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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.
I made the Firecracker chicken tonight along with your fried rice recipe, and my won ton soup. Big hit! The chicken is delicious, and as far as the rice…hubby liked it better than my more complicated recipe. Hit with me! Can’t wait to try more recipes.
It takes my a super long time to pan fry each individual 1-inch piece of chicken- any tips on how to cut down this time? Can I use larger pieces of chicken to fry and then cut them into 1-inch pieces afterwards?
Yes, you can use a larger piece but then it will not have to coating wrapped around the chicken. You can pan fry all of it at the same time. It will evenly fry them. It should take about 8-10 minutes to fry them.
Can you cook the chicken in the air fryer? If so, what would you do?
Yes, that sounds great! Let me know how it turns out!
Posting this in 2019 because that is when I found it. I made this tonight and it was truly delicious. I did use chicken thighs for a moister chicken and the only other change I made was to add a few shakes of hot chili oil to the firecracker sauce. The flavor combinations in this are truly great. Thank you for this recipe, it will be made again, and again!
Love this recipe. It’s super easy to make and my parents seem to enjoy it. I know I do.
Thanks bunches.
Eggs first and then cornstarch. Then fry.
Made the firecracker chicken and my son said it was by far his favorite dinner. Need to make it once a week. My husband said this is a keeper for sure! Had it with the easy fried rice. ?Thanks so much.
We literally, just got done eating this! It is fantastic! My husband would not stop raving or eating. lol He just yelled from the front room, “Dam that was good Sherri.” 🙂 I am in total agreement. I had just the right amount of “kick” without being overpowering. This recipe is FIRE!
Thank you so much for making me the star Chef tonight and for sharing this wonderful recipe! Definitely checking out the rest of your recipes. 😉
Great recipe! Husband and kids loved! Definitely a weekend thing though. This is a keeper!
nutritional information? Can’t wait to try this recipe. Gonna hit the store on the way home!
I like to use myfitnesspal.com or skinnytaste.com for any nutritional information! Hope you love the chicken! XOXO
I have made this 3 times now for my family and they LOVE it! Can’t wait to try more recipes from you!
AWE!! That is awesome! Thanks so much for sharing! XOXO
ive made the firecracker chicken recipe a few times. its soooo good! i seriously could eat this everyday! next time, id like to try it on pork chops, or even shrimp.
That is awesome! I am so happy you love it that much! Thanks so much for sharing! XOXO
I just made this for the 4th time tonight! I used Frank’s regular red hot sauce the first few times and it tasted amazing. I’m trying Frank’s buffalo hot sauce this time and the sauce tastes the same, less spicy, if anything. This is one of my family’s favorite meals. Thank you for sharing!
That is SO great to hear!!! I am so happy you love it!! Thanks so much for sharing this!! XOXO
Disclaimer “im a restaurant chef” this recipe is awesome! Other than tweaking the ingredients a little considering i was makimg it for 3 people, and the cook time needed to be reduced a lot, this was a 5 star dish. I used Sriracha considering its a “asian” dish and a little texas petes. Just making the sauce i was trying to find thing in my kitchen to dip in it. Other than that i would suggest put some salt, pepper, and a little Cayenne pepper in with the flour cornstarch mix. Thanks for sharing this recipe, it will definitely be one of my easy go to asian dishes after a long days work!!! Ps to spice it up a little more, add some of the sauce to your rice. Cook on!! ?
Have been making this for my family for some time now. Everyone loves it! Especially my son who loves spicy food! Definitely one of our faves. Wondering if anyone has tried making this in a crock pot? Keep the recipes coming! My family thanks you!!!
Made this last night and it was fantastic. I didn’t have any buffalo sauce so I substituted bbq sauce with sriracha. Next time I will add more sriracha as it was more sweet than spicy but my husband didn’t mind. A real hit that we’ll make again.