Fish Sauce Chicken Wings

I consider myself a bit of an expert when it comes to homemade chicken wings. They tend to be some of the most popular recipes on Crunch Time Kitchen over the years. While I generally like wings that are spicy, I wanted to make a non-spicy option with a very different flavor profile for the upcoming March Madness games. These Fish Sauce Chicken Wings are SO savory and delicious!

Fish sauce isn’t a flavor that is for everyone, but it’s kind of an IYKYK (If you know you know) situation and using more than normal as a base for a chicken wing sauce leads to really savory and delicious flavors that I wouldn’t even describe as fishy at all.

Dive in and give these a shot!

What is Fish Sauce?

Fish sauce is a common condiment in Asian kitchens. it’s basically fermented fish that is then drained and bottled. Some of the versions are very strong and some are more mild. It can be a bit of an acquired taste but once you try it in the right recipe, you can easily get hooked on it.

If you eat any Asian take-out food at all, it’s probably also the case that you’ve had fish sauce and didn’t even know it because it’s in TONs of dishes.

This is the brand I like which is commonly available at most Asian grocers, but you can find some version of fish sauce at almost all grocery stores these days.

One BIG tip when cooking with fish sauce is to make sure to open a window and turn on a fan. It is pretty pungent even if the final flavors don’t really taste like fish.

How to quick fry chicken wings

For the chicken wings for this recipe, I went with a quick cornstarch dredge on them to give them a little crispy coating. The cornstarch will also help the sauce stick to the wings after frying.

Even though the sauce is salty, I recommend seasoning the wings with a little salt and pepper before frying them.

Fry the lightly dusted chicken wings at 350˚F for about 10-12 minutes until they are crispy and golden brown.

Baked Version for these chicken wings

If you don’t want to fry the wings, that’s okay. This sauce would be very good on baked wings as well.

I would place the wings on a wire rack or a baking dish lined with foil and bake them at 400˚F for 30-35 minutes until they are golden brown. You can follow the baking instructions I used for my Baked Cajun wings as well, just without the cajun seasoning.

This would also be a great way to adapt my cast iron chicken wings and just finish them with the fish sauce glaze.

How to make the sauce for these chicken wings

This sauce has only a few ingredients, but the backbone of it is a lot of fish sauce. Usually you measure fish sauce by the dash or by the tablespoon so a quarter cup of fish sauce is more than I would use in most recipes.

It totally works in this sauce though. Just whisk together the ingredients like honey, garlic, sesame seeds, a little sriracha, and some water to make sure everything combines well.

Tips for great chicken wings

My favorite tip for good chicken wings is to finish the wings in the sauce, whatever sauce you are using, in a skillet so that the sauce really sticks to the wings.

For this version, I bring the sauce to a simmer in a skillet over medium heat and then toss in the wings after frying.

These will take just a minute or two to thicken the sauce and get so deliciously coated.

Substitutions and Ideas

Here are a few ideas for changes you could make to this recipe.

• If fish sauce just isn’t your thing, try this same recipe with hoisin sauce for a sweeter wing that still have some savory flavors.
• If you want these wings spicier, stir in a few tablespoons of chili crisp to the mix or add more sriracha.
• For a meal version of this, use the glaze on chicken thighs or chicken drumsticks.

If you are a chicken wing fan, these are something completely different and worth a shot!