Pok Pok Chicken Wings

Wondering what to make for the upcoming Memorial Day holiday? The fried chicken wings from Portland-based Pok Pok Restaurant are world famous, and I’ve adapted the recipe from the Pok Pok Cookbook for the Paleo palette.They would make a very tasty snack to serve your family or guests.

Ingredients:

Marinade & Sauce:

8 - 10 medium cloves of garlic 
1/4 cup warm water
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup Red Boat fish sauce
1/2 cup coconut sugar

1 tablespoon grapeseed oil

Chicken Wings:

12 chicken wings, wing tips cut off (or buy Party Wings if your butcher has them)
Grapeseed oil (for deep frying)
1 cup rice flour
1/4 cup water

Day Before Cooking Wings:

1. Finely chop the garlic. Put in a bowl and add 1/4 cup warm water and salt. Let sit for 15 minutes, and then strain the garlic mixture into a bowl. Use the back of a wooden spoon to press the garlic and extract as much of the liquid as possible. Set the garlic pieces aside.

2. Add fish sauce and sugar to the garlic water and stir until the sugar has dissolved. There should be about 1 cup of liquid.

3. Put the chicken wings in a mixing bowl, add 1/2 of the liquid mixture, and reserve the other 1/2 in the fridge for the next day. Toss the wings well. Cover and refrigerate overnight, tossing the wings occasionally. 

4. Fry the pressed garlic pieces in 1 tablespoon of oil; drain on paper towels, and store in an airtight container at room temperature overnight.

Day of Cooking Wings:

1. Remove the wings from the fridge and place in a colander to drain for at least 15 minutes.

2. Dip each wing in the rice flour, covering completely, and stack on a plate to the side.

3. Pour the oil in a wok or large saucepan. Bring the oil to medium-high heat, until just starting to smoke.

4. Fry the wings in batches. Turn them over with tongs after a couple of minutes. They should be cooked through in about 5-6 minutes. Turn off the fire, and transfer the wings to a plate with paper towels; put paper towels on the top to absorb the oil.

5. Heat up the oil again and fry as before. Stack the wings on the plate and cover with paper towels until all are cooked through. Set aside.

6. Clean the wok. Put the reserved 1/2 cup fish sauce in the wok and add 1/4 cup water. Stir the sauce on high heat until it reduces down by about 1/2. Put in the fried wings and cover with the sauce. Continue tossing them until the sauce has become a glaze covering the wings. Add the reserved fried garlic and stir fry until the wings have turned a shade darker.

7. Transfer the wings to a serving plate. Best while hot and sticky, or enjoy cold later on. It’s all good.

#paleo #pokpok #chickenwings #chicken #Vietnamese #friedchicken #partyfood #snacks