text here
Ike’s Vietnamese Fish Sauce Wings
Ingredients
- 8 garlic cloves
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 cup Vietnamese fish sauce
- 1/2 cup superfine sugar
- 2 pounds chicken wings
- vegetable oil for frying
- 1 cup rice flour
- 1/4 cup tempura batter mix Ricker recommends Gogi brand
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 tsp Nam Prik Pao roasted chile paste
- cilantro enough for 1 tablespoon when chopped
- mint enough for 1 tablespoon when chopped
Instructions
Marinade
- Peel and finely chop 8 cloves of garlic.
- Sprinkle 1 tsp of kosher salt over the garlic and chop it together.
- Scrape the garlic mixture into a small bowl!
- Add 1/4 cup warm water to the garlic and let sit for a few minutes.
- Place 1/2 cup of fish sauce into a medium bowl.
- Add 1/2 cup of superfine sugar to the fish sauce.
- Pour the water from the garlic through a fine sieve into the marinade, and use the back of a spoon to press the water out of the garlic against the sieve.
- Reserve the leftover garlic.
- Whisk the fish sauce and sugar until the sugar has dissolved.
- Split 2 pounds of chicken wings at the drumettes and place them in a large bowl.
- Add 1/2 cup of fish sauce mixture to the chicken wings and toss well.
- Cover the chicken wings and refrigerate for at least four hours, or overnight, tossing every hour or so.
Mis en Place (for frying the wings)
- Place 1 cup of rice flour a large bowl.
- Add 1/4 cup tempura batter mix to the rice flour and whisk to combine.
Frying
- Remove the chicken wings from the refrigerator and drain in a colander in the sink for 15 minutes.
- To a wok add enough oil to completely submerge the wings, and heat to 350°.
- Heat 3/4-inch of vegetable oil in a small pan over high heat.
- Add the reserved garlic and reduce heat to medium-low.
- Fry the garlic until it is lightly golden brown, about 5 minutes.
- Drain the garlic over the wok and transfer the garlic to paper towels.
- Toss the chicken wings in flour mix until coated well.
- Fry the wings in two batches, gently knocking them against the bowl before adding to the oil.
- Cook each batch until evenly golden brown, about 10–12 minutes, prodding every few minutes.
- Transfer wings to paper towels to drain.
Preparation
- Chop 1 tablespoons of cilantro.
- Chop 1 tablespoon of fresh mint.
- Add 1/4 cup water to the reserved fish sauce mixture.
- Add 1 tsp Nam Prik Pao roasted chile paste to the fish sauce mixture.
- Whisk the fish sauce mixture to combine all ingredients.
- Add half of the fish sauce mixture to a nonstick wok and bring to a full boil in over high heat.
- Reduce heat to low and stir for 45 seconds.
- Add half the wings and toss every 15 seconds, until a caramelized glaze coats the wings, about 1 minute.
- Add 1 tbsp of the fried garlic, toss well, and cook about 30 seconds longer.
- Remove the wings to a large bowl.
- Rinse and wipe out the wok, and repeat with the next batch of wings.
- Sprinkle half of the cilantro and mint over the wings and mix to distribute.
- Plate the wings and sprinkle with the remaining cilantro and mint.