These chicken bites are simply irresistible! And my favorite part is that they’re baked but are still super crispy. I make many chicken recipes like this. You dip the chicken in some egg, then dredge it through Panko breadcrumbs and bake. You’ll end up with crispy chicken all the time and without all the greasy oil. But this recipe is all about that glaze which really flavors these chicken bites. It’s sweet and it’s spicy and it’s sticky and sinfully delicious. I served these over some cooked white rice and a side salad and they were gone in seconds.
Don’t Fear The Heat
Life is all about taking chances and stepping outside of our comfort zone, no? Then if you’re spice averse let me just say – live a little! These crispy little bites are the perfect way to wade into the world that is spicy food, just customize how much heat you want in your dish and voila – you’re now a bona fide chili head.
What Is Chinese Five Spice?
Five spice powder is commonly used in Chinese cooking and it’s usually a combination of cinnamon, cloves, fennel seed, star anise and Szechuan peppercorns. Most grocery stores sell it in the spice aisle.
Ingredients
Chicken
Eggs – 2 entire eggs to make up the binder in our chicken batter. Chicken – Boneless skinless breasts cubed up into bite sized pieces. Seasoning – Salt and pepper to taste. Breadcrumbs – Panko breadcrumbs are what I prefer to use for this recipe and others like it.
Sauce
Soy sauce – We want both dark soy sauce and regular low sodium soy sauce. Sweet – Molasses and honey! We want complexity and depth to the sweet sticky element of our chicken. Heat – Sriracha hot sauce – my hands down favorite for these types of recipes! Feel free to use whichever kind you’d like or whatever is your favorite. Spices – We’re just using Chinese five spice powder today, if you’re unable to find it in the grocery store scroll on, I’ve included some substitution info below. Garlic – Use as much or little as you like.
Other
Chives – Chopped up fine to be sprinkled liberally over top. Sesame seeds – As much or as little as you like!
What’s The Deal With Panko
Panko breadcrumbs produce a crispier breading. They can usually be found in the international or baking aisles of your local grocery store. If you can’t find Panko, regular breadcrumbs or crushed cornflakes will work just fine.
How To Make Honey Sriracha Chicken Bites
Can I Fry My Honey Sriracha Chicken?
Well I don’t see why not! I sure won’t stop you, in fact I’ll even help you out a little. Here’s what to do if you want to fry up these little morsels.
Heat the oil: Add about 1/2 inch of canola oil in a large skillet and heat the oil over medium-high heat. Fry the chicken: Coat each piece of chicken with breadcrumbs, add more breadcrumbs as needed, and fry on both sides for about 3 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Place on paper napkins to soak up some of the oil and repeat with all chicken pieces. Do not overcrowd the chicken, only add a few pieces of chicken to the skillet at a time, so the chicken turns out crispy.
Afterwards just follow the instructions from step 4 on wards and you’ll have perfectly crunchy and crispy little bites.
Can’t Find Chinese Five Spice?
Well you can certainly make your own! Just combine Szechuan peppercorn, cinnamon, clove, fennel, and anise in a spice grinder and voila! Now if you don’t feel like putting in all that effort you can always substitute this spice with cinnamon and star anise.
Need Some Dips To Cool That Heat?
Now I’m a simple gal, I like this chicken all on it’s own but I know some of you love your ranch or blue cheese dips. Those are always an option but so are some of these:
Fry dip: Mayo, ketchup, Worcestershire, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Honey mustard: Dijon mustard, honey, mayo, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Chicken sauce: Yellow mustard & Dijon mustard, honey, BBQ sauce, mayo.
Want To Make This Chicken Ahead?
You sure can make these ahead! They actually freeze pretty well, more information on that below.
Fridge
You can store these fully cooked in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 – 4 days. Feel free to crisp them back up in the oven rather than the microwave when ready to feast and enjoy!
Freezer
You can store these in the freezer for up to 1 month if you’d like to prepare these in advance. Just batter the chicken and then lay them on a baking sheet and freeze them, uncooked. Seal in an airtight container once frozen and bake at 425 F degrees for 20 – 25 minutes from frozen when ready to eat.
More Delicious Chicken Recipes To Try:
Asian Glazed Chicken Fingers Coconut Chicken Bang Bang Chicken Chicken Marsala Parmesan Chicken Strips Lemon Pepper Chicken Honey Garlic Chicken Bites
