Pok Pok Crispy Chicken Wings

I have heard about these wings for a while. They are apparently the best wings ever from a restaurant in Portland. They are juicy, crispy, sticky, sweet, & spicy. I mean pretty much everything you can ask for when makin' some wings. These wings were awesome. One of my favorite wings to date. And we love wings. We make a different type of wing every week for tailgates. We made them extremely spicy, but you can reduce the spice to your liking. Definitely make these the next chance you get... like tonight before the Falcons game :) Enjoy!

Pok Pok Crispy Chicken Wings

For the Marinade:

3lbs Chicken Wings, Split at the Drumettes

1C Hot Water

2 Cloves of Garlic, Crushed & Roughly Chopped

Kosher Salt

½C Fish Sauce

½C Soy Sauce

1C Sugar

For the Crispy Wings:

1Q Vegetable Oil, For Frying

Marinated Chicken Wings, Removed from the Liquid & Patted Completely Dry

1C Cornstarch

To Make the Spicy Vietnamese Caramel:

2 Cloves of Garlic, Minced

2T Vegetable Oil

¼C Fish Sauce

¼C Soy Sauce 

¼C Sugar

¼C Honey

¼-½C Chili-Garlic Sauce (depending on how spicy you want it)

Fried, Minced Garlic, For Garnish

Fresh Cilantro, Minced

Directions:

1. To Marinade the Wings: In a small bowl, steep the crushed garlic and salt with the hot water for roughly 5 minutes. After waiting, whisk in the fish sauce, soy sauce, and sugar until all of it is completely mixed and the sugar has dissolved. Let this mixture cool completely before marinating the wings (I let mine chill in the refrigerator until cold). Once the marinade is cold, place the wings into a plastic bag (or large container) and pour the cold marinade over the chicken, tossing to coat completely. Marinate the wings for at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight to enhance the flavor and juiciness (making sure you toss the wings occasionally throughout the process, so that they are evenly covered). Once the wings have marinated for your desired time, remove the chicken wings from the liquid and completely pat them dry of any excess liquid. These must be as dry as possible for them to be extremely crispy.
2. To Make the Crispy Wings: In your deep fryer, heat the vegetable oil to 350 degrees. While your oil heats, coat your wings. Put the cornstarch in a shallow bowl and add the marinated, dried wings turning & flipping them to coat. Shake off the excess cornstarch and fry the wings in batches until golden brown and cooked through, roughly about 8-10 minutes. Drain them on paper towels until ready to coat them with the sauce.
3. To Make the Spicy Vietnamese Caramel: In a wok, heat the 2T to medium heat and add in the minced garlic, cooking them until golden brown without burning them, about 2-3 minutes (keep a close eye because burnt garlic tastes awful). Remove the fried garlic from the oil with a slotted spoon and drain it on a paper towel, while you make the caramel. In the oiled wok, bring the pan to medium heat and add in the fish sauce, soy sauce, and sugar. As the sugar begins to melt, the mixture will start to thicken up into a syrupy consistency, about 5 minutes. Once it starts to thicken, whisk in the honey and Sriracha until smooth and thick (don’t let the sauce unattended because it will burn). Add in the fried wings and toss in the sauce until they are coated and sticky.
4. To Serve the Pok Pok Wings: Once the wings are covered in the sauce, transfer them to a bowl or serving plate and garnish with the fried garlic and minced cilantro. Serve immediately and enjoy.

source: pok pok chicken wings. ike's vietnamese fish sauce wings.