Firecracker Chicken is a sweet and spicy Chinese-inspired dish that cooks in under 30 minutes. By using oven-baked crispy Tyson Any’tizers Popcorn Chicken, you can have this delicious dinner on the table in under 30 minutes. Get ready to set your tastebuds on fire with this thick and spicy sauce.
We have always loved Chinese takeout, but our favorite place recently closed! We’ve had to come up with our own copycat recipes to make at home.
This Firecracker Chicken is one of our favorites. It has lots of spice, but you can tone it done if your family doesn’t dig the spicier side of life.
This a great recipe for an easy weeknight meal because it cooks up in about 30 minutes thanks to the frozen chicken. All you’ve got to do is make the yummy sauce.
If you have one who doesn’t like spicy food, you can easily reserve a few pieces of popcorn chicken and serve it up with a side of rice for a full meal.
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Key to Success #1 – MAKE DINNER EASY WITH TYSON ANY’TIZERS POPCORN CHICKEN
The key to this Easy Firecracker Chicken recipe is using Tyson Any’tizers Popcorn Chicken instead of breading and frying fresh chicken.
The Tyson Any’tizers Popcorn chicken bakes up nice and crispy in the oven or the Air Fryer, which is exactly what you want in Firecracker Chicken.
If you like extra crispy chicken try spraying the popcorn chicken with a little bit of cooking spray before you put them into the oven.
Be sure to flip the chicken over halfway through cooking. This will allow the other side of the chicken to crisp up as well.
You can save a lot of time by baking the popcorn chicken in the oven or Air Fryer while you make the sauce.
With this time-saving option, you can easily make this a 30-minute meal. It’s a perfect solution for your family’s busy schedule.
Key to Success #2 – Fire Things up Two Ways
The “fire” in Firecracker Chicken comes from both buffalo sauce and red pepper flakes.
If you and your family prefer things less spicy, then I would suggest reducing the red pepper flakes to 1/4 teaspoon. You will still get plenty of flavor.
The buffalo sauce brings a lot of spice all on its own. I used the Sweet Baby Ray’s Buffalo Wing Sauce and the only thing sweet about it is the name. It brings a great amount of flavor to this dish though.
The spice of the buffalo wing sauce is balanced out by the brown sugar. If you think the amount of brown sugar is high, this is the reason. You really need the sweetness for balance.
Key to Success #3 – Thicken It Up
When you’re making a dish that involves breaded chicken coated with sauce, you want your sauce to be on the thicker side so that it doesn’t soak into your chicken and make it soggy.
To thicken the sauce, start by making a slurry with 2 teaspoons of water and 2 teaspoons of cornstarch. When I say slurry, I really mean just mix them together in a separate bowl.
Mixing the cornstarch with water prior to add to the hot sauce will prevent the cornstarch from clumping.
Once the sauce starts to simmer, it’s time to add the cornstarch slurry.
Make sure you whisk the sauce constantly as you add in the slurry to ensure that your sauce turns out silky smooth.
After the sauce thickens, you can turn down the heat to low and let the sauce continue to simmer until the chicken is finished cooking.
Save this Easy Firecracker Chicken recipe to your favorite Chinese Takeout Recipes board or your Easy Chicken Recipes.
Firecracker Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 bag 24 oz Tyson Any'tizers Popcorn Chicken
- 2/3 cup buffalo sauce
- 1 1/4 cups light brown sugar
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 tsp minced garlic
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes more or less to taste
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- 2 tsp cold water
Instructions
- Preheat Air Fryer to 400 degrees F. Place Tyson Any’tizers Popcorn Chicken in a single layer. Cook 15 minutes, until heated through and crispy.
- ~ OR ~
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place Tyson Any’tizers Popcorn Chicken in a single layer on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake chicken 15-20 minutes according to package directions.
- In small saucepan, combine buffalo sauce, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, minced garlic, salt, and red pepper flakes. Over medium heat, whisk constantly until the sauce to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Increase heat to medium. In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and water to make a slurry.
- Quickly whisk in the cornstarch slurry and continue cooking sauce for 2-3 minutes until thickened. Reduce heat to low.
- When chicken is finished cooking, transfer chicken to medium bowl and slowly stir in sauce until chicken is fully coated. Transfer to serving platter.
Nutrition
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