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.
Love this!!! I add peppers, onions and pineapple to the pan and everyone loves it! Also add some pineapple juice to the sauce 🙂
Very good
Thanks so much for this wonderful recipe. My husband and son thoroughly enjoyed it and believed it was way better than our local Asian restaurant that was voted the best in the state. It came together very quickly, was easily fried in peanut oil and surprisingly truly crunchy. The sauce which was doubled had a lot of heat and paired nicely over the chicken and white rice. It was a bit too hot for my taste, but my boys just loved it. For the garnish, I used sesame seeds and the green onions making it look like a pro prepared it.
This sounds delicious! How can I prepare in advance for those busy nights? If I fry the chicken how long would you bake it for?
You can make the sauce in advance! Are you talking about deep frying the chicken or just sauteeing in a little oil like the recipe calls for?
Everyone likes the firecracker chicken it was quick and easy. We skipped the egg coat just did cornstarch and it turned out fine.
I make this frequently – it’s so good! The only modification I make is I double the sauce and serve over rice. Fantastic!
I used half the brown sugar recommended and it was still obscenely sweet. I am a huge lover of spice but this was so sweet!!!! I love a huge wealth of flavour and happy to try anything but this was sooooo sweet.
Love this recipe!! Any tips for reheating the leftovers? Seems to get dry on day 2.
How are you reheating it? Glad you’re enjoying the recipe!
I’ve tried the microwave and oven
Terrific tasty recipe! We will be putting this one in our regular rotation!
What is your favorite Buffalo sauce to use for this recipe?
I use Frank’s Red Hot!
Wonder scat veggies would go really well with this? Any ideas?
I recommend serving it with broccoli or snap peas!
This came out well! Quick and easy, I added some broccoli because I thought I had extra sauce. Next time I’d double the glaze/sauce and reduce it for the husband who likes extra sauce on the side. Will make again!
Excited to try! Is the first step for the chicken just to make the outside golden or to cook it all the way through?
You’re just browning the outside!
Do you think I could partially cook and save the oven baking until later in the day if it was refrigerated after the frying.
I’m looking to prep and then give to someone to finish in the oven later in the day.
You could if you make sure the chicken is all the way cooked through in the frying step.
Really a nice experience…. great…😍👍
First time making. Wow!!! Absolutely delicious and easy to make. Will add to my rotation of weekly meals.
I have made this so many times but I can’t consistently get the sauce to be thick! I can’t have corn starch so I use potato starch! Any suggestions? Because when it’s thick 10/10
I wonder if you could try simmering the sauce longer to reduce it? I’m not sure how potato starch thickens compared to corn starch.
Can you use arrowroot or tapioca flour. Both of those should work
Made this for a dinner date and it was amazing. Shorty said it taste just like Chinese food. I made it with Jasmin rice. This literally taste like take out but deff more fresh and ready to serve hot lol vs. Waiting for delivery. Was amazing.
Yum! This was a hit with every single member of my family, which is no small feat. Thanks for sharing!!
I don’t know how many times I have made this! It is my go to chicken recipe👌🏼Family loves it! Thank you so much!👏🏼