I’m not gonna lie. I am addicted to Sriracha lately. Addicted! The spicy, sharp flavor combined with a bright, zesty lime and a hint of sweetness from either sugar or honey is one of my favorite taste combinations. My current favorite “snack” comes from Food 52- the Sriracha Fried Brussels Sprouts. I usually can eat the whole pint of sprouts by myself when made with this recipe. It’s that good. (Albeit, a bit of a mess to make- frying Brussels sprouts is dangerous and they splatter hot oil everywhere!!!! Use a very, very deep pot-like a stock pot with a screen on top! Just a warning!)
And since it’s a flavor I love, I have been experimenting a lot with it to make the perfect sauce for dipping my crispy fried chicken bites into.
Here’s what I came up with and it’s now my ‘go to’ recipe. It makes more sauce than you need, but I like to use it on other things- like broccoli or cauliflower or even over fish.
Crispy, Sriracha Spiced Chicken Bites
For the Sauce:
Ingredients
½ cup rice wine vinegar
½ cup sugar
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1/3 cup Mirin
¼ cup Sake
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon dried crushed chili flakes
5 tablespoon Sriracha hot sauce
1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch, dissolved in 3 tablespoons water
Juice of 1 lime
Method
In a large saucepan, over medium high heat, add the rice wine vinegar, sugar, fish sauce, Mirin, Sake, garlic, chili flakes and Sriracha in a sauce pan and bring to a rolling boil. Taste and adjust the seasonings to your likening. (I love the hot, but sometimes, it’s too hot- so I’ll add a dash more Mirin, Sake and Fish Sauce to balance.)
Reduce heat to low and simmer for 5-6 minutes.
Add the cornstarch-water mixture to the pan and stir until the sauce thickens. Remove from heat and let cool. Squeeze in the lime juice and mix to incorporate. Set aside until ready to use.
For the Chicken:
Ingredients
2lbs boneless chicken breasts, sliced into cubes
½ cup rice flour
½ cup Panko bread crumbs
½ cup cornstarch
2 eggs, beaten
½ cup milk
Method
Create your breading station by adding the dry ingredients into one bowl and the eggs and milk into another bowl.
Dip the cubed chicken into the egg and milk bowl then into the dry ingredients. Coat to cover.
Return the chicken to the egg mixture and then again to the dry ingredients to recoat.
Set all the coated pieces of chicken on a large plate and let stand in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes.
Heat the oil to 350 degrees in a deep pot or fryer.
Add a few pieces of the chicken at a time to the hot oil being careful not to splatter yourself! Don’t overcrowd the oil. Cook the chicken bites until golden brown. Remove to a plate lined with a paper towel to drain. Repeat until all the chicken is cooked.
In a large bowl add the cooked chicken and drizzle some sauce over the top to coat. You may not have to use all of the sauce, so coat with as much as you would like. Give the chicken in the bowl a quick toss around in the sauce and serve.
The remaining sauce will keep up to a week in the fridge tightly sealed.
Serve over your favorite rice with a side of steamed broccoli and you’ll have your own ‘take out’ for the night!
The bites also make a great appetizer or snack!