This Asian chicken wings recipe is a personal and reader favorite. These sticky fish sauce chicken wings are delicious and can also be made with soy sauce instead of fish sauce. But the fish sauce makes these taste better! Asian fish sauce wings are an umami blast and wonderful if you love lots of flavor on your wings. We originally shared this recipe in 2015.

Incredible Asian Chicken Wings on a plate

Discovery of these flavorful wings

If you love chicken wings, but you’re not a fan of fish sauce, please wait. Don’t turn away just yet. Give us a chance to make our case, hopefully to get yourself to the kitchen to make a batch!

Many years ago our photographer friend Lara Ferroni met up with us for lunch while we were in Portland. She suggested one of her favorites, Pok Pok. When there we ordered the Vietnamese fish sauce chicken wings and our minds were blown at how much more delicious Asian chicken wings can taste. The intense flavors of the fish sauce really came through, balanced with the sweet and garlic layers. We’ve always been hugs fans of fish sauce and devouring this platter of Vietnamese fish sauce wings in 2 minutes flat meant that they were DELICIOUS.

Since then, we created our own version to add to our chicken wing obsession. Over the years, we’ve created many chicken wing recipes with fish sauce, but none that was intense enough with fish sauce flavor. And this new recipe is inspired from those amazing fish sauce chicken wings from Pok Pok.

Video: Asian Chicken Wings Recipe with Fish Sauce

Incredible Asian Chicken Wings in a pot

Fish Sauce Chicken Wings are So Good.

What makes our fish sauce chicken wings so different is that they’re really sticky, the type that leaves you licking your fingers and asking for extra napkins. But what makes them special to our taste is that we’ve added just a little less fish sauce so that it’s not so salty and have added some layers of fresh lime juice, vinegar and honey for sticky sweetness. And we didn’t add garlic. Why no garlic? because there’s so much flavor in this, we don’t need it. Well, not exactly.  There is the chili garlic sauce we added for a touch of kick and the garlic in one shot. All the flavors of everything come through beautifully in this Asian Chicken Wings Recipe.

Our Favorite Fish Sauce Brands:

Flying Lion Fish Sauce
Flying Lion Fish Sauce

This has been our house fish sauce for decades. Great stuff! We’ll use it to make our dipping sauces as well as marinades.

Red Boat Fish Sauce
Red Boat Fish Sauce

100% all-natural first press extra virgin Vietnamese fish sauce. One of the best artisan fish sauce producers.

Three Crabs Fish Sauce
Three Crabs Fish Sauce

Another good fish sauce. Clean flavors, good depth. It’s the one Diane’s mom most often uses for cooking.

What If You Want To Use Soy Sauce? Other Additions?

Sure, soy sauce will work great too. But if you’re still a little cautious, try a version of half fish sauce, half soy sauce. These are still flavorful without the commitment to fish sauce if you’re hot ready. Sesame oil is a nice nutty addition so you can try some sesame oil too. Soy sauce and fish sauce provides that punch of savory umami that makes these wings so great.

Incredible Asian Chicken Wings on a plate

Sticky Asian Fish Sauce Chicken Wings

Yield: 4 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Chicken wings can be prepared in different ways to achieve their crispness: fried or baked, with flour or not. Visit this write up on different ways to prepare chicken wings. This recipe shows a baked technique, but you can certainly fry them in oil or air fry them for a crispier wing.
5 from 7 votes
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Ingredients

Chicken wing ingredients

  • 2 pounds (910 g) chicken wings , rinsed and patted dry
  • kosher salt , to taste
  • fresh cracked black pepper , to taste

Sticky fish sauce ingredients

  • 1/4 cup (60 ml) ketchup
  • 1/4 cup (60 ml) honey
  • 2 Tablespoons (30 ml) fish sauce
  • 2 Tablespoons (30 ml) chili garlic sauce
  • 1 Tablespoon (15 ml) fresh lime juice
  • 2 teaspoons (10 ml) rice vinegar
  • optional , chopped cilantro to garnish

Instructions 

  • Cook the Wings: For frying or air fryer – see note at end of recipe: Preheat oven to 425°F/220°C. Line a baking sheet pan with parchment paper.
    Preheat oven
  • On prepared baking sheet pan, spread chicken wings out in one even layer (we don’t coat our wings with oil before baking, but you can if you want. We find that the oil just makes the wings greasier. The wings release enough fat already). Season chicken wings with salt and pepper.
    raw chicken wings on sheet pan
  • Bake at 425°F/220°C for about 40-50 minutes until golden brown, flipping the wings halfway through baking, after the first 30 minutes or so.
    Baked wings
  • Make the Sauce: While the wings cook, make the sauce. In a skillet, combine all of the sauce ingredients (ketchup, honey, fish sauce, chili garlic sauce, lime juice, and rice vinegar).
  • Heat the sauce over medium-high heat until it starts to simmer. Lower the heat to low or medium-low and gently simmer until sauce thickens.
    Sauce simmering
  • Add the cooked wings to the sauce and toss to coat. Once wings are coated and sauce becomes sticky, remove wings from pan.
    Tossing wings with sauce
  • Serve hot garnished with chopped cilantro if desired.
    Sauced wing on a plate

Notes

Crispy Wing Alternate Cooking Methods

Traditional Fry in Oil (uses about 1/2-3/4 cup of cornstarch to coat wings).
Toss the wings in cornstarch to coat, shaking off excess cornstarch. 
Heat about 2-inches of oil in a large pot to 375°F. Fry in batches for about 8 minutes per batch, or until golden and cooked through. Make sure to turn the wings a couple times while cooking so they cook evenly. Season with salt & pepper.
Air Fryer Chicken Wings (here’s our favorite Air Fryer)
Season wings with salt & pepper. 
Air Fry at 400°F for 25-30 minutes, flipping 2-3 times while cooking.
Toss with a little sauce, and then air fry for another 2-3 minutes. Different models and sizes of air fryers cook quicker than others. So adjust times accordingly. 

Video

Nutrition Information per Serving

Calories: 230kcal, Carbohydrates: 24g, Protein: 12g, Fat: 10g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 4g, Trans Fat: 0.1g, Cholesterol: 47mg, Sodium: 1306mg, Potassium: 179mg, Fiber: 0.4g, Sugar: 22g, Vitamin A: 170IU, Vitamin C: 2mg, Calcium: 15mg, Iron: 1mg
Course: Main Course, Side Dish, Snack
Cuisine: American, Asian, Vietnamese
Calories: 230

Great Party Wings

These is the perfect Asian chicken wings recipe that has just enough fish sauce flavor, but not to where it’s over bearing. With the honey, fresh lime juice and vinegar, the sauce isn’t all about the fish sauce. Just enough to have a salty, umami, need to eat another 3 or 4 wings kick. With a beer. Serve it to a lively group of friends at a party and everyone will ask for seconds or thirds. They’re the perfect party wings for Holidays, New Years or Game Day. Give these a try!

What to serve with these fish sauce chicken wings?

If you’re serving these wings as an appetizer, we love love pairing these wings with crunchy, cool and crisp veggies. Serving these with a platter of pickles, sliced cucumber, radishes or celery is a great way to balance out the salty flavors. For a more complete meal, serve these wings with some warm rice, noodles or pasta. These chicken wings are a great option as a comfort food when served with rice or pasta.

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