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Crispy Vietnamese Wings (Gluten Free)

Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
marinate15 minutes
Total Time1 hour 5 minutes
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: vietnamese
Keyword: baking soda, chicken wings, cilantro, cornstarch, fish sauce, garlic, garlic powder, gluten free, lime juice, onion powder, tapioca starch, vietnamese wings, white pepper
Servings: 4 people
Author: GFchow @ gfchow.com

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs chicken wings flats and drums separated
  • cooking spray

Dry Rub Seasoning

  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon white pepper, black pepper can also be used
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt

Coating

  • 3 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 3 tablespoons tapioca starch (or tapioca flour) or if you don't have tapioca starch, use all cornstarch
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Sauce

  • 1 1/2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
  • 1-2 cloves garlic minced or pressed
  • 1 lime juiced
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce
  • 2 tablespoons cold water
  • Few slices of jalapeńo. red or green, de-seeded, finely chopped, or 1/4 teaspoon dried hot pepper flakes

Garnish

  • Handful of fresh cilantro or thai basil finely chopped for over the wings and the sauce

Instructions

  • Cooking Spray
  • Thoroughly pat dry the wings.
  • Combine dry rub marinade ingredients (garlic and onion powder, pepper, and kosher salt) in a small bowl. Then add wings and thoroughly coat and let marinate for at least 15 mins.
  • While wings are marinating, prepare the sauce in a medium sized bowl by combining the dark brown sugar, garlic, lime juice, fish sauce, water and jalapeños. Mix until sugar has dissolved and set aside.
  • Next, combine the starches and baking soda in a bowl, add the wings, thoroughly coat and dust off as much excess coating as possible before placing the wings in a single layer onto the tray.
  • Preheat oven or air fryer to 425 degrees.
  • I ran a test to see which method, air fryer or oven, would provide the crispiest wings. I placed half the wings on an air fryer rack lined with foil and the other half on a baking sheet lined with parchment for the oven and sprayed both with some cooking spray to help with crisping up the wings.
  • I placed the wings into the oven and air fryer,.When using the oven, I baked for a total of 30 minutes and when using the air fryer, I cooked for 25 minutes, turning the wings over halfway through cooking. The goal is to have golden, crispy wings so cook until this desired result is achieved. What I learned from my test...both cooking methods provide amazing results so go with your preferred method!
  • Serve immediately by tossing 2 tablespoons of the sauce and the cilantro or thai basil onto the wings. Add more sauce if needed but be careful not to over-sauce because you want to keep the wings as crispy as possible. Any remaining sauce can be served as a dipping sauce on the side.
  • Tranfer wings to a platter or bowl and dig in immediately!

Notes

If you're big chicken wing eaters, I would double the recipe.
For super crispy wings, keep the sauce on the side and use soley as a dipping sauce.