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Bang Bang Chicken has fried chicken tenders coated in a creamy and spicy sauce. Serve with rice, chopped lettuce, and scallions.
What is Bang Bang Chicken?
It’s a delicious variation of the super-popular Bang Bang Shrimp appetizer served at the Bone Fish Grill chain of restaurants. Instead of fried shrimp, we swapped in fried chicken tender strips to make Bang Bang Chicken.
The chicken strips are first marinated in a combination of buttermilk and hot sauce, then breaded and fried until golden and crispy. Then the strips are tossed in a zesty sauce made with mayonnaise, rice vinegar, sweet chili sauce, garlic chili sauce, plus a touch of sweetness from agave nectar or honey.
The original shrimp version is served on a bed of lettuce with rice on the side and chopped scallions on top – so we did the same with our Bang Bang Chicken. This dish was originally served as an appetizer, but we think it makes a great entrée as well.
Why you’ll love Bang Bang Chicken
- With today’s easy recipe, you can serve a delicious restaurant-quality dish for your family and friends in the comfort of home.
- The tender and crispy chicken coated in zesty sauce will have your taste buds dancing and singing!
- It’s a versatile recipe – make it with chicken tenders in long strips or smaller bite-size pieces, or cubes of boneless breast or thigh meat. Or make it with shrimp instead, following this recipe. You can also adjust the spiciness of the sauce – adding more or less of the two chili sauces to suit your tastes.
Key Ingredients & Substitutions
- Chicken – We recommend using chicken tenders for this recipe but boneless, skinless breast or thigh meat can also be used.
- For the Marinade – Buttermilk and hot sauce. Sriracha is typically used, but any favorite hot sauce can be swapped in.
- For the Breading – Corn starch, Panko breadcrumbs, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, kosher salt, and black pepper.
- For the Bang Bang Sauce – Mayonnaise, rice vinegar, Thai sweet chili sauce, garlic chili sauce, and agave nectar (or honey or sugar).
- Vegetable Oil – For frying.
- For Serving – Cooked white rice, iceberg lettuce, and chopped scallions.
Special Tools Needed
- Cutting Board and Small Sharp Knife
- Various Measuring Cups and Spoons
- Medium Bowl – For the marinade.
- Large Bowl – For the breading.
- Medium Bowl – To mix the sauce.
- Medium Colander
- Large Bowl – To toss cooked chicken in the sauce.
- Deep Pan or Wok – For frying the chicken.
- Medium Sheet Tray or Platter – To hold the breaded chicken.
- Sheet Tray Lined with Paper Towels – To drain the fried chicken.
- Spider Strainer
- Deep Fry Thermometer or Heat Temperature Gun
- Tongs
- Whisk
How do I make Bang Bang Chicken?
- Cut chicken into strips or pieces.
- Marinate the chicken for one hour.
- Mix the breading ingredients together and set aside.
- Mix sauce ingredients and refrigerate.
- Cook rice (if serving with this dish); also cut up the lettuce and slice scallions for serving.
- After one hour, drain chicken and discard marinade.
- Bread a few pieces of chicken at a time, moving coated pieces to a platter or tray while you coat all the chicken. Discard any extra breading mix.
- Heat oil in wok and have a sheet tray standing by, lined with paper towels.
- Fry chicken in batches, then transfer to a paper towel-lined tray to drain any excess oil.
- Place cooked chicken in a large bowl. Spoon sauce over the chicken, then toss to coat.
- Serve immediately over lettuce and garnish with chopped scallions. Serve rice on the side if desired.
Tips & Tricks
- When frying the chicken pieces, avoid overcrowding the pan with too many all at once so the oil temp stays consistent. If the oil temperature drops too low, the chicken will end up greasy. Fry in batches, letting the oil recover to 350 degrees F between batches.
- If you are cooking a large amount of chicken, keep cooked chicken in a warm oven between batches.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Can I make Bang Bang Chicken ahead of time? You can prepare the individual components ahead but marinate and fry the chicken just before serving.
- How do I store leftovers? Store covered and refrigerated for up to three days.
- How do I reheat leftovers? Reheat portions in the microwave if you’ve already coated all of the fried chicken pieces with sauce. If you have un-sauced fried chicken, you can warm it up in an oven, then toss in the sauce.
- Can I freeze? Yes, the cooked chicken will freeze well.
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Bang Bang Chicken
Bang Bang Chicken has fried chicken tenders coated in a creamy and spicy sauce. Serve with rice, chopped lettuce, and scallions.
Ingredients
2 pounds chicken tenderloins
Marinade
3 cups buttermilk
1 tablespoon Sriracha, or your favorite hot sauce
Breading
3 cups corn starch
1 1/2 cups Panko breadcrumbs
2 1/2 teaspoons paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoons onion powder
Bang Bang Sauce
2/3 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1/4 cup Thai sweet chili sauce
3 tablespoons garlic chili sauce
2 tablespoons agave nectar, or honey, or golden syrup or sugar
1 teaspoon Sriracha sauce, or your favorite hot sauce
Vegetable oil for frying
Cooked white rice, for serving
Iceberg lettuce, for serving
Sliced scallion greens, for serving
Instructions
- Remove the tendon from each tenderloin: Hold the end of the tendon with a paper towel while you use the side of a small sharp knife to hold the chicken steady. Then, pull the tendon out. Alternately, you can hold the chicken with a fork and pull the tendon through the tongs.
- Cut the cleaned chicken pieces into smaller pieces depending on the size. Our tenders were small, so we just cut them in half.
- Place buttermilk and hot sauce in a medium bowl and add the chicken to marinate. Refrigerate for one hour.
- While chicken is marinating, whisk together breading mixture in a large bowl and set aside.
- Whisk sauce ingredients together in a medium bowl and leave at room temperature until later as you prepare the chicken.
- Line a sheet tray with paper towels.
- Place oil in wok. Have strainer and tongs ready nearby.
- If serving with rice, cook that now. Also cut up the lettuce and slice the scallion greens.
- After an hour of marinating, drain chicken over the sink in a colander or strainer, discarding the marinade.
- Place a few pieces of chicken at a time into the breading and toss to coat. Place coated chicken on a tray or platter.
- Heat oil in wok to 350 degrees F.
- Heat oven to 250 degrees F. to keep batches warm as you fry.
- Once oil is hot, cook chicken pieces in about four batches, making sure you let the oil recover to 350 degrees F. between batches. They are cooked when they float, about 2-3 minutes for small pieces and 4-5 minutes for larger pieces.
- Use a spider or strainer and move to the paper towel lined tray. Keep warm in the oven between batches.
- Once the oil is back to temperature, continue with this process until all the chicken is fried.
- Place the cooked hot chicken in a large bowl and pour all the sauce over and toss to coat.
- To serve, place lettuce on a platter and cover with the sauced chicken, then sprinkle with the scallion greens.
- Serve rice on the side of each serving.
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Carole says
Works great with Gluten Free panko!
Martha says
Yes – thanks Carole!