Nights Aflame

I grew up in a bustling household. My father’s roots are Chinese and my mother’s Vietnamese. They had 8 children; we were all born in Saigon in the midst of the Vietnam war, during a time of incredible scarcity. Luckily for us, our family was sponsored to Canada. Ingredients were more readily available here, so mom relished in the cooking she could do and we were truly spoiled with food. Mealtimes were always a great affair, the long dining table filled with dishes prepared by mom, sometimes it was Chinese cuisine, sometimes Vietnamese. But always, it was a chance for the family to gather to share their day and connect with one another.

Growing up we had the peculiar habit of late-night snacks, except that the "snacks" were more full-fledged meals. My mom was very regimented in her 6:00pm dinner. But some time around 9 or 10pm, we would all go into the kitchen and fend for ourselves, each preparing our own snack/meal. The children ranged from age 5 to 27. I remember dad roasting dried squid over the burner, or making toast and sprinkling white sugar on it, which I later discovered were common Saigon street food. Other siblings fried eggs and had them over a steaming bowl of rice, with a light drizzle of soy sauce. While others cooked up a package of instant noodles. Those without cooking skills opted for the simple yet delicious Rice Krispies and milk.

This late-night dining habit is common in Cantonese culture. This snack/meal is called Sieu Yie. When I first heard my family talk about it, I thought the two words they were saying were: “burn” and “night.” It was a beautiful concept to me, my young mind interpreted it as setting the night on fire - that bedtime and schedules didn’t matter, and that the night was meant to be lived together with boisterous laughter and communal cooking, wild and carefree to close out the day before we would have to wake up and face yet another day of schedules and responsibilities.

I was 21 when I first traveled to Vietnam. I had finished university and wanted to travel to my homeland. In Saigon, I have a cousin, Quyen, around my age who was tasked with entertaining me. She was worried that I wouldn't be familiar with the food.

"What do you like to eat?"

"Anything!"

"But tell me one thing you love."

"Show me the local version of chicken wings."

"I can take you later tonight."

"Don't you work at 5:00am tomorrow?"

"Who cares. You're here!"

Later that evening, as promised we headed out. Quyen took me to a little street stall run by a charismatic lady wearing what looked like pyjamas. She had set up shop in a narrow alley. We sat on small stools, our butts a few inches from the ground, we were crammed beside miniature tables. Every table was full, and it was close to midnight. People on scooters drove by, blowing exhaust into our faces. Large woks of smoking oil bubbling filled the air rich with fragrance of lime, chilis and garlic. There was no menu. The only item offered was chicken wings.

Quyen shouted out the order to the lady manning the wok. A few minutes later, glasses of ice water were plunked down in front of us along with two plates of crispy fried chicken wings, tossed in a reduction of nuoc mam (fish sauce, lime juice, sugar) topped with crispy garlic and bird's eye chilis. I was floored. And though it was 20 years ago, it remains one of my most vivid culinary memories, in that dark, narrow alley in Saigon, tasting something so delectable that it remains ingrained in my memory for decades.

Life continues to be hectic. Our family gatherings are more challenging to organize now as we are all adults spread across the world. Some in Canada, one in Los Angeles, one in Berlin one in Hong Kong. It’s rare that we are all together. But when we do meet, we say, “Let’s burn the night....” and these chicken wings have become a huge part of it.

Recipe + Instructions

Wings (about a pound) are cleaned and dried, then marinaded in a mixture of teaspoon of garlic powder, ½ tablespoon of fish sauce, 1 tsp of ground white pepper, 1 tsp of chicken bouillon powder, pinch of salt. Place all ingredients in a Ziploc bag, massage the flavors into the chicken wings, refrigerate overnight.

Wings are coated in a mixture before deep-frying; combine ½ cup cornstarch with ½ tsp baking powder. Make sure the wings have been pat dry before you coat them with this mixture.

To make the yummy crunch bits on top, finely chop 8 cloves of garlic and 3 red shallots, fry in oil until crispy. This will take between 8-10 minutes. Do not use high heat or it will burn. Drain and set it aside to cool.

The sauce is a delicious sweet, savory sticky goodness. To make it, combine, 2 cloves of mashed garlic, 4 tbsp brown sugar, 3 tbsp fish sauce, , 4 tbsp water. This mixture will be reduced in a pot until thickened to a consistency of a light syrup, stir in 3 tbsp lime juice. At this point, add a chopped sprig of green onion, and finely minced bird eye chilis (optional).

Fry the chicken wings in oil until a deep golden color. (Tip: for crispy wings, you can do a double fry.) Drain wings in sieve and toss the wings in the sauce, and top with the garnish of garlic and shallots.