These fish sauce chicken wings are the ultimate flavor bomb! The wings are perfectly light and crisp, which are gently tossed in a sweet and savory fish sauce glaze to bring the whole dish together.

What are Fish Sauce Chicken Wings?

This recipe was inspired by Cánh Gà Chiên Nước Mắm, which are essentially Vietnamese fried chicken wings that are tossed in a sweet and savory fish sauce sauce.

Almost every Sunday as a kid, I always looked forward to our family going for brunch in this one local Vietnamese spot in our city. We’d go so often that the owners of the restaurant had already memorized our order (and would sometimes even add extra items since they knew I was a hungry kid!).

Their Vietnamese chicken wings were the very first thing we’d order as an appetizer. I’d wait impatiently until the waiter would finally drop off the freshly fried wings with a side of either plum sauce or the glorious Nước chấm dip on our table.

The combination of the light and crispy batter, dipped in that sweet, umami sauce was just perfect to satisfy my cravings every time.

Fish Sauce

Let’s talk about fish sauce: the staple ingredient in a majority of Southeast Asian cuisines.

Lots of people unfamiliar with fish sauce tend to be repelled by either the name, the smell, or maybe even both. But just as you wouldn’t normally guzzle down a whole bottle of vinegar, the same goes for fish sauce: you wouldn’t typically use it on its own and a little goes a long way.

The best way to describe the taste of fish sauce is highly savory and umami, salty, and with a slight funkiness and pungency to it, due to its major ingredients being fermented anchovies and sea salt.

For this recipe, we’ll be combining the fish sauce with fragrant aromatics, sugar, and a bit of lime juice for that perfect flavor-bomb coating!

Ingredients for Fish Sauce Chicken Wings

Fish Sauce: this can be found in almost all Asian grocery stores being sold in glass bottles. Do know that there are multiple brands of fish sauce and that each brand has a distinct taste from each other! My personal favorite is the Three Crabs brand; and while it is more on the pricier end than other fish sauce brands, I personally think it’s worth it for the full-bodied umami flavor it gives.
Cilantro, green onion, garlic, Thai chili pepper: these will be the aromatics we’ll be using for our wing sauce. Feel free to add more or less (or even omit) some of the ingredients depending on your personal preferences/accessibility.
Cornstarch: I love using starch whenever I make fried chicken. The end result gives the chicken a lighter and crisp texture than if we were to just coat it with just flour. If you don’t have any cornstarch, any other starch like rice starch, tapioca, or potato starch can work.
Carbonated Water: This is the “secret” ingredient that most restaurants will use to achieve that absolutely crisp and crunchy texture to their fried foods. The tiny air bubbles of the carbonated water expands as it hits the oil, creating a light crust. You can definitely use beer or even plain water as a quick substitute.

Instructions

(Optional) Brine the chicken wings:

In a large bowl, combine together the kosher salt, fish sauce, sugar, and lukewarm water. Mix thoroughly until the salt and sugars dissolve.

Add the chicken wings into the brine mixture. Cover, and let brine for 1-2 hours.

Prepare the sauce:

Combine together the cilantro, green onion, brown sugar, lime juice, fish sauce, minced garlic, and Thai chili pepper in a bowl. Mix well and set aside.

Prepare the chicken wings:

Drain the brining liquid.

To the wings, add in the garlic powder, chicken bouillon powder, turmeric, baking powder, cornstarch, and carbonated water. Mix well to coat the chicken until you achieve a thin, paint-like batter consistency.

Fry the battered chicken in hot oil for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown in color and cooked all the way through. Let cool slightly on a wire rack.

Pour the prepared sauce over the fried chicken wings and toss gently to coat.

Serve immediately. Enjoy!

To Brine or Not Brine?

Brining is a process where we soak meats in a solution of salty water in order to flavor the protein both inside and out. This essentially makes your wings more juicy and tender, which can definitely help in setting your recipe apart from everyone else’s.

While I highly recommend not skipping this step, brining these chicken wings aren’t necessary (especially if you’re on a time crunch), and will still taste delicious in the end!

Tips for Success

Don’t over-brine the chicken! Since the wings are fairly small, it only takes a short amount of time for the brine to penetrate the muscle fibres of the chicken. Limit the brine to 2-3 hours maximum, otherwise, your wings may end up being too salty.
Serve the chicken immediately to avoid getting soggy: To really take advantage of that crispy coating, plan to have these served as soon as you’ve tossed in the sauce. Alternatively, you could always keep the sauce and chicken separate (and dip as you eat), maintaining its crunch for a longer period of time.

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