Name: Bang Bang Chicken
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Chinese/American
Ingredients: FOR THE SAUCE; 250ml (1 cup) mayonnaise; 70ml (1/4 cup) Chinese or Thai sweet chili sauce; 2 tbsp hot sauce, I use Franks; 1 tbsp honey; salt and pepper to taste; FOR THE CHICKEN; 1kg (2 lbs.) chicken breasts, cut into large bite sized pieces; 120g (1 cup) plain flour (all-purpose flour); 120g (1 cup) corn flour (cornstarch); 500ml (2 cups) buttermilk; 1 tbsp garlic powder; 1 tbsp hot sauce, I use Franks; 2 tsp Sechuan chili flakes (more or less to taste); Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste; 2 large eggs; 125g (2 cups) Panko breadcrumbs; Rapeseed (canola) oil for deep frying; TO GARNISH; Flaky salt if needed; 3 tbsp chopped coriander (cilantro); The prepared sauce.

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Talk about an exciting and delicious meal... You have to try this bang bang chicken!

At some restaurant, bang bang chicken is called bam bam chicken. Bam bam chicken is actually a traditional Chinese recipe and I have a recipe for it here. Bang bang chicken is a Chinese/American delicacy and you can make it quickly and easily at home. No need to go out and spend lots of money.

This bang bang chicken recipe will get you restaurant quality results. I promise!

About this bang bang chicken recipe.

When I visited my family in California a few weeks ago, bang bang chicken was one dish I wanted to perfect. I tried bang bang chicken at several popular restaurants. You could say this is a combination of all the things I love about the dish.

It is essential that the chicken be really crispy and served with a creamy spicy sauce. This is what you are going to get here.

Is bang bang chicken spicy?

It doesn't have to be but I like it spicy which is why I add Sechuan chili flakes to the chicken and the batter. Sometimes I use a really spicy hot sauce to but when I cook for my family, the mildly spiced Franks sauce is sufficient.

All you need to do is look at the recipe and adjust it to your personal taste. You can make bang bang chicken really spicy or mild. It's your choice.

Can you work ahead?

Yes. You can prepare the sauce in advance. There is nothing to go off in it. It's a spicy mayonnaise and will keep for weeks, covered tightly in your fridge.

You can also make the batter a couple of days in advance of frying and coat the chicken with the batter and breadcrumbs up to 4 hours before frying.

How long can you store the leftovers in the fridge?

You can store leftover bang bang chicken in the fridge for about three days. To heat it up again, I do not recommend microwaving the bang bang chicken. It becomes soggy.

Instead, heat it in a high oven until heated through and crisp or fry it again for a minute or two.

Can you freeze the leftover?

You sure can. Just like you can purchase frozen chicken nuggets, bang bang chicken freezes well. You can freeze it for up to 6 monthes.

To heat it up again, place it frozen on a lightly greased baking tray. Pre-heat your oven to 200C/400F and bake for about 20 minutes, turning half way through.

Is there are lighter version of bang bang chicken?

Yes. You can air-fry your chicken with outstanding results. If you don't want to eat that much mayonnaise, try substituting Greek yoghurt. You can use full fat or low fat yoghurt.

What goes into the bang bang sauce?

These are the ingredients I use. You could really have fun with this and experiment with different flavours using different hot sauces.

Mayonnaise: The sauce is creamy smooth and this is done with that awesome ingredient mayonnaise.
Hot Sauce: Use your hot sauce of choice. I usually use Franks or go spicier. You could also use sriracha
Sweet Chili Sauce: This adds a subtle sweetness to the sauce
Honey: This gives the sauce more sweetness and can be omitted if you prefer a more savoury sauce
Hot chili flakes: Spice it up with chili flakes. I recommend using Szechuan chili flakes for this sauce but any will do.
Salt & Pepper: To fine-tune the sauce to your taste.

What ingredients go into the crispy chicken

Chicken Breasts or Thighs: Although I normally use chicken thighs at home because they have more flavour, breast meat is much nicer to look at. You can decide which to use.
All-Purpose Flour & Cornstarch: A 50/50 mix of these two flours will achieve the crispiest bang bang chicken. I have experimented and these ratios are important.
Garlic Powder: This adds an umami flavour to the batter and also helps thicken it.
Chili flakes: This ingredient is optional but a must if you like spicy bang bang chicken. I use Sechuan chili flakes but any will do.
Salt & Pepper: Add these to your personal taste. I usually add a generous amount of both.
Hot Sauce: Use the hot sauce of your choice. I use Franks or sometimes I go with a much spicier homemade hot sauce like my habanero hot sauce.
Large Egg & Buttermilk: These ingredients are used to tenderize the chicken and also work to wet the chicken before rolling in the flour.
Panko Breadcrumbs: For the crispiest bang bang chicken, Panko breadcrumbs are a must! You could also use other breadcrumbs but go for Panko if you have them.
Oil: You need an oil with a high smoking point such as rapeseed (canola) oil. Any vegetable oil will do for deep frying.

Step by step photographs

Ingredients for the recipe — Get all your ingredients measured out and ready before you start cooking.

Prepared sauce for the chicken. — Stir the bang bang sauce ingredients together and set aside. You can pour half into a squirt bottle to garnish if you have one.

The chicken in the batter. — Whisk all of the batter ingredients together. It should be thick enough to coat the chicken. Add the chicken.

Dipping the battered chicken in the Panko breadcrumbs. — Dip the battered pieces of chicken in the panko breadcrumbs.

The chicken pieces after being dipped in the Panko breadcrumbs. — Place the chicken on a plate. All this work can be done a few hours before frying.

Heating the oil. — Heat about 10cm (4 inches) of oil in a wok or high-sided pan. Your oil is hot enough for frying when bubbles form immediately on contact when you dip a wooden spatula or chopstick in.

Frying the chicken. — Slowly lower each piece of chicken into the hot oil and fry for about 5 minutes to cook through.

Transferring the cooked chicken to a paper towel to soak up any excess oil. — Transfer the cooked chicken to a paper towel to soak up any excess oil.

The finished bang bang chicken garnishes with the sauce and coriander (cilantro). — Season with more salt if needed and garnish with the sauce and chopped coriander (cilantro).

bang bang chicken dipped in the sauce. — Dig in, dip and enjoy!

If you like this bang bang chicken recipe, you might like to try some of these Chinese takeaway favourites too:

I am currently updating my blog with the most popular Chinese takeaway recipes so be sure to check back often for new recipes. There are a lot on the way!

Have you tried this bang bang chicken recipe?

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Yield: 4 - 6