BANG BANG Baked Chicken

Recently we all went to Rehobeth Beach for a long weekend.  While there we went out to eat at a seafood restaurant and my husband wanted to order some BANG BANG Shrimp.  I had no idea what BANG BANG Shrimp was, but I figured what the heck why not.  And so glad I did, I loved it!  It was so tasty.

So, last week I was looking for some new recipe ideas to try and came across a recipe for BANG BANG Chicken.  I figured why not, I loved the shrimp, let's see how the chicken tastes.  And again, I was not disappointed.  The best part about making it at home was I could control the spiciness of it.  LOVE when I find a new recipe that is a hit and am able to add it to my collection.  Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!  And yes, the sauce calls for mayonnaise - which is why I am a huge fan of the 80/20 rule, I don't feel guilty when enjoying the sauce.

**Side note:  When I was making these, I did some before adding the hot sauce to the bread crumb mixture for the kids. Next time, I will probably add just a touch of hot sauce as that added to the flavor so much!

BANG BANG Baked Chicken

Ingredients:

For Chicken - 

4 Chicken Breasts, boneless, skinless, cut into small pieces/chunks (between 1 & 1.5 pounds)
1 cup Buttermilk
¾ cup Whole Wheat Flour
½ cup Cornstarch
1 Egg
1 tbsp. Garlic Powder
1 tsp Smoked Paprika
1 Tbsp Hot Sauce (I used Frank's Red Hot sauce)
Salt and Pepper to taste
Whole Grain/Wheat Panko Breadcrumbs

For Sauce - 

½ cup Mayonnaise

¼ cup Sweet Chili Sauce (I used Frank's)
1 Tbsp Frank's Hot Sauce
2 Tbsp Pure Honey

Directions: 

- In a medium bowl, mix all ingredients for the sauce together and refrigerate until ready for serving.

- Preheat the oven to 400-425 degrees.

-  In a medium bowl, mix flour, cornstarch, garlic powder, smoked paprika, salt and pepper. 

-  To the bowl add the hot sauce, egg, and buttermilk and whisk until you have a smooth batter. 

-  Add the chicken pieces to the bowl, toss to make sure each piece is coated in the batter and set aside.

-  In another bowl add about a cup of Panko breadcrumbs.

-  Coat each piece of chicken with breadcrumbs, add more breadcrumbs as needed, and place on a baking sheet (or a cooling rack over a baking sheet to help from keeping the pieces of chicken from getting soggy).

-  Place in the oven and bake for 15-30 minutes depending on how hot your oven is and how large the chicken pieces are.  I baked mine for about 20-25 minutes just to make sure they were cooked through which might have been 5 minutes to long, but they were extra crispy and good!

-  Drizzle chicken with sauce and serve.

**You could also use Extra Virgin Olive Oil and fry the pieces if you wanted.  I just don't like fried food much anymore nor did I feel like cleaning up the mess that goes with frying.