<<Hello from Amsterdam! This post comes to you from the past…or maybe it’s the future? I’m confused. Either way, I wrote this before I left for vacation because I didn’t want you all to forget about me while I was gone. And, later in the week, there will be a guest post for Thirsty Thursday, courtesy of my super talented friend, Sarah. It’s going to be fabulous, I promise. See you guys when I get back!>>
For as long as I can remember, I have been a late riser on the weekends – my mom and I used to have pseudo-competitions to see who could sleep in the longest (it was always a tie…where do you think I get it from?). Generally, it was probably a good bet that you wouldn’t see either of us until noon, at earliest.
Dan loves this trait of mine, because he is an early riser on the weekends and my sleeping in late gives him several hours of peace and quiet. According to him, once I do get up, I’m a whirlwind of activity – cleaning, cooking, bugging him for attention, etc.
My manic cooking/cleaning/tv-watching is apparently not super relaxing for him. Which is why he spends a lot of his weekend mornings reading/hiding on the balcony, I think? Whatever. He should be happy I’m so well-rested!
Anyway. Lately I’ve been finding myself waking up earlier on the weekends. Pre-noon. Sometimes pre-9am! It’s craziness. I don’t even know who I am anymore…Kidding, kidding.
I think it’s because now that I’ve been out of school for a few years and actually have to work all day, I’ve come to really value the few hours I have outside of work. And, sleeping in until noon on Sat/Sun means I’ve wasted half of my precious weekend!
Which is why I now actively try to get up earlier and do things. Like bake a dozen cherry hand pies. Or make Dan take me to breakfast somewhere. Or skip showering and batter/fry 2 pounds of spicy Bang Bang Chicken instead. All good things!
And speaking of good things…this Bang Bang Chicken was really good, and totally worth waking up early on a weekend to make! It might be my new favorite chicken recipe. It’s so simple – just marinate boneless breast pieces in a spicy buttermilk batter, coat everything in Panko, and fry!
In no time at all you’ll have a pile of perfectly crispy, juicy chicken bites that are absolutely packed with flavor. After that, all you have to do is whip up a super fast, amazingly addictive sweet chili mayo for drizzling/dunking. The whole thing is so unbelievably tasty.
When I made this, I fried up two pounds-worth of chicken, which sounds like a lot, but Dan and I easily ate all of it in one sitting. It is impossible to eat just one or two pieces, I tell you! Give it a try!
- 2 cups vegetable oil
- 1 cup buttermilk
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup cornstarch
- 1 large egg
- 1 tbsp Sriracha (or whatever hot sauce you prefer)
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch chunks
- 2-3 cups Panko bread crumbs
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons Sriracha
- 1 tablespoon honey
- In a large bowl, whisk together buttermilk, flour, cornstarch, egg, Sriracha, salt and pepper (to taste).
- Add your chicken pieces to the buttermilk mixture, and toss to coat. Allow pieces to marinate for at least 30 minutes.
- While your chicken is marinating, make your sauce - whisk together mayonnaise, Sriracha and honey in a small bowl until smooth and well mixed. Set aside.
- Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Pour your Panko bread crumbs in a wide, shallow bowl/dish.
- One at a time, dredge each piece of marinated/battered chicken in your Panko, pressing to coat. Set aside on a plate or tray.
- Working in batches, add breaded chicken to the skillet and cook until evenly golden and crispy, about 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
- Serve immediately, drizzled with sweet chili sauce. (And fill a side dish with extra sauce for dipping!)
(Slightly adapted from Damn Delicious’s recipe)
Have fun on your trip! I have had this recipe on my to-do list for the longest time.
Thanks! Me too – I finally gave in and just fried up a big batch, which ended up being a fabulous life decision ;p
YUM! I think I am changing my dinner plans in favor of this, it looks amazing!
Thanks, hope you like it!
This sounds AMAZING! I really, REALLY need to try this recipe! Pinned 🙂
Thanks! It’s pretty hard to go wrong with fried chicken bits….