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Home » Dinner » Firecracker Chicken

October 30, 2017 By Sara 134 Comments

Firecracker Chicken

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Firecracker Chicken Recipe | Asian Chicken | Spicy Chicken Recipe #chicken #stirfry #dinner #dinneratthezoo

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!

Firecracker Chicken Recipe | Asian Chicken | Spicy Chicken Recipe #chicken #stirfry #dinner #dinneratthezoo Firecracker Chicken Recipe | Asian Chicken | Spicy Chicken Recipe #chicken #stirfry #dinner #dinneratthezoo

A bowl of sweet and spicy firecracker chicken.

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.

A pan full of crispy firecracker chicken topped with green onions.

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.

A bowl of rice topped with spicy firecracker chicken.

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

  • Mongolian Beef
  • Sesame Shrimp
  • Moo Goo Gai Pan
  • Shrimp Chow Mein
  • Orange Beef Stir Fry
A bowl of sweet and spicy firecracker chicken.
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4.97 from 58 votes

Firecracker Chicken

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!
Course Main
Cuisine Asian
Keyword chinese chicken, firecracker chicken
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings 4
Calories 429kcal
Author Sara Welch

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.

Notes

Adapted from The Recipe Critic.

Nutrition

Calories: 429kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 32g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 172mg | Sodium: 206mg | Potassium: 591mg | Sugar: 26g | Vitamin A: 200IU | Vitamin C: 1.7mg | Calcium: 42mg | Iron: 1.2mg

Filed Under: Asian Food, Dinner, Featured Recipes Tagged With: Chicken

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Comments

  1. SR says

    March 28, 2021 at 2:29 pm

    5 stars
    Super easy and good. No matter how much I make, it all gets eaten. I keep upping the servings, but still no leftovers. I even added tofu one night, it still got completely devoured. We like extra spicy, so I substituted Frank’s Red Hot Cayenne which is one notch up from the Buffalo Style. Sometimes, when I’m in a hurry, I cut the protein smaller to reduce oven time.

    Reply
  2. Mellie says

    March 14, 2021 at 7:52 am

    Hi! This recipe looks great – I just have a problem getting Buffalo sauce here in The Netherlands. Do you have a recommendation for a substitute?

    Reply
    • Sara says

      March 14, 2021 at 6:47 pm

      Any other hot red pepper sauce is fine!

      Reply
  3. Kelly S says

    March 2, 2021 at 11:38 am

    5 stars
    I’m one of those people that doesn’t like eating the same meals week after week. I love trying out new recipes especially to get my kids used to all different foods. I will say I enjoy this recipe so much i make it at least twic a month. I love everything about it sweet, spicy, sour chicken you can’t go wrong. We typically do jasmine rice with steamed broccoli and roasted cauliflower.

    Reply
  4. Kate says

    February 18, 2021 at 5:15 pm

    5 stars
    So good!!!!!! I generally alter recipes when I make them but to me this didn’t need any changes. I served it with cauliflower rice and steamed broccoli, and we will absolutely be making this again.

    Reply
  5. Kim Erika Nichols says

    February 18, 2021 at 4:02 pm

    5 stars
    Very easy and very tasty. It is spicy so be prepared. I will definitely make this again!

    Reply
  6. Elizabeth says

    February 9, 2021 at 7:12 pm

    5 stars
    Thank you for this recipe! It came out dee-lish!!!! Its become a staple in my home ☺️

    Reply
  7. Lane says

    January 28, 2021 at 4:37 pm

    I made this recipe for the first time tonight and was so good!! I personally added a little more red pepper flakes because i like extra spicy. Overall this was super good!! I will be making this again

    Reply
  8. Danielle says

    January 24, 2021 at 4:19 pm

    5 stars
    I searched for this recipe trying to copy what a local restaurant serves! This is it!!!! Thank you!!!
    A tad spicy for us, but otherwise it’s fantastic! We tripled the sauce, next time we’ll do less red pepper flakes. We ate this with jasmine rice and steamed broccoli.
    I’ve made a handful of your recipes and they’ve all come out so good! I come straight to your website now when I’m looking for something 🙂 Thanks again!!

    Reply
  9. Kelli says

    January 13, 2021 at 5:19 pm

    5 stars
    This is at least a “monthly” dish in our house, we LOVE it! Served with basmati rice and either sauted or steamed veggies (mostly broccoli). We are sauce people so I double and it’s the perfect amount for us. Have turned on several people to this recipe and they love it just as much as we do! Thank you!

    Reply
    • Eric says

      January 22, 2021 at 5:15 pm

      5 stars
      Us too! I have been making this at least 1 time a month for the last year and half since I discovered the recipe. It NEVER gets old.

      Reply
  10. Cath says

    January 4, 2021 at 3:26 pm

    5 stars
    Spicy but so good

    Reply
    • Mark says

      February 2, 2021 at 11:27 am

      This recipe is legit! Really tasty dish served with Bell peppers, mangetout and basmati rice

      Cheers!

      Reply
  11. Angela says

    December 28, 2020 at 12:24 am

    5 stars
    Delicious… I served it with boxing day fried rice (made with Christmas day leftovers)

    Reply
  12. Celeste siegmunf says

    December 27, 2020 at 8:37 pm

    We added 1/3 cup Sarah’s sauce and 1/3 cup Buffalo hot sauce , used flour instead of cornstarch. Double sauce. We used 2 of the 3 pkg of Costco chicken.

    Reply
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With 3 young kids, dinner can feel like feeding time at the zoo! I'm a mom on a mission to create easy, healthy and family friendly recipes ...Read More
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