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The Best Recipe For Bang Bang Chicken
Deliciously spicy and flavorful, this bang bang chicken recipe consists of fried chicken bites smothered in the popular bang bang sauce.
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Table of Contents
- What Is Bang Bang Chicken?
- What’s Special About This Bang Bang Chicken Sauce Recipe?
- Bang Bang Chicken Recipe Ingredients
- Substitutions And Additions
- How To Make Bang Bang Chicken
- How To Serve Bang Bang Chicken
- How To Store This Recipe For Bang Bang Chicken
- Why We Love This Recipe
- Bang Bang Chicken Recipe FAQs
- More Favorites You’ll Love
- JUMP TO RECIPE
This bang bang chicken recipe is inspired by the iconic dishes at the Cheesecake Factory and Bonefish Grill. The ingredients are simple, featuring crispy chicken bites with a sweet and spicy sauce that will have you licking your fingers clean of every last drop.
What Is Bang Bang Chicken?
Bang bang chicken is a delicious chicken dish that originated in China and features pieces of chicken tossed in a spicy and creamy sauce.
What’s Special About This Bang Bang Chicken Sauce Recipe?
This amazing bang bang chicken is a delicious dish that is served at popular restaurants such as Bonefish Grill and the Cheesecake Factory.
It features pieces of tender chicken coated in a crispy breading and then tossed in a creamy, spicy sauce.
Bang Bang Chicken Recipe Ingredients
You’ll need:
- 1 pound of boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch chunks
- 3 cups of vegetable oil for frying
- 3½ cups of panko breadcrumbs for dredging the coated chicken chunks
For The Bang Bang Chicken Sauce:
- ½ cup of mayonnaise
- ⅓ cup of sweet chili sauce
- 2 tablespoons of hot sauce
- 1 tablespoon of honey
- ½ tablespoon of rice wine vinegar
For The Batter:
- ¾ cup of all-purpose flour
- ½ cup of cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons of onion powder
- ½ teaspoon of kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon of black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon of chili powder
- 1½ cups of buttermilk
- 1 extra-large egg, beaten
- 2 teaspoons of hot sauce
Substitutions And Additions
SPICY: For a more exotic spicy kick, you can substitute the hot sauce for gochujang, a Korean chili sauce.
MAYO: Instead of a half cup of mayonnaise, you can substitute plain Greek yogurt, cream cheese, heavy cream, or even sour cream.
CHILI SAUCE: Thai sweet chili sauce can also be substituted for plain sweet chili sauce. Sweet Korean chili sauce (Chogochujang) could also be used.
RICE VINEGAR: If you don’t have rice vinegar, you can substitute it with white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar.
Just keep in mind that the flavor profile may vary slightly.
How To Make Bang Bang Chicken
For The Bang Bang Chicken Sauce
STEP ONE: Using a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, sweet chili sauce, hot sauce, honey, and rice wine vinegar until completely smooth. Set it aside.
OUR RECIPE DEVELOPER SAYS
Using a new jar of room temperature, unopened mayonnaise may make a noticeable positive difference in the flavor.
For The Batter and Cooking
STEP ONE: Using a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, onion powder, kosher salt, black pepper, and chili powder.
PRO TIP:
You can increase the chili powder for the batter if you desire more spice.
STEP TWO: Whisk in the buttermilk, beaten egg, and hot sauce. Whisk the buttermilk and egg mixture until smooth.
PRO TIP:
You can make your own buttermilk using whole or 2% milk and lemon juice or distilled vinegar. For every one cup of milk, stir in one tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar.
STEP THREE: Submerge the pieces of chicken in the buttermilk batter.
STEP FOUR: Using either a 2 to 3-quart heavy-bottomed saucepan or a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat, add the vegetable oil.
We found that around 325°F is a good fry temperature.
STEP FIVE: Use either a medium-sized shallow bowl or a pie plate for the panko bread crumbs for dredging.
STEP SIX: Line a plate or pan with a paper towel to drain the cooked chicken bites.
STEP SEVEN: Once the oil is heated, dredge a portion of the battered chicken in the panko crumbs.
Cook the coated chicken pieces for three to four minutes until a deep golden brown.
Remove each piece of chicken from the hot oil and drain on the paper towels.
Repeat the steps until all the chicken is cooked.
STEP EIGHT: Drizzle chicken with the delicious sauce or dip in the sauce.
How To Serve Bang Bang Chicken
The bang bang sauce is the perfect dipping sauce for this crispy fried chicken. You can also drizzle it on top if you prefer.
Serve your bang bang chicken as a classic entrée over a bed of steamed white or brown rice.
Serve these chicken bites as an appetizer or as the protein in a quick dinner alongside a cucumber salad and garlic bread or fried rice.
Check out our bang bang shrimp and bang bang shrimp pasta for two more flavorful dishes featuring the same savory sauce.
MORE CHICKEN RECIPES
How To Store This Recipe For Bang Bang Chicken
Let’s go through some storage tips and techniques to make the most out of this delightful dish.
MAKE AHEAD: While bang bang chicken is best enjoyed fresh, you can prepare the sauce and marinate the chicken a day in advance.
Keep the sauce refrigerated in an airtight container, and store the marinated chicken in another container.
This way, you can quickly cook and enjoy it when you’re ready, without the hassle of prep.
IN THE FRIDGE: Store any leftover chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator. The cooked chicken bites will keep for three days in the refrigerator.
The sauce will last for two weeks in the fridge.
IN THE FREEZER: The cooked chicken bites can be kept in the freezer for up to two months.
Why We Love This Recipe
BOLD FLAVORS: The combination of creamy, spicy, and savory flavors in the sauce will keep you coming back for more.
EASE OF PREPARATION: With straightforward steps and readily available ingredients, even novice cooks can whip up this flavorful dish.
CUSTOMIZABLE HEAT: You can adjust the level of spiciness to your liking. Whether you prefer a mild kick or a fiery burst of heat, this recipe allows you to tailor it to your taste.
With a delicious bang bang sauce, the whole family will love this bang bang chicken for an easy dinner or appetizer. The flavors of this dish are out of this world.
Bang Bang Chicken Recipe FAQs
Is bang bang chicken spicy?
Bang bang chicken is cooked in a spicy sauce, but you can adjust the spice level by adding less hot sauce when adding your ingredients to make the sauce.
What is the best oil to use for deep frying?
Vegetable oil is the standard oil used for deep frying at home. It heats to the right temperature and won’t leave any extra taste on the finished product.
Can I freeze leftovers of this bang bang chicken?
This simple recipe can be frozen in an airtight container for up to two months.
More Favorites You’ll Love
Recipe for Bang Bang Chicken
Deliciously spicy and flavorful, this bang bang chicken recipe consists of fried chicken bites smothered in the popular bang bang sauce.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings 8
Ingredients
- 1 pound skinless boneless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch chunks
- 3 cups vegetable oil, for frying
- 3½ cups panko bread crumbs, for dredging the coated chicken chunks
Sauce
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ⅓ cup sweet chili sauce
- 2 tablespoons hot sauce
- 1 tablespoon honey
- ½ tablespoon rice wine vinegar
Batter
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon chili powder
- 1½ cups buttermilk
- 1 extra large egg, beaten
- 2 teaspoons hot sauce
Instructions
Sauce
- Using a small mixing bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, sweet chili sauce, hot sauce, honey and rice wine vinegar, until completely smooth. Set it aside.
Batter and Cooking
- Using a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, onion powder, kosher salt, black pepper and chili powder.
- Whisk in the buttermilk, beaten egg and hot sauce. Whisk until smooth.
- Submerge the cut chicken chunks in the batter.
- Using either a 2 to 3 quart heavy-bottomed saucepan or a 10-inch skillet over medium high heat, add the vegetable oil. We found that around 325°F is a good fry temp.
- Using either a medium-sized shallow bowl, or a pie plate for the panko bread crumbs for dredging.
- Line a plate or pan with paper towels for draining the cooked chicken bites.
- Once the oil is heated, dredge a portion of the battered chicken in the crumbs
- Add the dredged chicken to the heated oil and cook for 3 to 4 minutes until it becomes a deep brown.
- Remove from the oil and drain on the paper towels. Repeat the steps until all the chicken is cooked.
- Drizzle with the sauce, and/or dip in the sauce.
Notes
- Using a new jar of room temperature, unopened mayonnaise may make a noticeable positive difference in the flavor.
- You can increase the chili powder for the batter if you desire more spice.
- You can make your own buttermilk using whole or 2% milk and lemon juice or distilled vinegar. For every 1 cup of milk, stir in 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar.
Nutrition
Calories: 407kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 73mg | Sodium: 770mg | Potassium: 363mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 164IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 113mg | Iron: 2mg
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Comments
Gloria says
Great dinner option!