Bang Bang Chicken
by Chungah
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This bang bang chicken is a family-favorite dinner! Made with super crispy chicken bites and the dreamiest sweet and spicy bang bang sauce!
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Why you’ll love bang bang chicken
- 30 minute recipe. This recipe comes together in 30 minutes or less, making this an ideal candidate for quick, weeknight dinners for the whole family.
- The bang bang sauce is everything. The sauce is a simple mix of four ingredients – mayonnaise, sweet chili sauce, honey, and hot sauce, yielding a creamy, sweet and spicy sauce to coat the perfectly crispy, golden brown chicken. The sauce is so good, you’ll want to eat it with a spoon!
- Can be served in so many ways. This is one of those great dishes that can serve so many purposes. For example, it can be served over steamed white rice, as a crowd-favorite appetizer, or even as tacos.
What is bang bang chicken?
This is a popular dish made with ultra-crispy bite-sized chicken tossed in a signature bang bang sauce.
The bang bang sauce consists of:
- Mayonnaise
- Sweet chili sauce
- Hot sauce (Frank’s RedHot or Sriracha)
- Honey or lime juice
How to make bang bang chicken
- Make the bang bang sauce. Whisk together the mayonnaise, sweet chili sauce, honey, and hot sauce in a small bowl and set aside.
- Prep the coating. Combine the buttermilk, flour, cornstarch, egg, hot sauce, salt, and pepper.
- Coat the chicken. Dip each chicken piece into the buttermilk mixture before dredging in Panko, pressing to coat and shaking off any excess.
- Cook the chicken. Cook the Panko-coated chicken in a Dutch oven until golden brown, working in batches to avoid an overcrowded pan. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain the excess oil.
- Toss or drizzle. Toss (or drizzle) the cooked chicken with the bang bang sauce, adding as little or as much sauce as desired.
- Serve. Lastly, garnish with parsley, serving over a bed of steamed white rice or arrange on a platter with toothpicks.
Deep-frying tips to cook the chicken
Deep-frying chicken may seem a bit daunting, but with some attention to detail and these easy-to-follow tips, you’ll be making restaurant-quality (if not better!) bang bang chicken in no time.
- Use the right oil. Use vegetable or peanut oil, a neutral oil with a high smoke point.
- Maintain a consistent oil temperature. Use a clip-on deep-fry thermometer to monitor the oil closely, maintaining a steady temperature between 325 and 375°F.
- Work in small batches. Cook the chicken in small batches, about 5-6 pieces at a time.
- Let it rest on a wire rack. Let the chicken rest 5-10 minutes on a wire rack for even air circulation, achieving that perfect, shatteringly crispy coating.
How to serve bang bang chicken
Appetizer
Arrange the crispy chicken on a platter with toothpicks, serving the sauce on the side for dipping, if desired.
Bowls
Serve over white rice or jasmine rice with steamed broccoli.
Tacos or wraps
Spoon the chicken into warmed tortillas or bib (or butter) lettuce for lettuce wraps.
More bang bang recipes
Tools For This Recipe
Bang Bang Chicken: Frequently Asked Questions
Panko is a Japanese-style breadcrumb and can be found in the Asian section of your local grocery store. While both panko and breadcrumbs can be used as a coating for fried foods, panko is much flakier and yields a crunchier, crispier texture.
Yes, there is a mild to medium kick of heat from the hot sauce. For milder flavors, reduce the amount of hot sauce, to taste.
Absolutely! The recipe works well with both chicken breasts or chicken thighs. Breasts are leaner whereas thighs will be juicier.
Store the chicken and the sauce separately in airtight containers in the fridge for 3-4 days, reheating the chicken in the oven or air fryer at 350°F until warmed through.
Bang Bang Chicken
Video
Ingredients
- 1 cup buttermilk
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup cornstarch
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon hot sauce
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch chunks
- 1 cup Panko
- 3 cups vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
For the bang bang sauce
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons sweet chili sauce
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 teaspoons Frank’s Hot Sauce
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together buttermilk, flour, cornstarch, egg, hot sauce, salt and pepper, to taste.
- Working one at a time, dip chicken into the buttermilk mixture, then dredge in Panko, pressing to coat.
- Heat vegetable oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven to 350°F. Working in batches, add chicken to the Dutch oven and cook until evenly golden and crispy, about 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate; discard excess oil.
- Serve immediately, drizzled with bang bang sauce, garnished with parsley, if desired.
For the bang bang sauce
- Whisk together mayonnaise, sweet chili sauce, honey and Frank’s Hot Sauce in a small bowl.
Equipment
Notes
- Cut the chicken into similar-sized pieces. Whether you’re using chicken breasts or thighs, dice the chicken into similar bite-sized pieces (about 1-inch chunks) for even, consistent cooking throughout.
- Panko yields a flakier crust. Panko is a Japanese-style breadcrumb made from crustless white bread with much larger flakes than traditional breadcrumbs, yielding a crunchier, crispier texture.
- Check the temperature. Use a clip-on deep-fry thermometer to maintain a consistent oil temperature (about 325-375°F). If the oil goes past 375°F, the exterior will burn before the inside of the chicken is cooked, and if the oil is too cool, the chicken will absorb most of the oil, resulting in soggy, greasy chicken.
- Cook in batches. Cook the chicken in multiple batches as needed to avoid an overcrowded pan. An overcrowded pan will result in a drop in temperature, yielding soggy chicken instead.
- Sauce just before serving. This is crucial to avoiding soggy bang bang chicken. Toss or drizzle the cooked chicken with the bang bang sauce just before serving for maximum crispness.
- Prepare for leftovers. Store the chicken and bang bang sauce separately if preparing for leftovers to preserve the crisp texture of the chicken bites.
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Hi! I can’t find buttermilk at my local stores. Can I use a different substitute? Thanks!
Jeanette, you can create a buttermilk substitute with 1 cup milk and 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar. Just be sure to let the mixture stand for 5-10 minutes.
Thanks so much! We love the recipes on your site so much!
Take a cup of whole milk, add a tbl of vinegar or lemon juice and let sit for 10 min. You now have buttermilk.
*faints* This looks delicious! Definitely have to try it soon.
Damn delicious is right!! Holy smokes! I stumbled on your blog from somewhere (pinterest I think). I made these this weekend. They were easy to make and were amazing. The chicken nuggets alone were awesome, but then add that sauce! the sky opened up and angels were singing! THANK YOU so much for the cooking inspiration!!
Anyone reading this have any suggestions as to how long this bang bang sauce would keep in the fridge? I’d love to make a bigger batch, keep it in a squeeze bottle, and drizzle it over.. everything! 🙂
The sauce should keep for a week or so.
More like a month. Whatever the experiation date is on the mayo.
I used your black bean quinoa salad recipe today. It was for a baby shower and it earned rave reviews. This was from a bunch of meat eaters . It was the first thing to go.
I made these last night and my teenagers were awestruck! I am now a rock star chef. Thanks! I love what you are doing!
Hi, this sounds amazing, but by cooking it on a skillet do you mean deep frying it? Or just cooking it on a pan with a good amount of oil, because I’m worried about one part of the chicken browning more than the other side….
You can really do it either way based on personal preference. I prefer to do it in a large skillet with 1/2 cup vegetable oil.
Bang bang chicken is something I’ve been wanting to try for awhile now. Yours looks picture perfect!
hi,
love your recipes. Tried the orange chicken , my family loved it . Thanks for posting such wonderful recipes.
Can i use sriracha instead of Frank’s hot sauce when making bang bang chicken
Yes, I’m sure that would work just fine!
Yum this looks fabulous and oh so crispy!
Mmmm I once made bang bang prawn salad before, but this recipe here is a lot different, still looks flippin’ fantastic though 😀 Thanks so much for the recipe, I hope you’re enjoying the weekend to the max missy! x
Wonder about using Sriracha Sauce and taming it down a bit with the honey and mayo ?
That sounds amazing. I’m sure you can even use sweetened condensed milk in place of the honey.
Thanks !
I used Sriracha and it came out great!
After making and loving your lettuce wraps last week, looking forward to this recipe for next week. Good luck with the move.
This looks delish as usual!
Where can I find sweet chili sauce? Is there a particular brand, etc I should look for?
Enjoy the beautiful drive down the coast ~ hope it’s blissfully uneventful & the move goes as smooth as Butter(s) 😉
You can find sweet chili sauce in the Asian section of your local grocery store. Any brand will work just fine!
You will find (sweet) chili sauce by the catsup. Spend the extra pennies and get Heinz brand. You use it making Thousand Island dressing too. The plaid Better Homes and Gardens book, at least in the 1970’s editions, had the best recipe for 1000 Island Dressing.
I’d love that dressing recipe. Any chance you have it?
not that kind of chili sauce no tomatoes
No other will do. Use the Heinz also to make cocktail sauce.
Maggi makes wonderful products. I have been using their sweet chili sauce for years. Try the Asian section at your market.
Hope the move back south goes well, I’m sure Butters will sleep most of the way! Love this chicken, that crispy panko coating is killer!
This will be super for tween granddaughters.
I’m confused. Thought you were moving TO SF. Are you moving to or from. My son has owned in Holmby Hills of LA area and on. Super hill in Laguna w/beach views. Now, due to work, he owns in Noe Valley part of S.F. I have liked all but I am sure comfortable in the Bay Area (except for cold). I wih you both happy wherever and value your wonderful work.
Lynda, we actually moved to SF last September and now we are moving back to Los Angeles. I couldn’t really deal with the coldness up here!
Best of luck in your move to Los Angeles. I love how easy this recipe is. Looks ABSOLUTELY delicious and totally has me craving for a big bowl now 🙂
I’m making this today. Looks yummy.
I want that sauce on everything! Seriously that is the type of sauce I could triple dunk stuff in, and still not have enough! And have been wishing you the best in my head all day with this move! I hope you’re out having a nice glass of wine right now after your long, long day!
I used Rothschild Farms sweet chili sauce. I dredged skinless, boneless chicken breasts in flour, then egg and then the panko crumbs. I fried them in coconut oil and placed them on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and baked them in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes. They were moist and crispy. My husband loved them!