Firecracker Chicken

This Firecracker Chicken is made with extra crispy fried chicken breast or thighs that are tossed in a flavorful Firecracker sauce and baked to perfection. This restaurant-worthy meal tastes even better than takeout! I’ll just come right out and say it. This firecracker chicken recipe absolutely tastes like it comes from a restaurant. The chicken is so crispy, (and it stays crispy), and the firecracker sauce is exploding with flavor.

Ingredients:
1 ½ lbs. boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs
Salt/Pepper to taste
3 eggs, whisked
1 cup vegetable oil, plus more as needed
¾ cup cornstarch

Sauce:
¾ cup buffalo sauce
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon chili powder, optional
½ teaspoon mustard powder
¼ teaspoon salt

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together the sauce ingredients and set aside.
Cut the chicken into 2-inch pieces and pat completely dry. Season with salt and pepper.
Whisk the eggs vigorously in a medium bowl, until small air pockets have developed and it’s very uniform in color. Add the chicken and toss to coat.
Heat 1 cup vegetable oil over medium-high heat to 365 degrees. Just before frying, coat the first batch of chicken with cornstarch, then briefly dip each back into the whisked eggs.
Fry the chicken in batches, leaving room around each to ensure the edges get crispy. Flip once the bottom of the chicken is light brown and crisp, about 3-4 minutes per side. Make small adjustments to the heat (up or down) throughout cooking as needed. Add a little more oil as needed throughout cooking.
Use a slotted spoon to carefully remove the chicken and place on wire cooling racks so that the bottom stays crispy. Place wax or parchment paper underneath the racks to catch excess grease.
Once all of the chicken has been fried, add the chicken to the large bowl with the sauce and gently toss to coat. Transfer to a 9 x 13-inch baking dish.
Bake for 10 minutes. Remove and gently toss to coat the chicken with the sauce. Bake for 10 more minutes.
Remove and garnish with green onions. Serve over white rice.

Pro Tips:
– Make sure the oil is sufficiently heated before adding the chicken, the chicken should start frying immediately once it hits the oil. This ensures that the outer coating will stay on the chicken, making it nice and crisp.
– Peanut Oil can be used for frying as well, it adds a nice flavor that pairs well with this recipe.
– A pinch of Red Pepper Flakes can be added to the sauce as well for an additional kick.
– This recipe is great with a side of rice. The notes section of the recipe card includes instructions for how I make perfectly cooked rice every time.
– Leftovers make a great pizza topping with some blue cheese or ranch dressing drizzled on top. It’s similar to buffalo chicken pizza, but with more tang.

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