The other day Mike and I and a couple of friends did a Hot Ones challenge. We supplied the wings and the air fryer, one friend brought ALL the hot sauces, and another one brought the booze. It was a hilarious night filled with hot sauce, tears, chicken wings, and pure love.

I fried all the wings in the air fryer as we went along the hot sauce progression and it was really awesome because a.) it was hands off b.) it was super consistent c.) it gave us time to recover in between hot sauces. The wings were so good that the next day, when we had a bunch of wings leftover, Mike and I decided to fry them up in the air fryer.

Naked air fryer wings are a ridiculously beautiful burnished brown. They’re incredibly crispy even without any coating or battering because chicken wing skin is, well, fatty, which crisps up perfectly. They don’t need much. In fact, I ate my wings naked with just salt and pepper (because I’m still doing keto) while Mike had his doused in a sweet, sour, salty Vietnamese fish sauce, kinda like a super easy cheaters Pok Pok wing. Fish sauce chicken wings are the bomb!

Air frying chicken wings is the easiest thing ever – what are you waiting for?!

PS – Should I do a whole post about the Hot Ones challenge? We didn’t take any great photos but I do have some great stories and an opinion on all the hot sauces we tried.

Air fryer chicken wings are so crispy and juicy you won’t believe they weren’t deep fried! Seriously good and so easy. Eat them naked, with salt and pepper, or toss them in a salty, sweet, sour Vietnamese fish sauce that will leave you begging for more. #airfryer #chickenwings #wings #airfryerwings #recipes #dinner #appies #vietnamesefood

Air fryer chicken wings are so crispy and juicy you won’t believe they weren’t deep fried! Seriously good and so easy. Eat them naked, with salt and pepper, or toss them in a salty, sweet, sour Vietnamese fish sauce that will leave you begging for more. #airfryer #chickenwings #wings #airfryerwings #recipes #dinner #appies #vietnamesefood

Air fryer chicken wings are so crispy and juicy you won’t believe they weren’t deep fried! Seriously good and so easy. Eat them naked, with salt and pepper, or toss them in a salty, sweet, sour Vietnamese fish sauce that will leave you begging for more. #airfryer #chickenwings #wings #airfryerwings #recipes #dinner #appies #vietnamesefood

Extra Crispy Air Fryer Naked Chicken Wings in Vietnamese Fish Sauce Recipe

Super crispy naked air fryer chicken wings, pub style. Toss them with salt and pepper or go all out and douse them in a salty, sweet, tangy Vietnamese fish sauce that’s finger licking good.
Serves 2
5 from 1 vote
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 lb chicken wings
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1/2 Thai bird’s eye chili see notes
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 tbsp lime juice
  • 1 tbsp fish sauce

Special Equipment

  • air fryer

Instructions

  • Crush the garlic, chili and sugar together in a mortar and pestle until the garlic and chili are crushed to tiny pieces and the sugar is spicy and fragrant. Alternatively, you can stir minced garlic and sliced chilis into the sugar. Dissolve the sugar, garlic and chili mixture with the water then add the lime juice. Mix well then add the fish sauce, starting with 1 tablespoon and tasting as you go. Set the sauce aside for the flavors to meld while you make the chicken wings.
  • Lightly pat the chicken wings dry with paper towels (this helps make them crispier). Place the wings in a single layer in the air fryer basket being sure not to crowd. Cook at 400°F for 12-15 minutes, then shake/flip and cook for another 5 minutes at 400°F. The wings will be golden brown and crispy.
    Air fryer chicken wings are so crispy and juicy you won’t believe they weren’t deep fried! Seriously good and so easy. Eat them naked, with salt and pepper, or toss them in a salty, sweet, sour Vietnamese fish sauce that will leave you begging for more. #airfryer #chickenwings #wings #airfryerwings #recipes #dinner #appies #vietnamesefood
  • When the wings are done, toss with the fish sauce to taste. Enjoy immediately!
    Air fryer chicken wings are so crispy and juicy you won’t believe they weren’t deep fried! Seriously good and so easy. Eat them naked, with salt and pepper, or toss them in a salty, sweet, sour Vietnamese fish sauce that will leave you begging for more. #airfryer #chickenwings #wings #airfryerwings #recipes #dinner #appies #vietnamesefood

Notes

Notes: If you’re spice adverse, be sure to deseed the chili before adding it (also be careful with your hands, don’t touch your eyes!). Or you can just add a quarter of a chili. If you’re a spice fiend, just use the whole chili!
Also, it’s best to let the fish sauce sit in the fridge for a day or so for the flavors to meld before using, but you can definitely use it right away if you need to. Any extra can be saved to eat over noodles, meats, or anything.

4 Comments

  1. Diane Martin says:

    I’m looking forward to receiving more of your recipes. They look easy enough for me to make and very delicious.

  2. Whitney says:

    Please post about the Hot Challenge, I looove hot sauces!!

  3. Yum, Looking so delicious and juicy. I am a big fan of chicken, especially Butter chicken, and chicken wings. This recipe you have is completely new to me, I have never made chicken this way. This is quite an interesting recipe. I will definitely try out and let you know. Thank you for sharing this great recipe.

  4. Z says:

    Which airfryer do you have? I’m going to bite the bullet and get one!

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Thanks for reading as always!
-Steph & Mike