixture in the refrigerator.
When the wings are done marinating, transfer to a colander, and let drain for 15 minutes.
Mix the rice flour and cornstarch together, and toss the wings in the dry mixture until coated.
Bake the wings at 475 degrees for 24 minutes, flipping halfway through.
Halfway through the cooking time, start to make the glaze.
Add ¼ cup of water to the reserved fish sauce mixture and transfer to a hot wok. Add the Thai roasted chili paste.
Bring to a boil in a wok, and reduce for 1-2 minutes.
Add the wings and toss to coat them in the glaze, about 1 minute.
Serve with some refreshing sliced cucumbers on the side!
Fish Sauce Chicken Wings: Vietnamese Style
Ingredients
- 8 garlic cloves (finely chopped)
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup warm water
- ¼-½ cup fish sauce (Red Boat, Phu Quoc, or Three Crabs brand preferred; please adjust to your personal salt tolerance and liking for fishy flavors)
- ½ cup superfine sugar
- 1½ pounds chicken wings (about 12 wings, split at the joint; discard the wingtips)
- ⅔ cup rice flour
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- ¼ cup water
- 1-2 teaspoons Thai chili paste (naam phrik pao)
Instructions
- First make the marinade. Mince the garlic with the salt. We used a garlic press and mixed the salt in. Add the warm water and let sit for 10 minutes. Add the fish sauce and sugar, stirring to dissolve.
- Place the chicken wings in a separate large bowl with ½ cup of the fish sauce mixture and toss. Marinate for 4 hours or overnight, setting aside the rest of the fish sauce mixture in the refrigerator.
- When the wings are done marinating, transfer to a colander, and let drain for 15 minutes. Mix the rice flour and cornstarch together, and toss the wings in the dry mixture until coated.
- Bake the wings at 475 degrees for 24 minutes, flipping halfway through. Halfway through the cooking time, start to make the glaze.
- Add ¼ cup of water to the reserved fish sauce mixture and transfer to a hot wok. Add the chili paste. Bring to a boil in a wok, and reduce for 1-2 minutes. Add the wings and toss to coat them in the glaze, about 1 minute.
- Serve with some refreshing sliced cucumbers on the side!
Can I use Thai red curry paste instead of red chili paste?
Thank you!
There must be something wrong with the chicken quantity. I made this with 3 pounds of wings. I should have doubled the quantities, but it seemed excessive, so I made it with about 1 1/2 of everything, except for rice flour/cornstarch, which I left as it originally was and still had some left.
The result was nice to look at, but it smelt like cat food and the taste, although not unpleasant, was extremely concentrated and salty. My guess is it should be about 3 1/2 pounds of wings, not 1 1/2 pounds.
Anyways, I did not throw any of it away, we struggled through most of it. I’ll probably use the leftovers for some sort of stew and hold the salt :)
You used 1/2 cup fish sauce to dress 6 wings???? What did you expect????
Jason, what have you been reading, mate? Where did I ever say I used 1/2 cup fish sauce for 6 wings? I used 3/4 cups to dress 3 POUNDS of wings, dude. That’s way more than 6 wings. The recipe says 1/2 cup for 11/2 pounds. That chicken quantity must be wrong. Do you understand now? And cut down on those question marks, you only need one per sentence.
Hi Eddie, thanks for your input—I’ll be honest, this recipe is tricky, because I’m not sure everyone who tries it really likes the taste of fish sauce, and the salt factor is tricky to nail down. Thanks for your notes, I’m sure others will find it useful, and we’ve adjusted the recipe with a fish sauce range and some notes for folks to adjust to their tastes.