chicken

Firecracker Chicken

A spicy-sweet chicken recipe that's easy and flavorful

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time30 mins

Total Time40 mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: chicken, chicken tenders, entree

Servings: people

Calories: 388kcal

Ingredients

1.5 lb boneless chicken breast or tenders
⅓ cup corn starch
3 eggs beaten
¼ cup vegetable oil
¾ cup buffalo sauce I like Frank's
½ cup light brown sugar
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
¼ tsp ginger powder
⅛ tsp red chili flakes
2 scallions cleaned and thinly sliced

Instructions

In a bowl, mix together buffalo sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, ginger and chili flakes and set aside
Preheat oven to 325
Cut chicken into 1½ inch pieces
Mix chicken with corn starch and place in a colander to shake off extra corn starch
Heat oil in a pan over medium high
Quickly dip chicken pieces in egg and place in a single layer in pan
Sauté chicken for a few minutes per side until light brown. Chicken will not be fully cooked at this point
Remove chicken from pan and place on a paper towel to remove extra oil
Place chicken in a 9 x 13 baking dish and pour sauce over chicken
Toss chicken in sauce and place in oven for 20 minutes. Tossing once during cooking time
Remove from oven and top with sliced scallions

Notes

To make this recipe less spicy leave the red chili flakes out or increase the brown sugar. To make the sauce spicier add more chili flakes.

Nutrition

An easy and delicious one-pot meal

My mother used to make this dish for our family quite often when I was younger. I love the combination of the spicy sausage, the tender chicken and the mixture of peas, olives and capers. There are so many wonderful flavors that come together beautifully in this Arroz Con Pollo. It is a very simple arroz con pollo and is ready in under an hour after you have marinated the chicken. Many arroz con pollo recipes call for using bone-in chicken but I prefer to use boneless. My family has a preference towards chicken breast but you can absolutely use boneless thighs if you prefer. In this recipe I used chicken tenders that were cut in half. You do not want the chicken pieces to be too small because you do not want them to be dry. I marinate the chicken in the morning so it has plenty of time to season. It’s best to place the marinade in a ziplock bag with the chicken and gently message it into the chicken. Remove most of the air from the bag before placing it in the refrigerator to marinate. A quick saute with the onions is all that is required before adding the rest of the ingredients. You want the chicken to finish cooking in the broth so it stays nice and tender.

Arroz Con Pollo originated in Spain but there are now several interpretations throughout Latin America and Spain. Most Arroz Con Pollo recipes call for using ham in the recipe. My mother liked things spicy so she substituted the ham for andouille sausage. The sausage is lightly browned and the rendered fat is used to sauté the chicken and onions. The andouille sausage adds a lot of flavor to the dish. The pinch of saffron is also important to the depth of flavors in arroz con pollo. You can play with the ingredients a bit; if you like olives add a few more, if you don’t like capers then add less. Use my recipe for arroz con pollo and make it your own.