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5 from 1 vote

Oven Baked Crispy Phnom Penh Chicken Wings

These chicken wings are super crispy, a little sweet, a little peppery, a little tangy, a lot garlicky served with an intense pepper lime dipping sauce. In Vancouver Chinatown, there is this hole-in-the-wall restaurant that serves up the best Cambodian deep fried chicken wings. There is always a line up and you’ll see a plate of these wings on pretty much every table.
Even though the wings don’t get as crispy as when they are deep-fried, this recipe gets a pretty good crisp being oven baked and the flavour is definitely there!
To get them crispier, use an air fryer. I’ve included the instructions below.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time40 minutes
Course: Appetizer, Main Course
Cuisine: Asian, Cambodian
Keyword: air fryer, chicken, garlic, lime, wings
Servings: 2 servings

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds chicken wings separated, tips removed
  • 2 tablespoons fish sauce
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 lime juiced
  • ½-1 cup potato starch
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted (optional)
  • 2 tablespoons avocado oil optional
  • 2 green onions chopped
  • 2 tablespoons cilantro chopped
  • Pinch sugar

For garlic butter

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • Pinch kosher salt

For the dipping sauce

  • 1 lime juiced
  • Pinch kosher salt
  • ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

Instructions

  • In a large mixing bowl, combine the chicken wings, fish sauce, garlic, sugar and lime juice. Let marinate for 20-30 minutes. Do not let it marinate for more than an hour.
  • Place potato starch in a shallow plate and lightly dredge all the chicken wings. Add more potato starch, if necessary.
  • Preheat oven to 400℉.
  • Arrange the chicken wings on a parchment paper lined sheet pan, skin side down. In a small bowl, combine melted butter with avocado or neutral cooking oil and baste wings or spray wings liberally with cooking oil.
  • Bake in a preheated oven for 20 minutes. Flip the wings over and bake for another 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and you can leave the wings in the oven for another 15-30 minutes, if necessary. This will make the wings even crispier.
  • If using an air fryer, preheat the air fryer to 400℉ and place some of the chicken wings in the basket. Do not overcrowd. Spray liberally with cooking oil or baste with melted butter and oil mixture. Cook for 15-20 minutes until desired crispiness, stirring once midway. You may need to do this in multiple batches. Keep the cooked wings warm by placing them in a warm oven.
  • Meanwhile, make the dipping sauce by combining lime juice, salt and pepper. Set aside.
  • In a wok or a small saucepan on medium heat and melt the butter. Turn heat to low and add garlic. Sauté garlic for 3-4 minutes making sure it does not brown. Stir in a pinch of salt.
  • If using a wok, add the cooked wings and toss. Otherwise, place the cooked wings in a large mixing bowl. Pour garlic butter over the wings and toss.
  • Sprinkle the sugar, green onions and cilantro over the wings, toss again. Serve on a platter with dipping sauce on the side.