Bang Bang Chicken
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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.
Did you make this recipe?
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Is it possible to keep the chicken in the freezer after dredging in Panko and deep fry on the next day?
If you plan to cook the very next day, it is best left in the refrigerator, not the freezer.
I tried this recipe today & OMG it’s amazing! I used a garlic chilli sauce with garlic hot sauce along with the mayo & honey. Thanks so much for sharing this wonderful recipe! Loved it!
SO glad I happened upon your blog! This is the first time I’ve made your Bang Bang Chicken. It was easy to throw together on a weeknight. The chicken was flaky and crisp and OH MAN that sauce!
I made this tonight– HUGE HIT!! Have you reheated the chicken later (next day or the following)? Have you ever tried baking the chicken? I would love to reduce the hands-on time and improve the nutrition! For the record, it is worth the oil! Thank you so much for another fine recipe.
Unfortunately, I have not tried baking the recipe. As you said, it is worth the oil! There were also no leftovers to reheat – we gobbled up every single one of them as it hit the plate!
Great Recipe. Thanks
Just when I thought your bang bang shrimp recipe was unparalleled along comes your bang bang chicken. We served it with LoMein noodles last night and it was epic. Next time I will make more sauce because there was no “drizzling” rather “pouring” it was so good. Thank you for continually making me look like a rock star in the kitchen!
This looks so good. Do you use Franks as the hot sauce in the chicken portion of the recipe, too?
I used Sriracha but Franks should work just fine.
Chungah, We were invited to a housewarming last night and they served your Bang, Bang Chicken! It was to-die for! Billy said he also added a bit of sirarcha and we gobbled up the chicken and sauce like there was no tomorrow! Great recipe! Kitty
I only have almond milk in my frig, pet milk in my pantry. How can I make this since I do not have buttermilk?? Dying to make this today!!
Just saw a similar comment to mine above. Thanks
Well, things sure were hoppin’ for a while there, and my product looked NOTHING like yours!! Deep frying batter dipped things is not something I am good at….BUT they tasted delish and we used up ALL of that dipping sauce!!! Tons of calories, so I will be thinking of how to lighten it up for next time…..
The only panko I have available is Italian style. Do you think they would still work, or would it throw off the flavor?
It could work but I worry that the seasoning may just be too overwhelming in this dish.
I tasted it today… OMG..!! Really.. really it’s delicious… Like to have it again… 🙂
yes it is. totaly i agree wid u
yeah absolutely it does 🙂
i made this chicken last week and it was sooo good! The sauce that goes on top is delicious I ended up making a double batch. My husband and I were eating the chicken as soon as it came out of the pan and we had leftovers the very next day! This recipe is definitely a keeper!
Has anyone tried this with gluten free Panko? Thanks!
Sounds delish! What if you don’t have buttermilk? I only keep almond milk in our house.
You can certainly try substituting almond milk but without further recipe testing, I cannot speak for how much this will change the overall taste/texture of the dish. Using a substitution may also result in a mediocre outcome, but if substitutions must be made, please use your best judgment.
Hi Chungah! I am obsessed with your blog and love all of your delicious recipes! I have a large family and everything I’ve made so far from your page hasn’t had a single complaint. Quick question about sweet chili mayo sauce, would the Sriracha mayo sauce work the same? I just bought some in the Asian isle while grabbing Panko. Thank you for all of your inspiration! 🙂
The Sriracha mayo sounds amazing, and something I definitely need to stock up on, but I can’t really say for sure as I have never tried it myself!
I made this tonight & it was a BIG hit! My husband and my 16 year old son ate so much and kept telling me how good it was. I love how crispy the chicken came out! Definitely a keeper!
For some reason, my batter was super thick! Made it much more difficult to coat the chicken and resulted in too much Panko sticking. Also caused the breaking to easily fall off once cooked.. Help!
Dana, did you shake the buttermilk prior to using?
Hmmm maybe not.. I also used lowest buttermilk and whole wheat flour, would either of these things be a problem?
I can’t really say for sure. It may be best to try this recipe again with added milk to thin out the batter as needed.
Loved it! The sauce was absolutely addictive. I think this was the biggest hit with my son and his friends…..20 somethings! Thanks for sharing.
We loved this dish – so nice and crunchy and the sauce is wonderful. I used my electric skillet (as one reviewer mentioned) and it worked perfectly. Will definitely make this dish again. : ) Nancy