Bang Bang Chicken
by Chungah
This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our privacy policy for details.
This bang bang chicken is a family-favorite dinner! Made with super crispy chicken bites and the dreamiest sweet and spicy bang bang sauce!
Featured Comment
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.
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
These looks amazing. Can hardly wait to try making some.
I Haven’t Tried It Yet. Going To try It Soon hopefully. God Bless, Pam Roberts
Made this for dinner tonight and the response from the family was terrific! In fact they asked if I could make this for the next 3 nights and they would be fine with it…haha. I did half the chicken exactly as the recipe and the other half in the air fryer, Both turned out delicious. I’ll probably use the air fryer only next time (to try and save on a few calories).
Thank you for sharing yet another good recipe.
I’ll let you know, doing it tonight.
I have done this with chicken about 10 years ago, I just made it up one day as I had no shrimp in the house.
Then I tried it with pork. The pork was so good. I had center cut porkchops and decided to cut them up and do it like bangbang shrimp.
Give it a try, I think you will like it.
Love all your recipes but just had to tell you about this.
Can I cook that in an air fryer?
I have not personally used an air fryer before so I cannot answer with certainty.
The sweet chili sauce I use is called TIGER SAUCE I use it on a lot of foods that I eat
Just came across your recipe for bang bang chicken. Would like to make this for Christmas we have the children coming and we like to make up a bunch of appetizers for the day so all can enjoy everyone. The reason I am texting is will these be okay if they get cold?
We are in Colorado and would love it to snow for the holidays. Lived in San Diego back in the late 60’s. Loved it.
To be honest, this is really best when served warm!
I love this dish! I’ve found that the breading process goes a little faster using a gallon zip bag for tossing the chicken in the panko (and creates less dishes). You can also keep the chicken warm in a 200°F oven on a wire rack if you need to pan fry them in batches. And the spicy sauce is the perfect touch — a lovely weeknight indulgence!
Looks great! I was wondering if anyone has tried an air fryer version of this dish? We just got the Philips version and are looking for dishes to try out.
Look very tasty. Thanks for sharing. Will try to make very soon
Wow, I have never had bang bang chicken before but it look sooo dang tasty (:
This looks so yummy. I need to put it on my short list of things to try out. Hope your move goes great!
Made it last night, thanks for the great recipe!
Made it last night, thanks for the great recipe!
Hi–how can I make this with noodles? like a pasta?
It’s hard to say – there is no real pasta-type sauce in this recipe. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
Bang Bang Chicken = Amazing!!!
Great for my daughters lunches, she loves, and they do NOT become soggy in a pre heated thermos, like all others.
Are there any suggestions of dishes/sides to accompany?
My absolute favorite side dish is the garlic parmesan roasted potatoes. But please feel free to check out all of my side dish recipes here.
Just made this tonight and it was excellent. I am. It a fan of spicy, but I wanted to drink the sauce from the bowl. Next time I have to make more sauce and maybe try baking.
I had a ton of left over batter and wanted to use it tomorrow for my remaining chicken. Would that be ok? Thanks
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
Could I use Robert Rothschild Farms Thai Sweet Chili?
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
In the week since I found this recipe, I’ve already made it twice. It really is damn delicious. I can’t wait to make it again 🙂
Made this last night and was very good but I struggled a bit. I found that the buttermilk mix was really thick and soaked up the Panko quickly. Had to keep adding more panko to coat all the pieces. The other question is with regards to frying them. I feel like they were burning really fast but I wasn’t getting them cooked inside. I’m not a skilled cook and this is always my problem with any meat cooked in oil. I have tried turning the burner down as well. I have an induction cooktop and maybe it runs hotter than others.