Firecracker Chicken
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Better-than-takeout firecracker chicken! Juicy crisp-tender chicken tossed in an irresistible sweet and spicy sauce (can also make it mild!).
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Why you’ll love firecracker chicken
- Faster and cheaper than takeout. Making this takeout favorite at home costs a fraction of restaurant prices using fresh, better-quality ingredients, requiring just 15-20 minutes of prep time.
- Bold, explosive flavors. Firecracker chicken has the most amazing combination of sweet and spicy flavors with a hint of tanginess and zing from the buffalo sauce. And it’s baked in the oven for about 45 minutes to let all those amazing flavors soak right into the juicy, tender bites of chicken.
- Ultra-crispy and tender chicken. The chicken pieces are coated in cornstarch and eggs first, creating a crunchy crust that stays crispy even after baking!
- Incredibly versatile recipe. You can easily adapt this recipe to make it mild or more spicy. You can also serve over a bed of vegetables, steamed rice, fried rice, or chow mein. No matter how it’s served, this will be a guaranteed family-favorite!
What is firecracker chicken?
Firecracker chicken is a popular Chinese-American takeout dish featuring crispy bite-sized chicken pieces coated in a sticky glaze that is sweet, spicy, and tangy. The dish is typically finished with sliced green onions and served over rice, noodles, or chow mein.
Key Ingredients
- Chicken: boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs
- Coating: cornstarch and beaten eggs
- Sauce: brown sugar, buffalo sauce (ex. Frank’s RedHot), apple cider vinegar, salt, and crushed red pepper flakes
- Garnish: green onions
How to make firecracker chicken
- Coat the chicken. Dice the chicken breasts or thighs into uniform 1-inch pieces and season with salt and pepper. Coat the chicken pieces with cornstarch until lightly coated, then dip each piece into the beaten eggs.
- Cook the chicken. Working in batches, cook the chicken in vegetable oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat until golden and crispy. Set aside with a slotted spoon to a paper towel-lined plate.
- Prep the sauce. Mix together the brown sugar, buffalo sauce, apple cider vinegar, salt, red pepper flakes, and water.
- Bake and stir. Place the chicken in a greased 9 x 13 baking dish, stirring in the sauce until each piece is well coated. Bake at 325°F for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes, until the chicken is completely cooked through (internal temperature should reach 165°F).
- Serve. Sprinkle with green onions and serve warm over rice or noodles.
More asian takeout recipes to make at home
Tools For This Recipe
Firecracker Chicken: Frequently Asked Questions
The firecracker sauce is made from a blend of brown sugar for sweetness, buffalo hot sauce (such as Frank’s RedHot), apple cider vinegar for acidity, salt, and crushed red pepper flakes.
Yes! Boneless, skinless chicken breasts will be leaner whereas chicken thighs will be much more forgiving and stay extra juicy.
This dish consists of a vibrant mix of sweet, spicy, and tangy flavors. It is similar to sweet and sour chicken with noticeably more of a spicy kick of heat.
Firecracker chicken does have a kick of heat to the dish but you can control the spice level by reducing the amount of hot sauce or omitting the red pepper flakes for milder flavors.
Pair with starches and vegetables that can soak up the sweet, spicy, and tangy glaze such as white rice, chow mein, or steamed broccoli and green beans.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days, gently reheating on the stovetop with a splash of water or in the oven at 350°F until heated through.
Firecracker Chicken
Video
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into 1-inch chunks
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- ½ cup cornstarch
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
For the firecracker sauce
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ⅓ cup buffalo sauce, or more, to taste
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or more, to taste
- 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly oil a 9 x 13 baking dish or coat with nonstick spray.
- In a large bowl, season chicken with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in cornstarch and gently toss to combine. Working one at a time, dip the chicken into the eggs.
- Heat vegetable oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Working in batches, add chicken and cook until golden brown, about 1-2 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate; discard excess oil.
- Add chicken to prepared baking dish. Stir in the firecracker sauce until well combined. Place into oven and bake until the sauce has thickened, about 45 minutes, turning over every 15 minutes to evenly coat the chicken.
- Serve immediately, garnished with green onions, if desired.
For the firecracker sauce
- In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, buffalo sauce, vinegar, salt, red pepper flakes and 1 tablespoon water.
Equipment
Notes
- Adjust the heat level. The signature firecracker sauce balances heat (hot sauce and red pepper flakes) with sweetness (brown sugar). Adjust the spice level by reducing or increasing the amount of hot sauce and red pepper flakes as needed.
- Stir every 15 minutes. The periodic stirring during baking will serve as a natural basting-step, evenly coating every piece of chicken with the sticky glaze.
- Pair with rice or noodles. Serve over steamed white rice, brown rice, or noodles (such as chow mein) to soak up the extra sauce.
- Reheat in the oven or stovetop. Gently reheat the leftover chicken on the stovetop with a splash of water or in the oven at 350°F until warmed through (to restore some of its crispness).
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Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Imperial Sugar. All opinions expressed are my own.
This is Absolutely Delicious!!! Thank you!!!
Can this be made in the air fryer?
What a great idea! We have not had a chance to try this in the air fryer but if you give it a try, please let us know how it turns out!
This is delicious! Even my picky hubby loved it. When I said maybe I’d add a little squeeze of orange next time he said Leave it alone, it’s perfect.
Awesome recipe. My husband asks me to make this all the time.
It was a huge hit. My picky daughter loved it and had seconds! I used mild buffalo sauce and ended up having to use rice wine vinegar since I didn’t have apple cider vinegar. Next time, I’ll follow the recipe to a T when I have all of the ingredients. I’m definitely adding this dish to our dinner rotation and sharing it with friends.
This was so good. I was worried about the chicken being over cooked but it was perfect. Made 1.5 sauce and drizzled the sticky goodness on rice. Will definitely make again.
We used BBQ sauce instead of the buffalo sauce because the buffalo sauce I bought had milk, which we can’t have. It came out delicious! My kids said to make it this way every time. Thank you for all of your wonderful recipes!! We’re big fans.
I feel bad that I have not put a review out here yet. Use this recipe so many times.
Both of my kids get to select their birthday dinner mind you they are not little kids. They’re now 24 and 20 and do you wanna know what the most requested recipe is?
The only thing I do is add sliced green onion, and fresh pineapple chunks before baking.
This is my wife’s favorite! I make this at least 2 times a month. We have used chicken thighs and they taste amazing. Thanks for this recipe!
I make this at least once a month. Everyone in the house loves this recipe. I’m no fan of frying, mostly because of all the mess I make (something for me to work on lol), but I suck it up because this is just so good. This dish and your red beans and rice led to buying your cookbook – my favorite Christmas present to myself. Thanks, thanks, thanks a thousand times over, Chungah!
Love love love this recipe! I have made it twice and will definitely be making it lots more. So much flavour! I used a homemade buffalo sauce and followed the recipe, no changes. Thanks!!
This is my absolute favorite chicken recipe. It has the perfect blend of sweet and spicy and the chicken is so moist. It comes out perfect every time I make it.
I was a little leery about this cooking method but after reading all of the great reviews, I gave it a go and I’m so glad I did! What an interesting way to make this dish and one I’ll be making over and over! The frying piece was simple, the sauce was quick to put together and baking it for 45 minutes in the oven gave me time to make the rice, chop up and quick saute some onions and bell pepper AND clean the kitchen.
This was a little on the sweet side for me, but I only had dark brown sugar so maybe that’s why? I’ll cut down a little on the sugar next time but other than that, this is a KEEPER. Thank you!!
Can I use a deep fryer for the chicken instead of oil in a pan?
I’m one of the last to have tried buffalo sauce on anything, and when I sampled some from my first bottle, I was really put off. But after combining it with brown sugar and vinegar and then making this recipe, I was sold. This was pure excellence! I made it exactly as written with the exception of making 1.5 times the amount of sauce per a helpful commenter. That was just the right amount, too. I’ll be making this one over and over again. Thanks again, Chungah & team!
My husband said he would eat this every day! It was a hit. I used an air fryer to fry up my chicken and then placed them in the oven with the sauce. I also tried the tip of another user and used half Siracha sauce.
Love this recipe – everyone’s always looking for seconds. I am wondering if it’s possible to make it stove top only – like a stir fry recipe? Any suggestions?
I made this but in my wok. Doubles the sauce recipe and put over brown rice. It’s one of my favorites. Spicy but delicious.
Really tasty, just the right amount of spicyness to it. Thank you
Excuse me is it okay to add regular brown or light sugar?
Just finished having this for dinner. It’s damn delicious!