Easy Air Fryer Vietnamese Chicken Wings (Canh Ga Chien Nuoc Mam)

These Air Fryer Vietnamese Chicken Wings (Canh Ga Chien Nuoc Mam) are covered in sweet and savoury sauce but are still crispy. Use the air fryer to crisp up the wings and coat them with this fish sauce, garlic and sugar dipping sauce. Not only is it finger-licking good, but it’s also a healthier version compared to the deep-fried recipe. 

Chicken wings are a nice treat to have and the girls fight over the wings. Even before they finish they are already eyeing their next chicken wing. They love the sweet and savoury glaze. It shocks me to see how many wings they can eat! 

I think their stomachs are a bottomless pit when it comes to eating these wings.

Air Fryer

The invention of the air fryer has been a game changer in my household. Using the air fryer crisps up the chicken wings without the added oil from deep frying. It’s also great because it’s the healthier way to enjoy the wings and the kids won’t even realize it wasn’t deep fried.

There are two different types of air fryers. There are self-contained air fryers and multi-cooker and ovens that have air fryer functionality. I use a self-contained air fryer. The brand I use is made by Philips. I use this small appliance 2 – 3 times a week. It can fry, grill, roast and even bake. I have tried all of these functions and every meal I have made turns out awesome. Better than using my conventional oven for many of the recipes.

Chicken Wings

The typical Vietnamese recipe uses whole chicken wings. For this recipe, I bought chicken wings that were already cut into separate drumettes and wingettes. These are the easiest to find at your grocery store and also cook faster in the air fryer. My girls love the wingettes and we all fight over them during meal time. 

Flour instead of potato starch

I use flour instead of potato starch because I find the chicken wings stay super crispy even when coated with the fish sauce glaze. Flour is readily available at home compared to starch. I’ve made these in the oven with flour and they taste closest to the deep-fried version without the added calories from the oil.

Garlic

I love garlic. Period. Garlic has many health benefits such as helping boost the body’s immune system and reducing high blood pressure and cholesterol levels. For this recipe the more garlic the tastier.

Fish sauce

Fish sauce is a condiment I didn’t grow up with. It wasn’t until I met my husband that I was introduced to this pungent yet flavourful sweet liquid. My mother-in-law has used this to add umami flavour to many of her Vietnamese dishes. Made from salted fish fermented for months to years. Now I always have a bottle or two in my pantry ready to use. You can also use fish sauce in this Thai Pineapple Fried Rice.

FAQs

How to serve?

Serve these wings as an appetizer or as a main course with rice and any vegetable available. When I host family or bring these to a party these wings are a huge hit. One of the first dishes to be devoured.

Can you make these with chicken drumsticks?

For sure! The cook time will be different. For chicken drumsticks cook them for 30 minutes and make sure you don’t overcrowd the air fryer. You may need to cook them in 2 batches.

Can you substitute the fish sauce?

I don’t recommend substituting the fish sauce as this is what makes the recipe so darn delish. But if you would like to substitute the fish sauce you can use soy sauce or coconut amino.

Can the glaze be used as a dipping sauce instead of coating the wings?

Yes! If you are planning to bring this to a party you can always coat half the wings and the other half leave plain and have the fish sauce glaze as a dipping sauce. I also will say the air fryer chicken wings made with flour instead of starch hold its crispiness well even when coated with the fish sauce glaze.

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