Sometimes you just have that craving, right? That deep, immediate need for something that hits all the right notes—creamy, absolutely packed with flavor, and just a little bit fiery. Well, when that happens in my kitchen, I skip everything else because I know the answer is the Bang Bang Chicken Bowl. Seriously, you’ll wish you tried this chicken sooner!
It’s fast—we’re talking total time under 40 minutes—but it tastes like it took hours of careful simmering. I spent weeks messing with the sauce ratios to get that perfect sweet, spicy, and tangy balance right. Trust me, once you nail the sauce for this easy dinner, you’re going to want to put it on everything. It’s a weeknight game-changer.
If you’re looking for a way to wow the family without breaking a sweat, check out my little secret for how I make this amazing Bang Bang Chicken Bowl. It’s spectacular.
Gathering Ingredients for Your Bang Bang Chicken Bowl
Okay, the secret to this whole amazing dish is making sure you have everything ready to go before you even turn the stove on. Since we’re moving fast once we start cooking, having your ingredients lined up is half the battle won. Don’t skip weighing or measuring anything for the sauce, though! That ratio is everything for that perfect sweet and spicy hug around the chicken.
Here’s the rundown of what you’ll need for this fantastic dinner:
For the Crispy Chicken Coating
For our chicken, we need about 1.5 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Make sure you cut those into nice, manageable 1-inch pieces before anything else. For the coating magic, grab 1 cup of cornstarch, 1 teaspoon of salt, and half a teaspoon of black pepper. That cornstarch is what gives us that beautiful crunch!
Creating the Signature Bang Bang Sauce
This is where the flavor bomb drops! You’ll need half a cup of mayo, a quarter cup of sweet chili sauce, and 2 tablespoons of Sriracha. If you know your family likes it extra hot, go ahead and bump that Sriracha up to 3 tablespoons—I won’t tell! We finish the sauce with 1 tablespoon of rice vinegar and 1 teaspoon of honey. Whisk it good!
Components for Assembling the Bang Bang Chicken Bowl
Once the chicken is sauced, we need the base. You’ll need 4 cups of cooked white rice—make sure that’s ready! Then, grab about 1 cup of shredded lettuce or cabbage for that necessary fresh crunch underneath everything. Finally, for that perfect presentation, have 2 tablespoons of sesame seeds and 2 tablespoons of chopped green onions ready for garnish.
Step-by-Step Guide to Making the Bang Bang Chicken Bowl
Alright, let’s get cooking! This process is super fast once you get rolling, which is why having everything set up is so important. We’re going to focus on getting that chicken crispy first, then immediately drowning it in that amazing sauce. Don’t worry about making the sauce perfect right away; you can whisk it while the chicken is frying. It should all come together in about 20 minutes of active time.
Preparing and Coating the Chicken
First things first, your chicken pieces need a little love! Toss those 1-inch chicken chunks with the salt and pepper until they look nicely seasoned all over. Now, for the crispy part: pour your cornstarch into a wide, shallow dish. Take each piece of chicken and dredge it through the starch, pressing it slightly so it sticks. When you lift a piece out, give it a good shake—you want every piece coated, but you don’t want big clumps of dry cornstarch sticking to it. Excess starch just burns when you fry!
Frying the Chicken to Golden Perfection
Now we need heat! Pour about a quarter cup of vegetable oil into your large skillet and set it over medium-high heat. You want that oil nice and hot—it should shimmer a bit. Carefully drop your coated chicken pieces into the hot oil. Don’t crowd the pan, or the chicken will steam instead of crisping up! Fry these beauties for about 5 to 7 minutes total. Turn them regularly so all sides get that lovely golden-brown color and they cook all the way through to the middle. Once they look perfect, scoot them right out of the pan onto a plate lined with a paper towel to drain off that excess oil.
Whisking the Creamy Bang Bang Sauce
While that chicken is sizzling away, take a separate mixing bowl—don’t use the chicken bowl!—and get your sauce ready. Whisk the mayonnaise, sweet chili sauce, that spicy Sriracha, the rice vinegar, and the honey together. Keep whisking until it’s totally homogeneous. I mean smooth, creamy, and looking exactly how you want that sauce to coat your gorgeous chicken. Give it a quick taste test here to see if it needs more Sriracha or taming with a tiny splash more vinegar.
Combining the Sauce and Chicken for the Bang Bang Chicken Bowl
Okay, the moment of truth! Take all those hot, crispy pieces of chicken and drop them right into the bowl with your prepared Bang Bang Sauce. Use a spatula or spoon to gently toss everything together. You need to make sure every single piece gets lovingly coated in that creamy, spicy goodness. Just toss ’til coated; we don’t want to beat up the crispiness we worked so hard to achieve!
Assembling and Garnishing Your Bang Bang Chicken Bowl
Time to build these masterpieces! Grab your four serving bowls. Start by putting a nice bed of your cooked white rice down first. Then, lay a layer of that fresh, shredded lettuce or cabbage right on top of the rice for crunch. Finally, spoon that saucy, beautiful spicy chicken right over the greens. Finish it off with a sprinkle of sesame seeds and your chopped green onions. They look fantastic and taste even better!
Tips for the Best Bang Bang Chicken Bowl Experience
You followed the steps, and now you have this amazing dinner, but I have a few little secrets I use to make sure every single Bang Bang Chicken Bowl is absolutely perfect. These tiny tweaks are what take a good recipe and make it restaurant-worthy, promise! I learned these little tricks from my messy test kitchen sessions before I felt confident enough to share the recipe.
You can check out some other healthy recipes later, but for now, focus on perfecting this sauce!
Adjusting the Heat Level in Your Bang Bang Chicken Bowl Sauce
Listen, heat is subjective, right? My family likes things piping hot, so I load up on the Sriracha in my sauce mixture. But when friends come over who are more sensitive, I back it off immediately. The beauty of this easy dinner is that you control the spice! That 2 tablespoons is just a starting point. If you’re unsure, start with 1 tablespoon, taste it while whisking, and add more until it tickles your tongue just right. Don’t be shy, but definitely taste first!
Rice Variations for Your Bang Bang Chicken Bowl
While the recipe calls for plain white rice—which is great because it lets that spicy chicken shine—I really encourage you to step up your rice game sometimes. If you want a richer flavor in your bowl, use jasmine rice instead of plain. The floral aroma of jasmine blends surprisingly well with the creamy sauce. Or, if you’re making this for yourself and want something a little more exotic, a quick batch of sticky rice is fantastic here too. Anything that holds up to that sauce is a win in my book!
Ingredient Substitutions for Your Bang Bang Chicken Bowl
I totally get it—pantry challenges happen, or maybe you’re cooking for someone with a different craving or dietary need! The great thing about the Bang Bang Chicken Bowl is that the sauce is so versatile. You can majorly adjust this to fit what you have on hand or what fits your lifestyle that day without losing that amazing spicy-creamy kick.
Chicken Alternatives in the Bang Bang Chicken Bowl
If you’re trying to avoid chicken, or maybe you just have some fantastic shrimp leftover, go for it! Shrimp works unbelievably well because it cooks so quickly, meaning you can toss it almost straight into the sauce once it turns pink. If you need a vegetarian or vegan option, firm tofu is your best friend here. Make sure you press that tofu really well to get as much water out as possible before cutting it into cubes. Then, you coat it in the cornstarch just like the chicken and pan-fry until crisp. It soaks up that sauce perfectly!
Making the Bang Bang Chicken Bowl Low-Carb
If you’re trying to keep the carbs down but still want that satisfying bowl experience, ditching the white rice is the obvious first step. My favorite swap, hands down, is cauliflower rice. You can steam it quickly or even buy it pre-riced. It gives you volume and that earthy flavor to contrast the sweet sauce. Another trick? Just skip the grain altogether and serve that loaded spicy chicken over a huge, crunchy bed of extra shredded lettuce and cabbage. Boom! You’ve just turned it into a massive, flavor-packed salad bowl, and you’re still getting that easy dinner satisfaction.
Serving Suggestions for the Bang Bang Chicken Bowl
You’ve made the star of the show, the incredible saucy chicken, but what goes perfectly beside it to round out this amazing meal? Since the chicken is so rich and creamy, you want something light and maybe a little crisp to cut through that flavor. I love serving this over rice of course, but think about adding some super simple sides.
A quick side of steamed edamame sprinkled with sea salt is fantastic. If you want a vegetable, roasted broccoli florets tossed with a little sesame oil are perfect because they stand up well to the sauce flavor. Seriously, don’t skip those garnishes; they finish the whole Bang Bang Chicken Bowl experience!
Storing Leftovers of Your Bang Bang Chicken Bowl
Oh, the blessed leftovers! If you manage to not devour the entire pot of this spicy chicken immediately—which is a huge feat, I know—you need to store it right so that second serving tastes almost as good as the first. The absolute biggest problem with sauced, fried food in the fridge is the sogginess factor, and we are fighting that tooth and nail here!
Do not mix everything together right away if you know you’re saving some. Don’t even think about it!
The key is separation, separation, separation. Keep the cooked white rice in its own airtight container. The leftover Bang Bang Sauce should go into a small, completely sealed jar or container. And this is crucial: keep any leftover fried chicken separate from the sauce. It’s much better to store the plain, crispy chicken in a container, and if it’s too dry the next day, you can just warm it up and dip instead of soaking it.
Packing Components for Next-Day Enjoyment
When you pack it up for tomorrow’s lunch, put the rice in the bottom of the container. Then, layer some paper towels over the rice before adding the plain, sauceless chicken pieces on top. This little layer of paper towel helps wick away any condensation that forms in the fridge. Condensation is the enemy of crispiness, remember that!
Reheating the Bang Bang Chicken Bowl Correctly
Reheating sauced chicken is a gamble, and frankly, I usually lose that gamble in the microwave. If you microwave the already-sauced chicken, it gets chewy and sad. So, if you kept the chicken plain, you have options!
If you have an air fryer, that is the absolute champion for reheating. Just set it to about 350 degrees for 4 or 5 minutes, and it brings back a shocking amount of crisp. If you don’t have one, use a skillet over medium heat. You want that moderate heat to warm the chicken through without burning the cornstarch coating. If you kept your sauce separate, warm up the chicken first, then toss it in your extra sauce right before piling it onto your reheated rice. That ensures you get that creamy, spicy coating hitting the chicken while it’s still warm and slightly firm!
Frequently Asked Questions About the Bang Bang Chicken Bowl
I totally expect you to have questions! When introducing a new favorite like this easy dinner to your rotation, you want to be sure you’ve got all the tricks down. Here are the things I get asked most frequently about making sure this spicy chicken bowl comes out perfect every time.
Can I make the Bang Bang Chicken Bowl ahead of time?
This is the million-dollar question for any fried chicken dish! Yes, you can prep almost everything ahead of time, which makes serving this an absolute breeze on a busy night. You can completely cook and store the rice, you can make the sauce and keep it sealed in the fridge, and you can even coat the chicken pieces in cornstarch and keep them ready to go. BUT—and this is a big but—you must fry the chicken and toss it in the sauce right before you eat. If you sauce the chicken the night before, you lose all that beautiful crunch we worked for. It will get soggy, and nobody wants soggy Bang Bang Chicken!
How spicy is the Bang Bang Chicken Bowl really?
When I first started testing this recipe, my goal was maximum flavor without scaring off anyone who isn’t a huge heat fiend. The recipe as written uses 2 tablespoons of Sriracha, which gives it a nice, noticeable kick—definitely noticeable but very manageable for most people. If you’re sensitive to heat, cut that down to 1 tablespoon, or maybe just use a sweeter chili sauce with only a tiny drizzle of Sriracha for color. If you like it truly firey, you can push that Sriracha up to 3 or even 4 tablespoons, turning it into a serious, authentic spicy chicken bowl. It’s completely up to you!
What is the best way to reheat the sauced chicken?
If you have leftovers that somehow managed to get sauced before storage (oops!), my rule is: never the microwave if you can help it. The microwave heats the moisture trapped under the sauce, making the coating instantly gummy. The very best way to bring the texture back is the air fryer. Pop the leftover chicken in there at about 350 degrees for just 4 or 5 minutes. It surprisingly crisps up the coating again! If you don’t have an air fryer, you can toss the pieces in a dry, non-stick skillet over medium heat. Once it’s warm, if it seems a little dry, just toss it with an extra splash of sweet chili sauce right before serving. That puts the moisture and shine right back on!
Estimated Nutritional Overview for the Bang Bang Chicken Bowl
Okay, so while this Bang Bang Chicken Bowl is outrageously delicious and totally lands perfectly as an easy dinner, I always feel like I should give you the numbers, just so you know what you’re diving into! I plugged all the ingredients we used—the chicken, the cornstarch coating, and that wonderfully heavy sauce—into a calculator. These figures are just estimates, of course, based on the quantities listed in the recipe, so treat them as a general guide rather than gospel.
Remember, how you assemble the final bowl makes the biggest difference! If you use way more sauce or pile on the rice, those numbers will shift around, but below is the snapshot based on serving one of the four bowls we made.
You can dive deeper into the specifics over at my nutrition breakdown post here: Bang Bang Chicken Bowl Nutrition Recipe. But generally, here’s the overview:
- Calories: Right around 550 per serving. That’s pretty good for a meal this satisfying!
- Protein: We’re looking at about 35 grams, thanks to all that wonderful chicken breast. That keeps you full!
- Carbohydrates: This is where the rice adds up—about 55 grams. If you swapped it for cauliflower rice, this number would drop dramatically, just as we discussed.
- Fat: About 25 grams total, with only 4 grams being saturated fat. The mayo in the sauce is the main contributor here.
- Sodium: We’re sitting around 800 mg. That comes mostly from the seasoning on the chicken and the sauces we used, so keep that in mind!
It’s a hearty meal that packs a punch, offering a great balance of macronutrients for a fantastic weeknight dinner. Don’t stress too much about the exact count—just enjoy that incredible spicy chicken!
Share Your Thoughts on This Bang Bang Chicken Bowl
So, that’s it! We’ve gone from pantry staples to eating a restaurant-quality, explosively flavorful Bang Bang Chicken Bowl in under an hour. Can you believe how good that spicy chicken is? I truly hope this recipe ends up being one of your go-to easy dinners when you need something exciting but fast.
Now that you’ve whipped up your own batch, I absolutely need to hear from you! Did you keep the Sriracha level conservative, or did you ramp it up to make it seriously hot? Did your family even notice it was a quick weeknight meal, or did they insist you made it for a special occasion?
Please jump down to the comments below and tell me how it went! Drop a rating so other cooks know what you thought, and don’t be shy about sharing your little tweaks or modifications. Every time someone shares their success with this dish—maybe they tried shrimp instead of chicken or used jasmine rice—it makes my day!
If you’re curious about me and why I love sharing these fast, flavorful recipes, you can always read a little more about my journey over here: about me. Happy cooking, and I can’t wait to see what you guys thought of this amazing Bang Bang Chicken!
Bang Bang Chicken Bowl
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- In a medium bowl, toss the chicken pieces with salt and pepper.
- Place the cornstarch in a shallow dish. Dredge each piece of seasoned chicken in the cornstarch, shaking off any excess.
- Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the coated chicken and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, turning occasionally, until golden brown and cooked through. Remove the chicken and place it on a paper towel-lined plate.
- While the chicken cooks, prepare the sauce. In a separate bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, sweet chili sauce, Sriracha, rice vinegar, and honey until smooth.
- Add the cooked chicken to the bowl with the sauce. Toss gently until all the chicken pieces are evenly coated.
- To assemble the bowls, divide the cooked rice among four bowls. Top the rice with shredded lettuce or cabbage.
- Spoon the sauced Bang Bang Chicken over the lettuce. Garnish with sesame seeds and chopped green onions before serving.
