The thing that shocked me when I first had these popular Thai wings was that they only use one seasoning: fish sauce. Really? Only fish sauce? How can it be THIS good?? I guess that is the magic of fish sauce. It delivers salty umami that, in many situations, is all you need. These are one of the most popular appetizers in Thailand, and it is incredibly easy to make at home, no deep frying required!
What Are Thai Fish Sauce Wings?
Fish sauce wings are called ปีกไก่ทอดน้ำปลา peek gai tod nam pla in Thai, which literally means “wings fried with fish sauce.” They’re served in many restaurants across Thailand, especially ones popular with the drinking crowds because it’s such a great dish to pair with a cold beer.
In Thailand they are typically deep fried, but for this recipe I’ve also provided a method that uses shallow frying only, and also an alternative air-fried method (not as crispy, but works).
Ingredients and Notes
Here’s all the ingredients you need and important notes about them. For amounts, see the recipe card below.
- Chicken wing flats. Thai fish sauce wings use only flats, as I explain more below. This is, as the name suggests, the flat part of the wings. They’re sometimes called wingettes. For the drums, you can save them for another recipe such as my turmeric chicken soup, tom yum chicken, or these zingy spicy KFC wings!
- Fish sauce. Since it is the only seasoning, it’s important to use good fish sauce. Read more about how to choose good fish sauce here.
- Rice flour. Though you CAN make this recipe without any flour, I find the flour helps create a crisper crust. You can also substitute cornstarch instead, but I do prefer the light, crisp texture of rice flour. **Be sure to buy regular rice flour (red bag) not glutinous rice flour (green bag).
- Ground white or black pepper. This is optional 🙂
- Optional: Sweet chili sauce for serving. In Thailand these are typically served without any dipping sauce (the beverage is the sauce!), and they don’t need it. However, I understand the desire to dip! So if you want, Thai sweet chili sauce would be the perfect pairing, and you can buy it or use my easy homemade Thai sweet chili sauce recipe here.
How to Make Crispy Thai Fish Sauce Wings
Here’s a bird’s eye view of the steps. If this is your first time, I recommend watching the video tutorial to ensure success!
- Place wings in a dish just big enough to hold them, or a ziptop bag, and add the fish sauce. Toss the wings to coat, and marinate for 20-30 mins, turning them half way though.
- Pat the wings dry, and if you want you can pepper them at this point too. Then dust the rice flour over them so they are thoroughly coated.
- Flip the wings and dust the rice flour over the other side.
- Put the wings into the sieve and shake off excess flour.
- Add oil into a 12-inch skillet it is about ¼ inch thick. One hot, lay the wings thick-skin side down and let them fry for about 4 minutes until they have a deep golden brown colour.
- Flip the wings to fry the other side for another 2 minutes or so until they are cooked through.
- When shallow frying, oil tends to jump more than when deep frying, so it’s good to have a mesh guard!
- Drain on paper towel and enjoy! They don’t need a sauce, but if you want, they are great dipped in Thai sweet chili sauce.
How to Deep-Fry and Air-Fry Fish Sauce Wings
I love to shallow fry these wings because I get the crispiness of frying without having to deal with a lot of oil, though all the flipping can be a bit fiddly if you need to make multiple batches. You can deep fry and air fry these, with pros and cons below:
Deep Frying
How: Bring about 1 inch of oil to 375°F (190°C) over medium high heat. Fry the wings for 4-5 minutes until browned and crispy.