Vietnamese Fish Sauce Chicken Wings Cánh Gà Chiên Nước Mắm

These Vietnamese fish sauce chicken wings are umami flavor bombs smothered in a salty sweet glaze and pieces of fried garlic.

For Tet celebration we cook both traditional dishes like thịt kho (braised pork and eggs in coconut caramel sauce), canh khổ qua (bitter melon soup), gỏi ngó sen (Vietnamese lotus stem salad with prawns), and cháo gà (Vietnamese chicken congee) and mix in fun finger foods perfect for gathering. One of my favorite finger foods is Vietnamese fish sauce chicken wings or cánh gà chiên nước mắm. Inspired by Vu's uncle Tam's recipe from Long Provincial Restaurant in Seattle, we have been making this recipe for over a decade. Marinated with fish sauce and garlic, then deep fried and smothered in a caramelized sauce, they are finger licking good. Sadly his restaurant was closed last year due to Covid-19. Like many restaurants in the country, it couldn't weather this unprecedented storm.

Ingredient Notes

• Chicken wings: you will need about 2.5-3 pounds of wings. To get the best flavor, let them marinate overnight in the fridge and up to 48 hours.
• Fish sauce: some of my favorite brands are Three Crabs, Flying Lion Premium Fish Sauce, and Red Boat Fish Sauce.
• Rice flour: for this recipe, make sure you get rice flour and not glutinous flour. It’s an inexpensive regular shelf item at the Asian grocery stores.
• Oil: vegetable, canola, corn, and peanut oils are good for frying. Oils with a low point such as extra virgin olive oil and unrefined oils can burn before reaching the frying temperature.

Tips for Frying Chicken Wings

• Remove the wings from the fridge 30 minutes before frying and let them come to room temperature.
• Drain the wings over a strainer for 10 minutes.
• The best temperature to fry these fish sauce wings run between 325 and 350 degrees F.
• Make sure you don’t overcrowd the pan when frying. I only have 3 wings in the pan at a time with a thermometer attached to the side of the pan to keep the temperature consistent.
• Larger wings need to be fried at a lower temperature for a little longer than smaller ones. Lowering the temperature ensures they cook through without the outside browning first. Each needs about 4-5 minutes on each side depending on how big they are.
• To check if the meat is cooked, pierce it with a knife and look for clear juices.
• Remove them with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towel before transferring them to a serving plate.
• To keep the wings crispy and warm while you’re finishing up the batch, keep them in the oven at 275 degrees F.

For us, these fish sauce chicken wings are more than a treat. They bring back fond memories of Seattle from my first year pharmacy residency. Every weekend that I didn't have to work, we made the 4 hour trek from Spokane to Seattle to spend time with family and to indulge in Vietnamese food. By the time we got to Seattle, it would be 10 or 11 pm, and we were famished. Instead of grabbing something from a fast food restaurant during our drive, we saved our appetite for the mouthwatering Vietnamese food at uncle Tam’s restaurants.

We loved our dinners with uncle Tam, devouring plate after plate of deliciousness, endless cocktails, and sharing our passion for food and pharmacy until the wee hours of the morning. In case you’re wondering about the pharmacy part, uncle Tam worked as a pharmacist but his passion for food led him to become an incredibly talented businessman and restaurateur of both Long Provincial and Tamarind Tree. These Vietnamese fish sauce chicken wings are our way of paying homage to uncle Tam. We'll always have these delicious umami bombs to remember Long Provincial.

For more Vietnamese recipe inspiration, you might like these recipes: Vietnamese grilled beef wrapped in betel leaves, Vietnamese green rice flakes crusted prawns, or Vietnamese lemongrass beer steamed clams.