As many of us find ourselves cooking at home more often, we’re sharing recipes from some of Toronto’s top chefs and restaurants.
When he’s not running the kitchen at one of Toronto’s favourite spots for new-Asian cuisine, DaiLo, chef Nick Liu loves preparing fried Cambodian-style chicken wings at home. Lucky for us, chef Liu (who also owns Lopan Bar and Little DaiLo) is sharing the mouthwatering recipe ahead of its debut at his popular College Street spot.
“I’ve made these a bunch of times during the forced shutdown,” Liu says. “You will see this dish at DaiLo in the future. So delicious!”
So without further ado, here’s everything you need to make chef Liu’s delicious fried chicken wings.
Ingredients
Chicken
- 2-3 litres of canola oil for frying
- 1.5 pounds of chicken wings
- 1/4 cup fish sauce
- 2 tablespoons garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons ginger, minced
- 2 tablespoons scallion, minced
- 2 pinches of sugar
- 1/2 juice of one lemon
- 1/2 juice of one lime
- 1 cup corn starch
- generous sprinkle of sugar, to finish
- sliced green onions and picked coriander for garnish
- salt and pepper mix
Dipping sauce
- 1/2 juice of one lemon
- 1/2 juice of one lime
- 1/2 tablespoon ground white pepper
- 1/2 tablespoon ground black pepper
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 dash fish sauce
Method
Place canola oil in a wok or heavy bottom pot on medium/high heat.
In a small bowl mix together the garlic, ginger, and scallion. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the fish sauce, sugar, lemon and lime juice and half of the garlic/ginger/scallion mix. Cut and separate the drumette, wing, and wing tip. Then toss with the marinade and marinate for one hour.
Place corn starch in a bowl and, working in batches according to pieces, coat the chicken drumettes first, shaking off the excess starch. Use a pair of tongs to gently add the chicken to the hot oil. Tip: deep fry in batches, being careful not to crowd the pan.
Fry until crunchy, golden brown and cooked through, 7-8 minutes. Let drain on a rack or a lined paper towel tray. Continue this with the rest of the chicken. Stating the obvious — be careful when placing chicken in oil, it is extremely hot and may splatter.
In a wok or large pan put 2 tablespoons of canola oil on high heat. Add the other half of the garlic/ginger/scallion mix and sauté for 30 seconds before tossing your wings in. Sprinkle generously with sugar and salt/pepper mix and toss together coating the wings evenly. Transfer wings onto a plate and top with cilantro and green onions.
In a small bowl whisk together all the dipping sauce ingredients. Dip wings into the citrus/salt/pepper sauce and enjoy!
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Looking for other chef-approved recipes to try at home? Make chef Lynn Crawford’s summer burrata crostini, Susur Lee’s famous Singapore slaw, Pizzeria Libretto’s meatballs, or Planta’s plant-based mac and cheese.