Inspired by the chicken wings from Phnom Penh in Vancouver, this is my take on the crispy wings with a lime pepper dipping sauce.
Oven baked or shallow fried chicken wings, thighs, drumsticks was an easy quick dinner for those nights my mom didn't want to spend hours cooking after work. We often marinated the chicken in groeung paste or soy sauce and garlic or to keep things simple: salt and pepper.
Who doesn't love chicken wings?
Is there anything more satisfying than a perfectly salty crispy chicken wing? When I moved to Vancouver after high school there were many days and nights where I craved my mom's Cambodian cooking and one place I could satisfy that craving was at the Phnom Pehn restaurant in Vancouver's Chinatown.
This is my take on those perfectly seasoned crispy chicken wings found at Phnom Pehn in Vancouver. I love to serve mine with Thuk Marith Grochma: Cambodian Lime Pepper Sauce. To make this healthy-ish I also bake them in the oven and their just as crispy and delicious as fried!
Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings (makes 24-30 wings)
Ingredients:
2lbs or 24-30 pieces of wings & drumsticks
2 tsp salt
1 tsp MSG
1 1/2 tsp white sugar
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp Knorr chicken stock powder
1 tbsp baking powder (aluminum free)
Prepping your chicken wings the night before
If you're planning on baking your wings in the oven and want to ensure they are crispy do this the night before. Pat your chicken wings dry with a paper towel and place on a plate uncovered in the fridge over night. This allows the skin to tighten and dry resulting in crispy skin when you bake them.
Marinating the chicken wings
Place your wings into a large mixing bowl and add the baking powder. Mix with your hands coating each piece of chicken wing with baking powder. Set aside.
In a small bowl mix together your salt, sugar, msg, black pepper, and chicken stock powder. Set aside 1 teaspoon for sprinkling onto cooked chicken wings. Pour your mixed seasoning onto the chicken wings and mix thoroughly with your hands making sure to coat each wing with the dry rub.
Baking the chicken wings
Preheat your oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit. Place your chicken wings, skin side up, onto a cookie rack on a baking tray/sheet pan. This allows the air to circulate around the wings in the oven to evenly crisp the wings.
Bake at 250F on the second lowest rack for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes crank the oven temperature to 375F, flip the chicken wings, and bake for another 20-30 minutes.
Everyone's oven is different. Some run hotter than others. Check your wings after 20 minutes to make sure they don't burn. If your wings are quite meaty or larger in size it might take longer than 30 minutes to fully crisp the skin at 375F. Keep an eye on them without having to open the oven door too much.
Once cooked sprinkle the teaspoon of dry rub you set aside earlier and serve with the lime pepper dipping sauce.
Frying the chicken wings
If you would rather fry the wings instead of baking them heat your canola or vegetable oil to 325-350 degrees Fahrenheit. Fry chicken wings until golden brown and the internal temperature of the chicken wing meat reaches 160-165F.
Place chicken wings onto a colander lined with paper towels to soak up excess oil. Sprinkle the extra dry rub that was set aside earlier and serve with the lime pepper dipping sauce.
Thuk Marith Grochma: Lime Pepper Dipping Sauce
Ingredients:
3 limes
3 tsp ground black pepper
1 clove of garlic
pinch of salt
pinch of MSG
pinch of white sugar
1 tbsp water (optional)
Finely chop the garlic. In a small bowl mix together the lime juice, chopped garlic, black pepper, sugar, salt, and msg. If the black pepper flavour is too intense you can add the tablespoon of water.