Bang Bang Chicken
Cook Notes
BBQ Used: Kamado Joe Classic II
Cooking Method: Direct
Fuel used: Kamado Joe Big Block Charcoal
Cooking Temperature: Medium - High Heat
Key Accessories
Ingredients
4 Boneless Chicken Breast
4 Flatbreads
1/2 Cucumber, sliced into batons
2 Bell Peppers
Green Onions, to Garnish
For the Seasoning
1tsp Salt
1 tsp Black Pepper
1 tsp Chilli Flakes
1/2 tsp Ginger
1/2 tsp Sugar
1/2 Paprika
For the Sauce
75g Peanut Butter
1 tbsp Light Soy Sauce
1 tsp Chilli Oil
1tsp Sesame Oil
1 tsp Honey
1 tsp Balsamic Vinegar
1 tsp Garlic Granules
1 tsp Cracked Black Pepper
Bang Bang Chicken is a dish that we love to order if we see it on the menu when we are out. There are a couple of local restaurants that do a really nice version of it but it tends to be the Americanised version of the dish. Before we go any further, I want to mention that this isn’t a traditional version of this dish either. The traditional bang bang chicken involved boiling the chicken in a broth until it is ready to shred apart then it is served on sliced cucumber with the sauce drizzled over it.
The sauce has a rich, nutty flavour that I want to replicate and we are adding the cucumber element into the dish but we are going to grill these over the coals using the large Russian Skewers on the Kamado Joe then we will serve them inside some flatbreads.
We really enjoyed these and it was nice to create one of our favourite takeaway dishes at home and even elevate it.
Method
Start the dish off by preparing your sauce. Simply combine all the ingredients in a small bowl and mix them together thoroughly until you have a consistency of thin peanut butter. Give the sauce a taste and adjust it to your preference. If it is a little too thick, add a drizzle more sesame oil, want more heat, add a drizzle of chilli oil. Then you can balance the sweet and sour aspects of the sauce using the honey and balsamic vinegar.
Put the sauce into the fridge while you prepare your other ingredients. Chop your peppers into chunks that suit the size of skewers you are using. I used the large Russian Skewers so I cut the peppers into 6 large pieces. Do the same for the chicken breast, cutting it to suit your skewers. Mix all the seasoning ingredients together and liberally coat the chicken and peppers, using up all of the seasoning. Add a drizzle of oil over everything and mix it all together.
Add your chicken and peppers to the skewers and then get them onto your BBQ directly over the coals to get some colour on all sides. I set my Kamado Joe up with the coals banked to one side and a grate on the opposite side to hold a small sauce pot. I add a small amount of the sauce to the sauce pot to warm through and this will be used to baste the skewers once they have some colour.
while the chicken is cooking, take your 1/2 cucumber and cut it into thin batons, approximately 5mm thick that will be used along with the peppers as a salad for our flatbreads.
Give the skewers a turn and then start to brush the sauce onto the chicken and peppers. Repeat this every 3-4 minutes until you have a nice coating on the chicken and the skewers have colour all round. Use your Thermapen to check the internal temperature of your chicken. when it hits 75c, your skewers are ready to eat.
Remove the chicken and peppers from the skewers and slice your peppers into similar sized strips as your cucumber then it’s time to put your flatbreads together. Spread your sauce over one half of your flatbread. Add a generous handful of the cucumber and peppers then stack your chicken on top. Sprinkle on some thinly sliced green onions and it’s time to eat!
