Cánh Gà Chiên Nước Mắm (Crispy Chicken Wings in Sweet and Spicy Fish Sauce)

It's been a while since my last post. I've been swamped by the holidays and lots of cooking and has not had enough time to take detail pictures and jot down descriptive recipes. In addition, the weather has not been very cooperative. By the time I finished my cooking, it's too dark to provide the right natural lighting for me to take good pictures for the blog. Now, the Christmas lights are down and I just threw away my white fir Christmas tree; it's time to go back to the ranch, my kitchen.

One of the dishes that I served on the Christmas dinner was Cánh Gà Chiên Nước Mắm (Chicken Wings in Sweet and Spicy Sweet Sauce). I turned one part of the wing into a lollipop for the kids to enjoy. Though I much prefer to fry it with skin on which is more crispy and delicious. When the chicken wings got turn inside out to create a lollipop, the outside of the lollipop is not as crispy though it's still good.

My husband liked it so much he asked me to make it five times in a month. They make finger licking delicious appetizers because they are very addicting!.

RECIPE: Cánh Gà Chiên Nước Mắm

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

for marinating chicken wings

1 package, about 6 lbs, chicken party wings

4 shallots, minced

2 whole garlic, minced

for sweet and spicy fish sauce

1 cup good fish Sauce

2 cups sugar
chili pepper sauce, optional

rice bran oil or vegetable oil, for frying

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Direction

Marinating Chicken Wings

Wash wings and cut into half at the joint if you have whole chicken wings.

If you want to make lollipop wings, use the drumette part which has one bigger bone like a drumstick or chicken leg. Separate the meat from the top of the drumette and push it down to make a lollipop. Hold the thin end of the drumette firmly, then cut through the skin surrounding the bone with a small knife. Use a knife to scrape down the meat from the bone. Push the meat down to the other end.

Place the wings and chicken lollipops in a bowl. Marinate with minced garlic and shallots for at least half an hour.

Making Sweet and Spicy Fish Sauce

In a sauce pan, bring fish sauce and sugar to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about a minute. Avoid cooking the sauce too long to prevent evaporation which could lead to a saltier sauce. Remove from heat.

Add chili pepper sauce if you want it spicy. The sauce will thicken as it cool down. Set it aside.

Deep Frying Chicken Wings

Add oil in a pot and bring it over high heat. A good way to test if the oil is hot enough to fry is to stick the end of a wooden chopstick in the oil. You can tell with how quickly the bubbles are raising to the surface that it is really hot and ready. Add wings to the hot oil. During the frying process, use a strainer to remove the fried garlic and shallot and set aside.