Cánh gà chiên nước mắm s are a staple at every Asian party or potluck. They're sweet, sour, spicy and glossy perfection, all with the thinnest crunchy coating. Mix up your next party or game day with these Vietnamese fish sauce glazed chicken wings!
If you're new to fish sauce and a bit intimidated by its pungency, this is the perfect recipe for you. Sugar, garlic, lemon juice and chili turn an intimidating ingredient into a delicious sticky glaze.
Vietnamese Fish Sauce Glazed Chicken Wings (Cánh Gà Chiên Nước Mắm): Step-By-Step Instructions
Start by heating up oil in a cast iron skillet or heavy bottomed pot. If you have a deep fryer, set it to 350 degrees.
Pat the wings dry and season with garlic powder, salt and pepper. Set aside while you mix the glaze.
Mix fish sauce, water, lemon juice, sugar, garlic and thai chili. If you don't like spicy food you can skip the pepper, but I highly recommend you put a little bit in! It's just not the same without the spice.
When the oil is hot, add corn starch to the chicken wings and toss to coat. This will be a very thin layer, not quite like fried chicken batter. If you don't have a thermometer, you can test if your oil is hot by putting a wooden chopstick or spoon in the oil. If you see bubbles, it's hot.
Fry the wings in batches until golden brown and transfer to a wire rack or paper towels to drain off the excess oil.
To make the glaze, for the heat up the fish sauce mixture until it's thickened and sticky. You'll know it's ready when you can drag your spatula through the syrup and it leaves an empty passage in the pan for just a second before filling in again.
Toss the fried chicken wings in the glaze and serve immediately.
Vietnamese Fish Sauce Glazed Chicken Wings (Cánh Gà Chiên Nước Mắm)
Ingredients
For the Wings
- 5 cups oil
- 3 lbs chicken wings (flats and drumettes)
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- ¼ cup corn starch
For the Fish Sauce Glaze
- 3 tablespoon fish sauce
- 3 tablespoon water
- 2 tablespoon lemon or lime juice
- 4 tablespoon sugar
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1-3 thai chilis, minced (optional)
Instructions
- Heat a heavy bottomed pot/dutch oven, cast iron skillet or deep fryer to 350 degrees
- Pat chicken wings dry and in a large bowl, season with salt, pepper and garlic powder
- Mix fish sauce, sugar, water, lemon or lime juice, garlic and chilis together
- Pour corn starch over seasoned chicken wings and toss to coat
- Fry wings in oil in batches for about 8-10 minutes each batch, or until golden brown. Set cooked wings aside on a wire rack or paper towels to drain excess oil.
- Heat fish sauce mixture in a saucepan on medium heat until thick and glossy. You should be able to drag a spatula across the sauce and see the bottom of the pan briefly before the sauce floods back down.
- In a large bowl, toss cooked wings with glaze and serve immediately.
Nutrition
Note: Nutrition is based on an estimated 1 tablespoon of oil absorbed per serving.
Lily says
Hello, I just tried this recipe out today and it's AMAZING! I love the sauce so much! I will keep making it forever until I'm sick of it. I used an air fryer instead. Still a great result. It's all about that sauce!
Suzanne Nuyen says
It really is all about the sauce! Thanks so much for trying!
Meghan says
I’m going to make these this week! I’m a chicken wing freak and haven’t made fish sauce wings in the air fryer yet so I’m going to air fry them dredged in potato starch (for crunch) and toss them in your glaze! I’ll have to circle back and let you know how it goes:)
Suzanne Nuyen says
Happy Super Bowl! Hope you like the wings!
John says
Thank you so much! You're a lifesaver!
Suzanne Nuyen says
I'm so glad you liked this recipe John!
Rusty H says
Hi Suzanne
Delicious chicken wings 👍.
I baked my wings, I substitute the corn flour with rice flour and add 1/2tsp of ground ginger and a 1/4tsp of turmeric and ground coriander. Bake for 30 mins at 200 c .
It's definitely on the list for a Friday night.
Suzanne Nuyen says
I'm so glad you liked them! It's great to know that you were able to bake these successfully. I've been meaning to try baking them so that I can update the post. Thank you for the tip!