Bang Bang Chicken – From the super crispy chicken coated in buttermilk and Panko breadcrumbs to the delicious sweet chili mayo, this recipe is perfection! You won’t be able to keep your hands off it.
Would you believe it if I told you I don’t make a lot of fried food? But there are exceptions that I make and one of them is for this bang bang chicken with this banging sweet chili mayo sauce. This is one of those dishes where I have to fight my husband to stay out of the kitchen until I’m done, otherwise he’ll eat all the chicken before I can even serve it.
And I certainly don’t blame him, I mean how can you resist this dish when it combines tender juicy chicken with a perfectly crisp crunchy coating. Drizzled with a spicy, tangy, creamy sauce, this dish is beyond perfect. So what are we waiting for, let’s get cookin!
What Is Bang Bang Chicken?
You might wonder what bang bang chicken actually is, and as far as I know, it’s a snack that was traditionally served in China by street vendors. It’s usually cooked chicken served cold drizzled with a spicy sauce. Apparently the recipe was named bang bang chicken because of the batons that were used to hammer the cleaver blades that loosened the chicken fibers for shredding.
However, this chicken isn’t shredded but it is cut into small pieces, and feel free to cut them as big or small as you wish. The chicken is then drenched in a buttermilk batter that’s spiced with some paprika, garlic powder, salt, pepper and some hot sauce, then dredged through some Panko breadcrumbs.
Why Buttermilk?
The acid in the buttermilk helps break down some of the fibers and the toughness of the chicken. Including it in your breading will result in tender, flavorful chicken. Buttermilk batter is also made to be combined with Panko breadcrumb, resulting in the best little chicken bites you’ve ever feasted on.
Ingredients
Detailed measurements and instructions can be found on the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page,
Sauce
- Sauce – We’re using sweet chili sauce and hot sauce today for some sweet, some tang, and some heat in our dip.
- Mayo – This will add a nice creamy base to our sauce, feel free to use whatever brand or kind is your favorite.
- Honey – The perfect hit of sweetness in our dipping sauce.
- Seasoning – Salt and pepper.
Chicken
- Chicken – Breasts boneless and skinless cubed and cut into bite sized pieces.
- Flour – All purpose to create a nice dredge to coat our chicken in.
- Cornstarch – This will create a thin layer around our chicken that keeps moisture away and creates a crisp crust.
- Spices – Garlic powder and smoked paprika will add the perfect amount of flavor to our chicken breading.
- Hot sauce – Use whatever brand is your favorite, I used sriracha today.
- Egg – The binder in our chicken batter, we just need 1 large egg today.
- Milk – We’re using buttermilk today, if you only have regular on hand I’ll include directions below how to create your own buttermilk.
- Breadcrumbs – Panko is best for this recipe, it’ll give you the most crispy crust you can ask for.
- Seasoning – Salt and pepper.
- Oil – Something mild with a high smoke point for frying, like canola.
How To Make Bang Bang Chicken
- Prepare the sauce: To prepare the sauce, mix all the ingredients for the sauce together in a bowl and refrigerate until ready for serving.
- Combine the batter: In a medium bowl, mix flour, cornstarch, garlic powder, smoked paprika, salt and pepper. To the bowl add the hot sauce, egg, buttermilk and whisk until you have a smooth batter. Add the chicken pieces to the bowl, toss to make sure each piece is coated in the batter and set aside. In another bowl add about a cup of Panko breadcrumbs.
- Heat the oil: Add about 1/2 inch of oil in a large skillet and heat the oil over medium-high heat.
- Fry the chicken: Coat each piece of chicken with breadcrumbs, add more breadcrumbs as needed, and fry on both sides for about 3 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Place on paper napkins to soak up some of the oil and repeat with all chicken pieces. Do not overcrowd the chicken, only add a few pieces of chicken to the skillet at a time, so the chicken turns out crispy.
- Finish the dish: Drizzle chicken with sauce and serve.
Baked Bang Bang Chicken
This recipe is even easier baked, if that’s even possible. But if you’d like to cut the calories or just prefer baking over frying, definitely consider baking these crispy little treats.
- Preheat the oven to 400 F degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place the coated chicken pieces on the prepared baking sheet and bake for about 20 to 30 minutes until the chicken starts to brown and the chicken is cooked through.
How to Serve
These crispy snacks are perfectly delicious all on their own, smothered in sauce and enjoyed while comfy and cozy. But if you’d like to add these to a nice big spread, you can’t go wrong serving it alongside these:
What Can I Do With My Leftovers?
If you have leftover chicken, I know, it sounds crazy, but if you do, you can use the leftovers to make these incredible wraps. I used the leftover sauce to spread over tortillas, sliced up some of the chicken, then loaded it up with alfalfa sprouts, cilantro and lettuce, then finally drizzle with some lime juice. The result is crazy good bang bang chicken wraps!
If you love this recipe I highly recommend you check out my Bang Bang Shrimp. You’re bound to love it just as much as this one!
Want To Make This Dish Ahead?
You sure can make these ahead! They actually freeze pretty well, more information on that below.
Fridge
You can store these fully cooked in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 – 4 days. Feel free to crisp them bake up in the oven when ready to feast.
Freezer
You can store these in the freezer for up to 1 month if you’d like to prepare these in advance. Just batter the chicken and then lay them on a baking sheet and freeze them, uncooked. Seal in an airtight container once hard and bake at 425 F degrees for 20 – 25 minutes from frozen when ready to eat.
Craving More Delicious Chicken? Try These Recipes:
- Asian Glazed Chicken Fingers
- Coconut Chicken
- Bang Bang Chicken
- Sticky Honey Sriracha Chicken Bites
- Lemon Pepper Chicken
- Honey Garlic Chicken
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Bang Bang Chicken
Ingredients
For Sauce
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup sweet chili sauce I used Frank’s
- 1 tablespoon hot sauce I used Sriracha *
- 2 tablespoon honey
- salt and pepper to taste
For Chicken
- 4 chicken breasts boneless, skinless, cut into small
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper or to taste
- 1 tablespoon hot sauce I used Sriracha
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup Panko breadcrumbs **
- oil for frying
Instructions
- To prepare the sauce, mix all the ingredients for the sauce together in a bowl and refrigerate until ready for serving.
- In a medium bowl, mix flour, cornstarch, garlic powder, smoked paprika, salt and pepper. To the bowl add the hot sauce, egg, buttermilk and whisk until you have a smooth batter. Add the chicken pieces to the bowl, toss to make sure each piece is coated in the batter and set aside.
- In another bowl add about a cup of Panko breadcrumbs.
- Add about 1/2 inch of oil in a large skillet and heat the oil over medium-high heat.
- Coat each piece of chicken with breadcrumbs, add more breadcrumbs as needed, and fry on both sides for about 3 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Place on paper napkins to soak up some of the oil. Repeat with all chicken pieces. Do not overcrowd the chicken, only add a few pieces of chicken to the skillet at a time, so the chicken turns out crispy.
- Drizzle chicken with sauce and serve.
Video
Recipe Notes
- * Sriracha sauce is a hot sauce made from red chili peppers, garlic, vinegar, salt and sugar. The sauce is hot and tangy with a hint of sweetness.
- ** Panko is a Japanese-style breadcrumb traditionally used as a coating for deep-fried foods.
- You can use whichever hot sauce you like the best if you don’t want to use sweet chili sauce.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
- You can store these in the freezer for up to 1 month if you’d like to prepare these in advance. Just batter the chicken and then lay them on a baking sheet and freeze them, uncooked. Seal in an airtight container once hard and bake at 425 F degrees for 20 – 25 minutes from frozen when ready to eat.
- Baking instructions: Bake at 450F for 20-30 minutes, flipping the chicken after 15 minutes.
- This appetizer is okay to serve hot or cold.
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
Nutrition Information:
Recipe originally shared October 23, 2012.
My kids absolutely love this and ask for it every week, Quick question, is it possible to air fry instead of oil frying? I’ve burnt myself one to many times. Lol.
You can totally make this in the air fryer!!
Can this also work with TOFu ? I have some family that are vegetarian
Absolutely!
Thank you so much! This recipe is incredible! I noticed that you stated in your article that if we didn’t have buttermilk we could make our own with regular milk – but I couldn’t find those directions. And is it possible to make this substitute with almond milk instead? Thank you!!!
You can make your own faux buttermilk by combining milk and vinegar or lemon juice. For every cup of milk add 1 tablespoon of white vinegar or 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Stir it and let it sit for a few minutes. I’m not sure if this would work with almond milk.
Is that a mistake when it says combine buttermilk with vinegar?? Shouldn’t it be combine milk with vinegar. My husband cannot have buttermilk as he has kidney disease so I am going to try the almond milk
You’re absolutely correct, fixed. 🙂