Oven-Baked Firecracker Chicken Fillet

Name: Oven-Baked Firecracker Chicken Fillets
Prep time: 7 min
Cook time: 30 min
Ingredients: 520 g chicken fillet; 1/2 cup of hot sauce; 3 tbsp cup of brown sugar; 2 tbsp soy; 2 tsp chili flakes; 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar; 1 tbsp fish sauce; 3 tbsp oil

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Sweet, spicy and delicious! These succulent Oven-Baked Firecracker Chicken Fillets will add a burst of flavor to your plate. Baste this chicken in a mouth-watering homemade firecracker sauce, bake in just 30 minutes and serve with veggies, rice or noodles.

firecracker chicken fillet with scallions

Table of Contents

About this Recipe

Firecracker chicken combines sweet and spicy East Asian flavors. It is usually made by first browning the chicken on high heat before baking the chicken in a firecracker marinade but, no need to brown for this recipe! Let the oven do all of the work and bake for 30 minutes.

Firecracker chicken fillets are made with a special firecracker marinade sauce. The chicken is coated in this sauce before it is baked in the oven. The common ingredients for firecracker sauce include hot sauce or Sriracha sauce, soy sauce and sugar like brown sugar. It is also a very simple sauce to customize. You can make it spicier or cut back on the spice and increase the sugar to make it sweeter.

You can serve your firecracker chicken with rice, vegetables or any type of noodles. For a really special meal, serve your firecracker chicken with fried rice.

Firecracker Chicken Fillets Ingredients

Chicken fillet: You can use either fresh or frozen chicken fillets for this recipe. If you are using frozen chicken then allow it to thaw before marinating the fillets.
Hot sauce: To make an authentic firecracker sauce use siraccha sauce. You can also use any brand other brand of hot sauce too.
Brown sugar: Feel free to use either dark brown or light brown sugar. The sugar helps to balance out the hot spice of the marinade.
Soy: You can add either light or dark soy sauce to the marinade.
Oil: Use a flavourless oil such as canola, vegetable or sunflower oil.
Chili flakes: Adjust to your taste. You can use less if you don’t want very spicy chicken.
Apple cider vinegar: Feel free to use white wine vinegar or white vinegar if you don’t have apple cider vinegar.
Fish sauce: This adds a delcious salty savory flavor to the marinade. However, if you don’t have fish sauce you can add more soy sauce instead.

How to Make Firecracker Chicken Fillets

1.First, preheat your oven to 400F/200C. This usually takes 10-15 minutes. While your oven is preheating, make the firecracker marinade sauce by combining the hot sauce, brown sugar, soy sauce, oil, chili flakes, apple cider vinegar and fish sauce in a bowl. Place your chicken in another bowl and add 4-5 tablespoons of the marinade and mix to coat the chicken.

Optional: If you have extra time then feel free to cover the fillets with cling film in a bowl and leave them to marinate for 30 minutes in the fridge. This will intensify the flavors of the fillets.

2. Don’t use all the sauce as you would still need the sauce to serve with the chicken. Bake your coated chicken in your preheated oven for 30 minutes.

basting fillets with firecracker marinade

3. Baste chicken every five minutes. As you can see below the fillets soak up the flavors from the marinade and become a deeper red every time they are basted.

basting fillets every 5 mins firecracker marinade

4. Keep basting every five minutes until completely cooked. Feel free to serve these tasty fillets with extra marinade, chili flakes and scallions/spring onions. Firecracker chicken fillest can be served with salad, veggies, rice or noodles.

Top Tips

Firecracker marinade: Make sure you separate the marinade sauce you’d like to serve later from the sauce used for basting the chicken. This prevents food contamination.
Chicken: If using frozen chicken, make sure it is defrosted thoroughly first before use. If not the chicken will take a longer amount of time to cook and the marinade will become diluted due to excess water.
Firecracker sauce: To save time or if you need to make your chicken very quickly, you can use shop bought firecracker sauce instead.
Tenderize chicken: Bash chicken with a rolling pin to tenderize and help it cook faster.
Baste chicken: Basting is the secret to making these delicious fillets. Basting every 5 minutes intensifies the flavor if the fillet and also gives the fillets a beautiful vibrant red color.
Alternatives: This sauce is super adaptable and can be used to marinate shrimp, beef, salmon and more!

FAQs

What is firecracker chicken from Panda Express?

Firecracker chicken is a sweet-spicy chicken that has been coated in a special firecracker marinade sauce. It is usually served with rice, vegetables or noodles and can also be served on its own as an appetizer.

Can you buy firecracker sauce?

Yes. you can buy premade, bottled firecracker sauce.

What does firecracker sauce taste like?

Firecracker sauce is made with spices and sugar and as a result, has a delicious blend of sweet and spicy. Depending on the ratios used in preparing the sauce, firecracker sauce can lean towards spice or sweetness. But in general, firecracker sauce is a sweet-spicy sauce.

Where to buy firecracker sauce?

You can buy firecracker sauce at the supermarkets or online via Amazon.

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