Name: Firecracker Chicken
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 500g (1 1/4 lbs) chicken breast or thighs, skinned and cut into 2.5cm (1 inch) pieces; 70g (1/2 cup) cornflour; 1 tsp fine sea salt; ½ tsp ground black pepper; 3 eggs, beaten; 5 tbsp rapeseed (canola) or peanut oil; 90ml (1/3 cup) buffalo hot sauce, any but I use Frank’s; 70g (1/3 cup) brown sugar; 2 tsp rice vinegar; ½ tsp red chilli flakes, more or less to taste; 4 spring onions (scallions) thinly sliced into rings.

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Delicious firecracker chicken all made in one pan!

Usually, this dish is fried first in a pan and then baked in a baking tray. You could of course do that too but I like to cook it and bake it all in the same pan.

Take the crispy fried chicken to the table in that flaming hot pan and watch how quickly it gets devoured.

So good! I think you are going to love this firecracker chicken recipe.

About this firecracker chicken recipe…

There are many different versions of firecracker chicken. Some restaurants add about a tablespoon of soy sauce but I prefer it sprinkled with flaky salt just before serving instead.

It’s really a free for all! Add more buffalo sauce, garlic… Just go for it and make this dish the way you like it.

Cooking the chicken

The chicken is first fried and the roasted with the firecracker sauce in the oven.

This means you only need to lightly fry the chicken. Often the chicken isn’t completely cooked through after frying which is a good thing.

Then it is roasted to perfection.

Step by step photos…

Gather all of your ingredients together before starting. It makes cooking easier.

Dip the chicken in the egg wash.

Then dust the chicken pieces with the flour. Shake off any excess flour.

Fry in batches for 3 to 4 minutes per side or until lightly browned and crispy.

Transfer the fried chicken to a paper towel or rack to drip any excess oil.

Whisk the sauce ingredients together.

Cover the fried chicken with the sauce ensuring it is coated all over.

Roast in the oven until crispy and lightly charred.

Dig in!

If you like this firecracker chicken recipe, you might like to try some of these too…

Salt and pepper chicken
Szechuan chicken
General Tso’s chicken
Crispy chicken and broccoli
Spicy chicken chow mein

Yield: 4

Firecracker Chicken

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Ingredients

500g (1 1/4 lbs) chicken breast or thighs, skinned and cut into 2.5cm (1 inch) pieces
70g (1/2 cup) cornflour
1 tsp fine sea salt
½ tsp ground black pepper
3 eggs, beaten
5 tbsp rapeseed (canola) or peanut oil
90ml (1/3 cup) buffalo hot sauce, any but I use Frank’s
70g (1/3 cup) brown sugar
2 tsp rice vinegar
½ tsp red chilli flakes, more or less to taste
4 spring onions (scallions) thinly sliced into rings.

Instructions

Pre-heat your oven to 200c/400f. Mix the cornflour, salt and pepper on a plate. Then whisk the eggs in a large mixing bowl. Dip the chicken pieces in the egg and then dip them to coat in the flour mixture.
In a large oven-proof pan, heat the oil over high heat. When a piece of spring onion (scallion) sizzles immediately on contact with the oil, it is hot enough to start cooking.
Working in small batches, add the chicken to the pan. Fry on both sides for about four minutes or until nicely browned and crispy looking. Transfer the cooked chicken to a paper towel or metal rack to drip any excess oil.
Once all the chicken is cooked, discard any remaining oil from the pan and wipe it clean. You want to leave a film of oil in the pan though so that the chicken doesn’t stick.
Place the cooked chicken in one layer in the pan. Then whisk the buffalo hot sauce, sugar and rice vinegar together until smooth and pour it all over the chicken.
Place the pan in the oven to bake for 30 minutes or until you are happy with the crispy appearance of the chicken in that easy but amazing sauce. Sprinkle the top with the spring onions (scallions), chilli flakes and flaky sea salt to serve.