This firecracker chicken recipe is chunks of crispy chicken tossed in a sweet and spicy sauce. An easy dinner option that the whole family will love!
I am a big fan of Asian food, I have a ton of recipes on my site for everything from broccoli beef to chicken chow mein. This firecracker chicken is the latest recipe to add to the collection. It’s crispy, sweet, spicy and utterly delicious! This chicken is not deep fried, but is browned until crisp, then covered in sauce and baked to perfection.
Tips for achieving crispy firecracker chicken
The chicken in this recipe is dipped in egg and cornstarch, which forms a crust on the chicken when it hits the oil. The best way to get a browned and ultra crispy crust is to start with a very hot pan – crank up the heat! The next trick is to be sure that the chicken isn’t crowded in the pan. If the chicken pieces are too close together, they’ll steam instead of brown. You may need to brown the chicken in batches, but it’s totally worth it.
After the chicken pieces are browned, the sauce is poured over the top and the whole thing goes into the oven. The cornstarch in the chicken coating will help to thicken the sauce as it bakes. This is a spicy dish, so if you’re heat adverse, beware! If you’d like to turn down the heat, you can omit the red pepper flakes. I like to serve this firecracker chicken over rice, but it’s also nice over Asian rice noodles or chow mein noodles.
I love being able to make my own take out favorites at home – it’s cheaper, healthier and often tastes better!
You’ll love these other Asian food recipes
Firecracker Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into 1 inch pieces
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/3 cup cornstarch
- 2 eggs beaten
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1/3 cup buffalo hot sauce
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes or more to taste
- 1/4 cup sliced green onions
- cooking spray
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9"x13" pan with cooking spray.
- Place the chicken pieces on a plate and season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle the cornstarch over the chicken and toss to coat evenly.
- Dip each piece of chicken into the beaten eggs.
- Heat the oil over high heat in a large pan. Place the chicken in a single layer and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side or until golden brown. You may have to work in batches.
- Place the chicken pieces in a single layer in the 9"x13" pan.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the buffalo sauce, brown sugar, rice vinegar and red pepper flakes.
- Pour the sauce over the chicken. Bake for 35 minutes, stirring once halfway through to coat the chicken with the sauce. Top with green onions and serve.
This was amazing I smelled the chicken even after I finished cooking. Paired it with buttery white rice, Perfect combo!
hello your recipes are wonderful 100/per cent i love your curries i love the skillet ones if you have some i live alone and their nice and quick no oven thank you so much
So good!
Best ever dish and easy to make. We love the sweet and spicy taste of the chicken! Thank you for this recipe!
Is there a way to use an air fryer instead?
Made this multiple times before and I love the recipe.
I have not tested this recipe in an air fryer, so I’m not sure if it would work!
I came across your recipe this morning & made it just now for an evening meal. This is delicious, thank you so much for sharing!
Does Buffalo hot sauce mean Frank’s hot sauce?
Yes it does!
Frank has a hot sauce and they have a Buffalo sauce
Delicious!!
i’m kind of a “cooking virgin” and i’m very anxious about cooking meat so i was nervous about my ability to make this BUT it was very easy and very straightforward. it was my first time frying(? using oil in the stove lol) but the instructions were great! and it turned out very well, VERY good :)))
Can I use canola oil instead of vegetable oil?
Yes that’s fine!
can i make this in advance? if so, what shall i do to keep it crispy
You can make the sauce in advance for sure. It would be difficult to keep the chicken crispy once it’s in the sauce.
The Firecracker Chicken is the bomb dot com!! Very easy to make, and I doubled the sauce to make sure that all of the chicken pieces were coated. I also made some Fried Rice and Egg Rolls on the side. Thank you for sharing this amazing and life changing recipe! This will now be my go-to whenever my sister and I are craving Chinese food!
Do you dip the chicken in the cornstarch again after the egg?
You do not dip it again!
Fantastic recipe we have made several times. Usually we double and then double the sauce again cause it’s so good. We subbed in tofu for the chicken which is really good (although I always love meat).
was amazing & easy, would def make again! 🙂
Easy to follow recipe, one of my monthly favorites that I look forward to.
Also very easily adjustable if you don’t like spice, just add a bit more brown sugar, and if too mild after cooking, I just sprinkle more chili flakes on.
My kids absolutely LOVE this recipe. I made it as written the first few times. After that I just eyeballed ingredients. This is always a winner and the college kids request it weekly when they are home. My only recommendation…use lard instead of vegetable oil. So much better.