Bang Bang Chicken

In case any of you were wondering, having a migraine for 5 hours really sucks. That's how my afternoon went. When it finally subsided enough for me to withstand a small source of light, I figured I should make the dinner I had planned on making last night.

It's no secret that I love sushi, and I love spicy mayo. But I hate plain old mayo, let's get that straight. I'll eat mayo mixed into things, but plain mayo is pretty revolting. Even just spooning it into something is gross...it has a weird thick jello-y texture...ugh.

And to continue on my mayo rant, it's pretty weird that I don't like mayo. I love egg whites. I love oil. So why the two together creep me out so much is a mystery...one that will probably never be solved.

There is something magical about sriracha sauce though. Sriracha is a spicy chili sauce. I once added about a 1/4 of a bottle of it to a bowl of Pho that Jaime and I shared in Atlantic City...she was not happy with me. It was 2am though, and we had been gambling and drinking all night, so it seemed like such a great idea. I only added a few teaspoons of it to my mayo for dinner tonight, which worked out way better than a 1/4 bottle.

Bang Bang Chicken
from Table for Two

5 chicken tenders, cubed
1/2 cup mayo
5 tsp. sriracha sauce
1 tsp. rice wine vinegar
1 tsp. granulated sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. dried basil
vegetable oil

1. Prepare a plate lined with paper towel to drain chicken on after it cooks. Set aside.
2. In a small bowl, mix together the mayo, sriracha, vinegar and sugar.
3. In a shallow dish, beat together the egg and milk.
4. In another shallow dish, mix together the flour, panko, salt, pepper, garlic powder and basil.
5. Dip the pieces of chicken in the flour mixture, then the egg, then the flour mixture again. Be sure to coat well. Place on a plate and continue with remaining chicken.
6. Cover the plate and place in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. This helps the coating stick.
7. Pour a thin layer of oil in the bottom of a skillet and heat over medium-high heat. Once the oil is glistening, fry the chicken (do in batches if needed). Turn and fry until chicken is a nice golden brown and cooked through. Remove to prepared plate with paper towels.
8. Place chicken in a large ziploc bag and pour sauce in. Seal the bag and shake to coat chicken with sauce.
9. Serve over white rice.

A big messy bowl of spicy chicken