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This Firecracker Chicken is sweet, spicy and adds a nice kick to your meal. The chicken is super tender and juicy and once you smother it in the flavorful sauce, you will have everyone wanting to come back for seconds!
Serve this restaurant-worthy dish with a side of Easy Fried Rice, these yummy Vegetable Egg Rolls, and these classic Cream Cheese Wontons for a meal you’ll have on repeat.
Firecracker Chicken Recipe
If you are looking for something that is the perfect marriage of sweet and spicy, this firecracker chicken is it! It’s not too hot, and it’s not too sweet. The chicken is flash fried so the outside browns beautifully. Once you add in the delicious firecracker sauce, you will have a meal that you will want to make over and over again!
My go-to Asian meal is my classic Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken, and this recipe is similar to that, except it has a bit more kick with the heat (hence the name Firecracker). This recipe comes together so easily and is one that your entire family will go crazy over. After you try this one, you must check out my Firecracker Salmon… It’s a twist on this one, and so good!
Baked Firecracker Chicken Ingredients
The sauce is a perfect balance of heat and sweet and that will knock your taste buds off. Your family and loved ones are going to love this! To see the exact ingredient measurements, check out the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Canola Oil: This is used to flash fry the chicken. You can also use vegetable oil.
- Chicken Breasts: Boneless skinless chicken breasts make prepping a breeze.
- Salt and Pepper: These will enhance all of the flavors of the chicken and sauce.
- Cornstarch: DO NO substitute for flour. The cornstarch is the secret to amazing coating that will make your chicken perfectly crispy.
- Eggs: I always use large eggs when I am cooking.
- Buffalo Sauce: Use your favorite brand. If you want it really spicy, use a hot sauce like Frank’s brand.
- Brown Sugar: This helps the sauce to caramelize and also adds in a sweet flavor.
- Water: The water helps dissolve the sugar
- Apple Cider Vinegar: When you add in the apple cider vinegar, you get a delicious tangy flavor.
- Red pepper Flakes: These add extra heat. Leave them out if you want a more mild flavor.
How to Make Easy Firecracker Chicken
This chicken so easy and tastes so much better than takeout. Now take out begins at home! Serve this chicken with some delicious Easy Fried Rice and you will have the perfect meal!
- Prepare: Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Season with salt and pepper.
- Bowls: In two separate bowls, place the cornstarch and the beaten eggs. dip chicken into cornstarch, then coat in egg mixture.
- Flash-Fry: Heat the oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat. Cook the chicken till just the outside is browned. Place in a greased 9×13 pan.
- Sauce: Mix the ingredients for the sauce in a separate bowl, then pour over the chicken.
- Bake: Bake for 1 hour. Stirring every 15 minutes.
Cooking Tips
This Firecracker Chicken will turn out perfectly if you follow all of my cooking tips! Here are a few ideas that you can try out!
- Method to the Madness: Make sure you first coat your chicken in the cornstarch and then the egg. This method makes the perfect breading for the chicken.
- Fast: Do not cook the chicken all the way through before baking. You just want to get the chicken lightly brown on the outside, and then it bakes to perfection.
- Low and Slow: Baking the chicken at a low temperature will not overcook the chicken. This helps to cook the chicken all the way through and thicken up the sauce
Variations
There are so many ways that you can change up this Firecracker Chicken! Add in some fruits, veggies, spices, you name it, and you can make this dish feel new each time you cook it!
- Spice: Depending on your tastes, you can take the heat up or down. Use hot sauce or sriracha for a hotter dish. Use buffalo sauce for a milder heat.
- Vegetables: Add peppers, broccoli, or other vegetables to the baking for variety.
- Fruit: Add some pineapple chunks to help with the heat and give it a bit more sweetness
- Chicken: Cut the Chicken into even bite-sized pieces so it’ll cook evenly. Using thighs might result in uneven cooking as light and dark meat cook differently.
- Pork: This recipe would also work perfectly with pork.
- Extra Sauce: If you like your dish saucy, double the sauce recipe and place half on the chicken and another half on the stove in a pot at a simmer for 8-10 min till thickened.
- Serve: This dish is perfect on a bed of rice, stir-fried veggies, or quinoa, or over a bed of lettuce for an Asian-inspired salad.
How to Store Leftover Firecracker Chicken
- In the Refrigerator: Place leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge, and they will last for 3-4 days.
- In the Freezer: To freeze this chicken, place it in a freezer-safe container or bag and freeze it for up to 3 months.
- How to Reheat Firecracker Chicken: This Firecracker Chicken is best reheated on the stove. Reheating it in the microwave can make the chicken rubbery and overcooked. Place leftovers in a pan on the stovetop and heat on medium heat, stirring often, till heated through
More Delicious Asian Chicken Recipes
Asian chicken is some of the best chicken out there. It is always perfectly cooked and has a delicious sauce of glaze that really packs a punch of flavor! Check out some more of my favorite recipes that taste better than takeout!
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Firecracker Chicken
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 4 chicken breasts, boneless skinless
- salt
- pepper
- 1 cup cornstarch
- 2 large eggs
Sauce:
- 1/3 cup buffalo sauce (if you like more heat use hot sauce, like Frank's brand)
- 1 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 tablespoon water
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Cut chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces and season with salt and pepper.
- In separate bowls, place cornstarch and slightly beaten eggs. Dip chicken into cornstarch, then coat in egg mixture. I have also found that you can put the cornstarch in a gallon-sized bag and shake the chicken to coat it.
- Heat canola oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and cook chicken until browned. Place the chicken in a 9 x 13 greased baking dish.
- Combine the Buffalo sauce, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, water, salt, and red pepper flakes in a medium-sized mixing bowl.
- Pour the sauce over the chicken and bake for 1 hour, stirring the chicken every 15 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
If I wanted this to be general toast chicken, what ingredient would I need to take out or add?
I subscribe to your recipe blog and we absolutely love this recipe! Even my husband who is a “meat and potatoes” guy thought this was the best. I didn’t have buffalo sauce, so I looked up a recipe on the web and made it from scratch. This dish is A+ and definitely a keeper.
Made this recipe & it was great, almost addictive. Next time I may add a bit of OJ concentrate & a bit more hot sauce & chili flakes. This is definitely a keeper.
How much buffalo sauce? There is a glitch that is making the amount look like a little box. It just says *box* cup buffalo.
It is 1/3 cup.
Have you ever hear the phrase “Taste so good, makes you wanna slap your mama!!!” I wanted to slap myself repeatedly last night when I made this. OH.MY.GOD!!!! Best chicken recipe I have ever made! I added fresh garlic to the sauce and powdered garlic to the raw chicken because I can’t cook without garlic and man, I swear it took this recipe to another level. My husband was in a food coma for a few hours LOL! Thanks so much!!!
Made this last night, delicious with a hit of spicy! I used Frank’s Buffalo sauce. Served with rice and roasted brocoli. This is going into my recipe file. Thanks!
I tried this recipe……DELICIOUS!!!! WAY WAY better than what you would get at a restaurant.
Made this for dinner tonight and it was a hit! My husband and I both loved it so thanks for a great recipe!
Hi, would I be able to add sesame seed in the sauce?
Sure!
This looks amazing and I plan on cooking this tonight for my picky family. My question is, after looking at the directions do you really coat it in the cornstarch and then egg? How does that work? Iv never done anything like this before and I’m a little intimidated by that method
I thought the same, but it is AMAZING!
I’ve made this and the baked honey sesame chicken a couple times. I keep overcooking the chicken to the point that it’s too dry. The glaze is delicious but the texture of the chicken is just too dry. I’ve already attempted to not cook the chicken as long in the pan before baking. I was thinking maybe I’m baking it too long? Any tips?
I make a similar thing in my wok. I cook up the sauce separately in a saucepan on the side, low and slow until it is thickened. Then I fry up the chicken in my wok in batches. Set it drain on a paper towel. When all the chicken is done, I throw it back in the wok, turn the heat up and toss it around in the thickened sauce.
Another thing I like to do with this chinese style fried chicken pieces is toss it in different sauces. You can do barbq sauce, kicked up with Tabasco and a generous knob of butter. Akin to barbq wings. Or try wing sauce and a knob of butter and you get little hot wing bites.
If you want this dish to look fancy, sprinkle it with sesame seed and scallion when serving. The green and white look gorgeous next to the bright orange.
use boneless thighs
Yeah we cooked it in the oven after the fryer for only 20 minutes and it was great
Have you tried using thighs instead of breasts
I made this recipe last night with your veggie fried rice recipe. It was AMAZING! We were craving Chinese take out but we wanted a healthier alternative. This was perfect. It tasted better than take out! I will be coming back to this recipe in the future!
Made this last night for my family. I really had no idea what to expect, having never made anything like this before. It was a HUGE hit and they all absolutely loved it. Doubled the red pepper flakes and added slightly more buffalo sauce and it was very spicy and good!
OH MY GOSH! If you haven’t tried this recipe yet, you should! It was so freaking good. I can’t wait to eat it again. Even my hubby loves it and you know that is the real test. He wanted to write the recipe down when he smelled the sauce for the chicken. It is sweet with just enough spice from the Franks Original Hot Sauce. Didn’t change anything about this recipe and can’t wait to try all your other Chinese recipes this weekend. The in-laws are wanting to have the honey sesame seed chicken. Thank you soooo much for this recipe, it’s a keeper.
This recipe is super good! I used Franks hot sauce, and subbed the brown sugar for maple syrup, leaving out the water. Paired it with carrots and peas in rice with tamari sauce. Definitely going to make again!
My husband and I both loved this recipe. I made it exactly as shown and it came out wonderful. The flavor is spot on.