This Firecracker Chicken is sweet, spicy and adds a nice kick to your meal. The chicken is super tender and juicy!

Serve this restaurant worthy dish with a side of Easy Fried Rice, Vegetable Egg Rolls and Cream Cheese Wontons for a meal you’ll have on repeat.

Firecracker Chicken Recipe

This is a perfect marriage of sweet and spicy. It’s not too hot and it’s not too sweet. The chicken is flash fried so the outside browns beautifully. Then it finishes cooking as it marinates in the sauce. The sauce will thicken beautifully as it cooks. It is just so GOOD!

This is such an easy recipe as well. It takes time, but it’s so worth it. It comes together quickly then finishes in the oven while you get the rest of what you need to done. You will not regret trying this. You’ll give up take out and it’s better for you too. Give it a try tonight!

Baked Firecracker Chicken Ingredients

The sauce is a perfect balance of heat and sweet and that will knock your taste buds off, but not burn them off.  Your family and loved ones are going to love this!

• Canola oil: Just enough to flash fry the chicken in.
• Chicken Breasts: Boneless skinless make prepping a breeze.
• Salt and Pepper: Add to taste
• Cornstarch: Cannot sub for flour, this is the secret to amazing coating
• Eggs: Well beaten

Making the Sauce! 

• Buffalo Sauce: Use your favorite brand, if you want it really spicy use a hot sauce like Frank’s brand
• Brown Sugar:This brings the sweet to the fire.
• Water: Helps dissolve the sugar
• Apple Cider Vinegar: Needed for that tang
• Salt:Creates a balance in the sauce
• Red pepper Flakes: These add extra heat, leave out if you want to

How to Make Easy Firecracker Chicken

It’s so easy and tastes so much better than take out. Now take out begins at home!

Try This Next Spicy Paprika & Lime Chicken Tenderloins

1. Prepare: Preheat oven to 325 and cut the chicken into bite sized pieces. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Bowls: In two separate bowls place the cornstarch, the beaten eggs. dip chicken into cornstarch then coat in egg mixture.
3. Flash-Fry: Heat the oil in a large skillet on medium high heat. Cook the chicken till just the outside is browned. Place in a greased 9×13 pan.
4. Sauce: In a separate bowl mix the ingredients for the sauce, pour over the chicken.
5. Bake: Bake for 1 hour. Stirring every 15 minutes.

Trust Me on these Tips!

This is the same method as my Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken so it shares my same tips.

1. Method to the Madness: Make sure you first coat your chicken in the cornstarch and then the egg. This method makes the perfect breading for the chicken.
2. Fast: Do not cook the chicken all the way through before baking.  You just want to get the chicken lightly brown on the outside, and then it bakes to perfection.
3. Low and Slow: Baking the chicken at a low temperature will not over cook the chicken. This helps to cook the chicken all the way through and thicken up the sauce.

More Hints and Helps for a Perfect Firecracker Chicken Dish

• Spice: You can take the heat up or down depending on your tastes. Use hot sauce or sriracha for a hotter dish. Use a buffalo sauce for a milder heat.
• Vegetables: Add peppers, broccoli or other vegetables to the baking for variety.
• Fruit: Add some pineapple chunks to help with the heat and give it a bit more sweetness
• Chicken: Cut the Chicken into even bite sized pieces so it’ll cook evenly. Using thighs might result in uneven cooking as light and dark meat cook differently.
• Pork: This recipe would also work perfectly with pork.
• Saucey:  If you like your dish saucey, double the sauce recipe and place half on the chicken and another half on the stove in a pot at a simmer for 8-10 min till thickened.
• Serve:  This dish is perfect on a bed of rice, stir fried veggies, quinoa or over a bed of lettuce for an Asian inspired salad.

Storing Firecracker Chicken Leftovers

• Fridge: Place leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
• Freezer: This can be frozen too. Just place in a freezer safe container or bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
• Reheat: Sweet and Sour Chicken is best reheated on the stove. Reheating it in the microwave can make the chicken rubbery and overcooked. Place leftovers in pan on the stove top and heat on medium heat, stirring often, till heated through

More Easy Homemade Asian Inspiration

Save

Source link

Spicy Paprika & Lime Chicken Tenderloins

These Spicy Paprika and Lime Grilled Chicken Tenderloins are a great addition to your BBQ repertoire. Take your taste buds to the Caribbean, Mexico or Spain on a little holiday! Can be cooked outdoors or on a stove. Paleo, Whole30, Keto, gluten-free.

---

 

Paprika & Lime Grilled Chicken Tenderloins

Whether you’re heating up the BBQ on a warm summer’s day or you need to give your skillet a bit of a workout, this is a fabulous chicken recipe that I know you will love.

My paprika lime chicken tenderloins are tender and juicy. The spices and citrus used in the marinade will take your taste buds on a little holiday to the Caribbean, Mexico or Spain – your pick!

I used chicken tenderloins because I find the meat more tender than the rest of the chicken breast and it’s easier to work with than the chicken thighs. You can use any chicken meat you like, just adjust the cooking time depending on the size of the pieces. This marinade will also work well with turkey, pork, quail, prawns and even beef.

What Are Chicken Tenderloins?

Still confused about what chicken tenderloins are? They are short, thin cuts taken from beneath the breast of the bird. You might find that some grocers will sell thinner slices of breast meat and call it chicken tenderloins or tender. They tend to be softer than chicken breast when cooked BUT should not be overcooked, they don’t need as long as the chicken breast.  

Nutritionally speaking, they are the same as chicken breast meat – high in protein, minerals, low in calories and fat. 

Popular Recipe Sesame Orange Chicken | The Recipe Critic

Make-Ahead Tip For Paprika Lime Chicken

The chicken tenderloins can be marinated ahead of time for an even more robust flavour; keep uncooked in the fridge for maximum of 3 days and freeze for up to 2 months and simply defrost overnight in the fridge before you want to use it.

 

More Delicious Chicken Recipes:

Print

---

Description

Grilled paprika and lime grilled chicken tenderloins are great with any side dish and can be used in salads, tacos, and wraps. Can be cooked outdoors or on a stove.

---

---

1. Mix the marinade ingredients in a large bowl. Rinse the chicken and cut larger pieces in half.
2. Using your hands, rub the chicken with the marinade. Leave in the bowl, wrap with cling wrap and set aside in the fridge for at least one hour before grilling.
3. If using a grill plate or a skillet on your stove, heat one teaspoon of coconut oil until sizzling hot. Fry the chicken pieces for 4 minutes on each side and then remove to a plate to rest. Make sure not to overcrowd the frying pan or you will end up with too much meat juice and stewed rather than grilled chicken.
4. If using a BBQ, heat the plate to sizzling hot and either spray with olive oil or brush with coconut oil. Place chicken pieces on the plate with a little space in between and cook for 4 minutes on each side on medium/high heat with the lid on.
5. Remove cooked chicken to a serving plate and drizzle with lime juice before serving.

---

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 2-3 tenderloins
• Calories: 331
• Sugar: 1 g
• Sodium: 783.6 mg
• Fat: 16.4 g
• Carbohydrates: 4.4 g
• Fiber: 1.3 g
• Protein: 41.3 g
• Cholesterol: 131.4 mg

Keywords: Tenderloins, Chicken, Paprika, Lime, BBQ, Grilling, Low-Carb, Paleo, Whole30

Source link