I’ve had a hankering for hot wings these days and it’s not even close to Super Bowl Sunday, the uber chicken wing event in America. At many of the hippest Asian restaurants these days, there is some version of chile-hot, savory-sweet chicken wings. From RockSugar PanAsian Kitchen in Los Angeles to Pok Pok in Portland, Oregon, to Momofuku in New York, Asian-style of chicken wings are on the appetizer menu. Naturally, I wanted to make my own.
Admittedly, I’m partial to the renditions that involve Southeast Asian ingredients, fish sauce, garlic, and chiles. Can you blame me?
When I had the wings at Pok Pok by Ich Truong and RockSugar by Mohan Ismail, I was hooked. Ich (“Ike”) claims that his version is from Vietnam and Mohan is a talented, smart Singaporean chef who monitors and delivers on tasty Asian food trends. (Read more about Mohan Ismail and RockSugar in my post, "Can Real Asian food be mainstreamed?" on MarkBittman.com)
It was hard to decide whose version was better as they were both addictive to eat. At RockSugar, my husband and I had minor squabble as to who should/would eat the last one. We also could figure out if this style of wings is Vietnamese or Thai or something else. Shed some light, if you happen to know.
My solution is to make spicy Asian chicken wings at home. That way, you can have as many as you want.
The hardest part of making the wings is to find the wings. They used to be at all the markets but I had to go to several places. Costco doesn’t have chicken wings anymore. I got mine at Whole Foods but there weren't tons.
Chicken wings are also relatively expensive – between $3 and $5 per pound. When I asked a Whole Foods butcher why they’re pricey, he naively responded: “They weigh less than the legs and thighs.” I wasn't satisfied with that answer.
When we talked a bit more about current chicken wing prices, we both realized that chicken wings are like skirt steak and duck legs. No one cared about them and they were considered down-market. But now, they’re prized for grilling and confit.
Chicken wings used to be dirt cheap, considered nearly throwaway parts of the chicken. Amy Sherman (CookingwithAmy.com) remarked on Twitter that she used to rely on affordable chicken wings for her stock but that’s not the case anymore.
So once you find your wings, the process to making an Asian-style hot wing is darn easy with the recipe below. It’s not much of a secret. Lots of fish sauce, sugar and garlic equal a winning combination.
Then there’s the deep-frying, which yields the best crispy-chewy texture. It’s a relatively low-drama experience. Timid about frying? You can roast the wings (skip the rice flour coating) at 375F or 400F and then glaze them just as instructed in the step 6 of the chicken wing recipe below.
I like to go all out and get the oil going. Why not? Chicken wings are now a deluxe snack. Do the full Monty, my friends and enjoy with a beer or glass of refreshing rose or white wine. Or maybe a cocktail. If you have a tweak or personal rendition of spicy chicken wings, do share it below.
Spicy Asian Chicken Wings
I used regular rice flour from Thailand. You can use the rice flour sold at regular health food stores, if you like. Cornstarch is okay too.
Serves 4 as a snack
2 pounds chicken wings (exclude wing tips)
3 or 4 cloves garlic, pressed (generous 1 tablespoon)
3 tablespoon water
¼ cup fish sauce
¼ cup lightly packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon white pepper
Canola oil, for deep-frying
⅔ cup regular rice flour or cornstarch
1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce, homemade or purchased
1 tablespoon chopped scallion, green part only chopped cilantro and/or mint for garnish
1. Split each chicken wing at the joint so that you have a drummette and a lower joint (the chicken’s forearm). Set aside.
2. In a small bowl, combine the garlic and water. Let sit for 5 minutes. Position a mesh strainer over a bowl, and pour the garlic water through to strain. Press on the solids to extract as much garlic water as possible.
3. Add the fish sauce, light brown sugar, sugar and pepper. Stir to dissolve. Transfer to a zip top bag, add the chicken wings, and refrigerate for 2 hours, or overnight.
4. Remove the chicken wings from the refrigerator at least 20 minutes before frying to remove some of the chill. Drain the chicken wings from the marinade and blot dry with paper towel. Reserve the marinade! Have the rice flour ready in a small bowl.
5. Pour the oil to a depth of 1 ½ inches into a saucepan, wok, or deep skillet. Heat to about 360°F.
Meanwhile, lightly dredge each wing in rice flour, patting off the excess. Put the reserved marinade and chile garlic sauce in a large skillet and set it on the stove.
Fry the wings in batches until golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Drain on paper towel.
6. Heat the reserved marinade until bubbly and slightly syrupy. Add the freshly fried wings and stir, turn, and coat in the syrup, which will turn sticky as it reduces and clings to the wings. Add a splash of water if you want to dilute the glazy bits in the skillet and get them to coat the wings. There should be no liquid left when you’re done coating.
Transfer to a plate, sprinkle with the scallion, and enjoy hot.
Sylvia says
Wow, these sound astounding. I can't wait to try this.
Ivy Manning says
Oh lovely, Andrea! I do love wings, and I have noticed there's been a shortage at markets lately. I hate frying indoors, so as soon as I get my patio kitchen set up, I'm going get the oil going and try your version. (I made your kimchi mandu for my Korean friend this weekend, she was swooning with memories from childhood! So good!)
Nancie McDermott says
Not Thai; that is, not part of the traditional, old-school Thai culinary world. Doesn't mean that they didn't start making them in 1984 and now serve them at every third restaurant; just that it's not traditional Thai in the way that gai yahng/som tum/kao niow (grilled garlic chicken/green papaya salad/sticky rice) is, or the way that gaeng kiow wahn gai/green curry chicken with pea eggplant is, or the way that kanome jeen, the cool fermented rice noodle nests on a plate with curry sauce and crudites with herbs are all "thai tae-tae" or "the real old-time thing". The techniques (marinating in advance, especially long-time marinating; dredging in flour before frying; creating garlic-water; multiple extensive steps for something which is gutsy lick-your-fingers food versus for something which is elegant, elaborate and fancy food) are unusual and modern (I'm thinking this is 1990's or even more recent). Now this may have been created in Thailand at a beach resort 10 years ago, and be all over Thailand, I'm not saying in any way that you can't find it in Thailand, or that Thais don't love it, or anything on that --- such may be the case. But in terms of its origins as a Thai dish prior to a very recent modern chapter of Asian cuisines, as in having roots of any kind in traditional Thai cooking, that isn't the case. I'm thinking bar food/hotel specialty from a beach resort area somewhere in Asia; but these are hip cool new food, not old-school. Same as you can find sub/hero sandwiches in gas stations in the South, and Jersey Mike's Subs are all over the place and we love 'em; but they aren't Southern in terms of roots and origins. That said, I LOVED them at Pok Pok and want some Right NOW! Makes me think of laquered duck.
PlumLeaf says
Hi Andrea,
lovely wings and great recipe! I would hazard a guess at the recipe being Vietnamese opposed to Thai. In my opinion I would expect Thai to have chillies and or aromatics such as galangal/lime leaf/lemongrass/basil in the marinade. With your recipe it has ingredients that I have seen used for marinading the pork for Bun Thit Nuong.
I'm not a fan of deep frying with oil (can't stand the mess!) I would try this recipe to grill the chicken wings on the barbeque and perhaps reduce the sauce to use as a sticky coating to brush on the wings as they finish cooking?
Now to bring on the BBQ weather!
Dave Weinstein says
I tend to make wings fairly often, and these always disappear. Please note that I don't have any quantities for ingredients, this is very much a "mix to taste".
Wings. Get them on sale (I see them at $0.99 sometimes) if you can. Cut them into three parts, and save the tips for stock.
Fish Sauce.
Sugar.
Minced Lemongrass.
I make my life easy for this by buying the frozen minced lemongrass. The quantity of marinage you need depends on the number of wings you are cooking. Mix the Fish Sauce, Sugar, and Lemongrass together to taste (yeah, I know, but just mix and taste, until you like the result). (Optionally, add some dried galangal and a lime leaf if you like, but they aren't necessary).
Put the chicken in plastic bags, and pour the marinade over. Put the bags in the refridgerator, and marinate (turning the bags every 4-8 hours) for about a day (you can go longer if you like).
You want to cook these over very high indirect heat. I use a Weber kettle. I divide the kettle in half, and pile lump hardwood charcoal and get the fire as hot as I can. Then I place the wings in a single layer on the opposite side, with all the vents open, and cover the kettle. The wings will roast and carmelize, and you take them off when they are done (usually around 20 minutes, but check the fatter drumettes). If you are doing a big batch, let the fire come back up to full heat before the next batch.
If your Weber has a thermometer, it should be over 500 degrees when the wings are cooking.
Jen says
Thanks for the recipe! I've always wanted to make these at home!
Andrea Nguyen says
Nancie: This is New World food, huh? I don't know, maybe it's modern Southeast Asian from Southeast Asia!
Thank you everyone for chiming in on your hot wings cooking techniques! Love them all.
Dave: Wings for less than $1? I'm moving to wherever you are. It's too luxe in my neck of the woods.
submit wordpress template says
Chicken dish are good but this one looks so dry.
Thuy says
Now that you mentioned it, I have noticed that wings aren't are plentiful as before.
Average price of wings here are $1.89/lb and I think that is expensive!!!
Andrea Nguyen says
Submit wordpress template: I think you're looking at the wrong photo.
Thuy: Well, $1.89 is a bargain these days!
Mike says
Awesome post!!! I just made some wings that were kind of similar but instead of the fresh cut green onions I tried the cilantro. I think green onions are the way to go (the cilantro didnt taste right after being on the grill)but maybe thats just my taste buds.
Thanks for posting this. Ill try your version next time.
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Weber says
Submitwordpresstemplate must have been looking at the second picture. The first photo is absolutely mouth watering. I haven't tried garlic with my wings yet either so might give this recipe a try if I can find the time to get through all the recipes I have bookmarked.
Grill StanD says
One thing I've often wondered... Is there a healthy alternative when it comes to deep frying? I've always used Canola oil or that superfry stuff (Basically just fat). I love making fried wings but am starting to get a little concerned at my bulging waist line.
Brian Kowalski says
made this recipe along with the homemade chili sauce using serranos and habeneros, it was a back yard wing cook off, I grilled rather than fried, my hat is off to you!! I blew the doors off of the competition, had the remaining chilie sauce with breakfast the next morning, fantastic recipe, could rave on, enough said!! Sincerely Big Daddy B
Sailaja says
A pinch of garam masala would do wonders to the already awesome flavors of this chicken legs recipe.
Btw, lovely lovely blog. Love Vietnamese cuisine. Bookmarking your blog. I will be visiting your space often. 🙂
How to Cook and bake chicken says
wow this chicken wings recipe look very good and quite easy to cook 🙂
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Don P says
I tried these. Thank God I had printed out the recipe, as my hard drive crashed and I lost my links. But now that I've found it again, I'm a happy camper. These wings are just.... well, I can't find a word to accurately describe how great these are! Without a doubt my favorite wing recipe, although one I use that uses key lime juice to "tang" up a basic BBQ sauce is good too... 🙂
marlon says
Chicken wings used to be dirt cheap, considered nearly throwaway parts of the chicken.
sarahkoko1986 says
when do you add the chili sauce?
jenjeng says
Grill StanD: Obvious answer is to cook them in the oven I guess but watch your temperature is not too high because the sugar in the marinade will burn. I often cover mine with foil until they're cooked through then uncover and let them brown up at the end.
Kylie Kwong's recipe for crispy chicken wings instructs you to steam the wings prior to frying them to make the deep-frying process quicker. Perhaps you could steam the wings til they're cooked then jump straight to the glazing step. Will result in a different texture but I bet will still be good.