I am in love with Asian deep fried wings, because they’re not battered like the ones you typically get in Western restaurants, bars or pubs.  My favourite Asian wings come from a Vietnamese restaurant that my family and I have frequented for over a decade.  We go only for their wings, which could not be any simpler.  They’re deep fried until the skin is crispy, yet light, with perfectly moist meat, and they’re served with lime wedges and a dip that’s simply salt and pepper mixed together.

Vietnamese Deep Fried Chicken Wings Recipe

served with Salt, Pepper, and Lime Dip (Muoi Tieu Chanh) (recipe below) and Sriracha hot sauce

5 chicken wings, cut at the joint and tips discarded, leaving you with 10 pieces

vegetable oil for deep frying

1 tbsp fish sauce

1/4 cup cornstarch or rice flour

Rinse the chicken wings in cold water and pat dry with paper towels.  Put them into a large ziploc bag.  Add the fish sauce.  Mix well.  Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight, and up to 24 hours.  Halfway through, mix the contents of the bag again.

When ready to cook, drain the wings of the liquid well and bring the chicken to room temperature.  Preheat the oven to 200 F.  Set a rack over a baking sheet for keeping the chicken warm if you need to deep fry more than 1 batch.  Heat the vegetable oil over medium heat until between 350 and 370 F.  Meanwhile, put the rice flour into a large bowl.  Coat each wing with the rice flour and set aside until the oil heats up.  Shake off the excess flour and deep fry the chicken wings until golden brown and just cooked, about 7 minutes.  Do not overcook.  Using a slotted spoon (I use a Chinese wire strainer), transfer them to paper bag lined plates to drain the oil.  Note that I use brown paper bags because paper towel can make deep fried foods soggy.  If you need to deep fry another batch of wings, keep the first batch of chicken warm in the oven.  Wait until the oil heats back up to 350 F before deep frying the second batch.  Serve immediately with the Vietnamese salt, pepper, and lime dip (recipe below) and Sriracha hot sauce on the side.

Vietnamese Salt, Pepper, and Lime Dip Recipe (Muoi Tieu Chanh)

2 tbsp coarse salt

1 tbsp white pepper

pinch black pepper

limes, cut into wedges

Mix the salt, white pepper and black pepper together into a small dish.  Serve this alongside the lime wedges.  Guests should dip their fried chicken wings (while still hot) into the salt and pepper.  Then they should squeeze some lime juice onto their wings.