Thanksgiving prep, year three. The pressure is real. The Vietnamese-brined smoked turkey has become a legend in this household and among anyone who's tasted it. Last year's tamarind-honey glaze elevated it further. This year, I need to innovate or stagnate.
The innovation: I'm doing two birds. One smoked turkey (the standard, the brined and glazed classic) and one fried turkey — Vietnamese-style deep-fried. The fry is based on a technique I saw on a Vietnamese cooking channel: brine the turkey in a mix of fish sauce, lemongrass, galangal, and sugar for 24 hours, then deep-fry it in peanut oil at 350 degrees for 3.5 minutes per pound.
Deep-frying a turkey is dangerous. It's the number one cause of Thanksgiving fires in America. You need outdoor space, a stable burner, a lot of oil, and the common sense not to lower a wet turkey into 375-degree oil. I have all four of these things. I also have Tyler, who will serve as my safety officer because he understands machinery and heat in ways that comfort me.
Practice run: I fried a chicken using the same technique. The fish sauce brine created a skin that was golden-brown and so crispy it crackled like a firecracker. The interior was juicy and seasoned all the way through. Tyler monitored the oil temperature with his thermometer and gave readings every thirty seconds like a naval officer.
Emma is on dessert again — the Vietnamese coffee tiramisu has become a Thanksgiving institution. She's also adding a new dessert: a pandan coconut cake, inspired by a recipe she found in the Andrea Nguyen cookbook. Green from pandan extract, moist from coconut milk, subtle in a way that American cakes never are.
Lily is handling the table setup. She's designed place cards with hand-drawn illustrations of each person's favorite dish: a brisket for me, a spring roll for Ma, a salad for Linh ($34 this year, I'm predicting). She's the family artist and she takes the role seriously.
Guest list: same ten. Folding table: same wobbly leg. I'm NOT fixing it. The wobbly leg is tradition now. The leg stays.
Two turkeys. Two methods. One family. This is going to be the best Thanksgiving yet. I say that every year. I mean it every year.
The practice run I mentioned — the one where Tyler played naval officer with the thermometer — this is exactly what we made. I needed a real test of the sweet-and-spicy brine profile before committing it to a 15-pound bird over an open flame, and Sweet & Spicy Chicken Drummies gave me everything I needed to know: the skin will crackle, the heat will hold, and the balance of sweet against savory is exactly right for the scale-up. If you’re thinking about going Vietnamese-style for your own Thanksgiving bird, start here first — your future self will thank you.
Sweet & Spicy Chicken Drummies
Prep Time: 20 min (plus 2 hr brine) | Cook Time: 40 min | Total Time: 3 hr | Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 3 lbs chicken drummies (drumettes)
- 3 tablespoons fish sauce
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon sriracha
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 stalk lemongrass, tender inner core finely minced
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- Peanut oil, for frying (about 4 cups)
- Sliced scallions and toasted sesame seeds, for garnish
Instructions
- Make the brine. Whisk together fish sauce, soy sauce, honey, brown sugar, sriracha, red pepper flakes, garlic, lemongrass, ginger, and sesame oil in a large bowl until sugar dissolves.
- Brine the drummies. Add chicken drummies to the bowl, toss to coat thoroughly, then cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to overnight. The longer the brine, the deeper the seasoning.
- Bring to room temperature. Remove chicken from the refrigerator 30 minutes before cooking. Pat each piece thoroughly dry with paper towels — dry skin is the key to the crackle.
- Heat the oil. In a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, heat peanut oil to 350°F over medium-high heat. Use a candy or deep-fry thermometer and monitor it closely — do not let the oil exceed 375°F.
- Fry in batches. Working in batches of 4 to 5 drummies, carefully lower chicken into the hot oil. Fry 10 to 12 minutes, turning once halfway through, until skin is deep golden-brown and internal temperature reaches 165°F. Do not crowd the pot.
- Drain and rest. Transfer cooked drummies to a wire rack set over a sheet pan. Let rest 5 minutes before serving — this keeps the skin crisp instead of steaming itself soft on paper towels.
- Finish and serve. Arrange on a platter and scatter with sliced scallions and toasted sesame seeds. Serve immediately while the skin still crackles.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 390 | Protein: 31g | Fat: 24g | Carbs: 9g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 820mg
About the cook who shared this
Bobby Tran
Week 138 of Bobby’s 30-year story
· Houston, Texas
Bobby Tran was born in a refugee camp in Arkansas to parents who fled Saigon with nothing. He grew up in Houston straddling two worlds — Vietnamese at home, Texan everywhere else — and learned to cook from his mother's pho and a neighbor's BBQ smoker. He's a former shrimper, a recovering alcoholic, a divorced dad of three, and the guy who marinates brisket in fish sauce and lemongrass because he doesn't believe in borders, especially when it comes to flavor.
