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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Made the sauce for Christmas Eve buffet and it was amazing. We had crispy chicken strips and roasted shrimp to dip and I even poured it on some mac & cheese. Glad to have such deliciousness in my repertoire !
I’ve just made this chicken tonight and it was amazing! The sauce takes it home. Anyone looking at this recipe should definitely give it a try. 🙂
I’m going to try this as something new for dinner tonight! We have a leftover can of chipotles in adobo sauce though.. working that in as a substitute. I plan on mixing in a bit of honey for added sweetness. Hopefully it will taste delicious!!
Thanks for posting!
xo Rachel
Hello!
Sorry if you’ve already answered this question but I was planning on making this for an employee party and it won’t be served until about 4-6 hours after I’ve made it. I know you said to serve immediately, but do you think it will be ago refrigerated then microwaved?
Danielle, this is really best when served immediately as the crispness will lose out over time.
I made this for my family today & they loved it ! Except I used Miracle Whip and Chili Sauce because Miracle Whip is already sweet & I couldn’t find sweet chili sauce anywhere. I made Creamy Parmesan Rice as my side dish. It was great
This was amazing! My boyfriend loves it, I had to make it 3 times last weekend because he couldn’t get enough of that sauce! Thanks so much! Definite winner of a recipe!
Would chili powder work for the sauce or should it really be he chili sauce
Unfortunately, chili powder is not an appropriate substitute here. It is best to use chili sauce.
I’m making this right now, and so I’m so excited to try it so far! The only change I made to the sauce was I added some Cesar dressing. Strange, but its so good!
What is the spice factor? Can I use Buffalo sauce instead?
This dish has a spice level of 2 on a scale of 1-10 . And yes, you can certainly use buffalo sauce – that is part of the ingredient list!
I am eating this as we speak!!! It’s delicious! Similar to the Bang Bang Shrimp at the Bonefish Grill.. Only better!!! Thanks for this ans all of the other wonderful recipes! My husband won’t stop going back for more!
Absolutely delicious!!! The sauce is amazing. The chicken is crispy and flavorful. I made half the recipe but used the full amount of panko. Thank you!
The sauce is amazing family loved it.
Made this the other night for my family and followed the directions completely and oh my gosh I think this might just be the best thing I have ever ate. That sauce was just wow. It was worth looking all over my local grocery store to find sweet chili sauce (it was in the Asian section), This is my third recipe from this site I have made in just the past week and it has all been fantastic!
Hi Chungah,
I made this recipe and it turned out great! Only problem I had was when I was frying the chicken pieces, some of the panko was falling off the chicken and I had panko cumbs left in the oil. Any tips on preventing this from happening? I did exactly what the recipe states by soaking the chicken in the buttermilk mixture and then dipping in Panko pressing down to make sure it sticks. Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks for sharing such great recipes with us!
Naz, a little bit of leftover Panko is actually normal, but if huge chunks are coming off, I worry that you may not have coated the chicken properly. It is best to dip the chicken in the buttermilk (letting the excess drip off) and pressing down in the Panko completely to make sure it sticks. Hope that helps!
Hello I was wondering how many calories are in this dish?!! I made this last night and loved it but I can’t help but feel guilty today for eating it..
Unfortunately, as I am not a registered dietician, I am not comfortable sharing nutritional information for any of my recipes. I recommend utilizing online calorie counters at your discretion to obtain such information.
This was awesome, my family devoured this last last night, incredibly easy to make, and the Bang Bang sauce was BANG BANG delicious, thank you.
The Panko comes in Plain or Italian. Can I use the Italian?? What would be the difference besides the added spices/flavor with using Italian?
Julie, you can certainly substitute Italian breadcrumbs but I cannot speak for how much this will change the overall taste/texture of the dish as further recipe testing is needed. It is always best to use the ingredients listed in the recipe to obtain the best results possible.
Made this tonight. It was very tasty. I modified sauce with Kraft chipotle mayo, red devil hot sauce (never heard of franks hot sauce) & skipped the sweet chili (not a big fan) & the sauce was pretty darn tasty. Sadly my son didn’t like sauce, he at chicken bites w catsup. Oh well, more sauce for me
Can I use homemade breadcrumbs or Italian breadcrumbs instead of Panko?
You can certainly use either breadcrumbs but this recipe is really best when Panko is used.
I made this for dinner tonight. It was SO easy and totally yummy! We ate the whole batch up. Thank you! Love your recipes. They are so easy and a hit with the whole family.