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This Bang Bang Broccoli is a delicious finger food that you won’t be able to get enough of. It’s also great with wraps, noodles, or as-is for your starter or snack. The sauce is great to coat the crispy broccoli with or you can also opt to keep it separate and use it as a dipping sauce.

The broccoli is best deep-fried for a nice even golden browning and crisp, but it can also be baked and air-fried before being coated in the sauce.

WHAT IS A BANG BANG SAUCE?

It’s a creamy mayo-based sweet and spicy sauce made of a mix of mayonnaise, Thai sweet chili sauce, and sriracha. This is not to be confused with Sichuan Bang Bang chicken! Instead, this recipe is inspired by the bang bang sauce from the American chain Bonefish Grill that serves a Bang Bang Shrimp — a popular appetiser of fried shrimp in a creamy, sweet, and spicy sauce.

INGREDIENTS YOU’LL NEED TO MAKE THE CRISPY BROCCOLI

You’ll find the full printable recipe in the card below!

Batter

• 1.5 cups plain soy milk , room temp
• 2 tsp apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
• 3/4 cup all purpose flour (116 g)
• 1/2 cup corn starch (70 g)
• 1 to 1.5 tsp salt , adjust to taste
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp garlic powder or minced garlic
• 1 tbsp sriracha or other hot sauce

Coating

• 1.5 to 2 cups panko or Japanese bread crumbs (112 to 150g)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Garlic powder , to taste

Broccoli

• 1 large head broccoli , makes 500 g florets (see notes)
• Neutral oil , for frying

FOR THE BANG BANG SAUCE

• 1/2 cup vegan mayo
• 2 tbsp Thai sweet chili sauce
• 1 tbsp sriracha
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• Pinch of salt

PREPARE THE BATTER

• Wet Mix: Add the vinegar into the soy milk or other plant milk. Allow to curdle for at least 5 minutes. This will create a buttermilk-like consistency.
• Dry Mix: In a separate bowl, mix together all the other dry ingredients for the batter.
• Pour the vinegar and milk mixture into the dry mixture.
• Mix until there are no longer any signs of dry flour. This will be a thick pancake batter consistency. Lumps are fine, so don’t overmix.

COAT THE BROCCOLI

• Evenly coat the florets in the batter. You can do this in batches.
• Place each floret from the batter into the breadcrumb mixture. Coat well using one hand (this is to avoid messy hands—I usually use one hand for dry and one hand for wet when coating the broccoli).
• Press down the bread crumbs on the broccoli. Set aside once coated.
• Repeat this until all florets are coated.

MIX THE BANG BANG SAUCE

• For the sauce, mix everything in a small bowl. Feel free to adjust to your desired taste.

COOKING THE BROCCOLI

• See the baking or air-frying option below.
• Heat a frying pot or pan with some oil. Once hot (you can add in some bread crumbs to test the heat—it will start to rapidly bubble once hot), place the broccoli florets per batch (don’t overcrowd the pot) and cook until golden brown, moving it around on each side every 2-3 minutes or so.
• Once golden brown, set aside on a strainer to drain excess oil. Let cool for a few minutes. Cook the remaining florets.

AIR-FRIED/BAKED VS. DEEP FRIED

• I personally prefer the deep fried ones especially if you want to enjoy them as-is and use the bang bang sauce for dipping. The air-fried/baked ones come out quite dry (even when sprayed with a generous amount of oil before cooking) so they need to be coated in a lot of sauce.
• The main difference visually? The deep-fried broccoli are more evenly golden brown while the baked/air-fried ones turn out quite pale.

BAKING THE BROCCOLI

• Heat your oven to 350F. Line your tray with some parchment paper or a silicon mat if you have one. Spray a generous amount of oil on the broccoli.
• Bake the broccoli for 35-40 minutes or until crisp. Flip halfway through cooking. Note that the broccoli will not turn as golden brown throughout compared to when they’re deep fried.
• You can coat the florets in the bang bang sauce and then for another 8-10 minutes at 350F for the sauce to be absorbed.

AIR-FRYING THE BROCCOLI

• Line your air-fryer basket with some parchment paper or a silicon mat if you have one. Spray a generous amount of oil on the broccoli.
• You can cook your broccoli at 350F for 25-30 minutes or until lightly brown, flip halfway through cooking. Note that air-fryer settings can vary so you can try your settings and adjust from there.
• You can coat the florets in the bang bang sauce and then air-fry for another 7-8 minutes at 350F for the sauce to be absorbed.

ENJOY THE BANG BANG BROCCOLI

• Toss the fried broccoli with the sauce in a large bowl to coat evenly. Serve and enjoy immediately.
• Another option is to use the bang bang sauce for dipping if you plan to keep the broccoli for longer and allow it to remain crisp for longer.

Enjoy!

MORE RECIPES YOU MIGHT LOVE

• Pan-Fried Tofu Cakes
• Tofu ‘McNuggets’
• Chinese Chive Pies
• Crispy Eggplant Katsu
• Mie Goreng (Indonesian Fried Noodles)
• Chinese Sweet and Sour “Pork”
• Crispy Wontons
• Sundubu Jjigae (Korean Soft Tofu Stew)
• Kimchi Pancakes or Kimchi Jeon

Crispy Broccoli with Bang Bang Sauce

5 from 3 votes

This Bang Bang Broccoli is a delicious finger food that you won’t be able to get enough of. It’s also great with wraps, noodles, or as-is for your starter or snack. The sauce is great to coat the crispy broccoli with or you can also opt to keep it separate and use it as a dipping sauce. The broccoli is best deep-fried for a nice even golden browning and crisp, but it can also be baked and air-fried before being coated in the sauce.

Print Recipe Pin this Recipe Rate this Recipe

Prep Time 45 mins

Cook Time 25 mins

Total Time 1 hr 10 mins

Course Appetizer, Main Course, Snack, Starters

Cuisine Asian, East Asian, Fusion

Servings 4 people

Calories 604 kcal

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

Batter

• 1.5 cups plain soy milk , room temp
• 2 tsp apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
• 3/4 cup all purpose flour (116 g)
• 1/2 cup corn starch (70 g)
• 1 to 1.5 tsp salt , adjust to taste
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp garlic powder or minced garlic
• 1 tbsp sriracha or other hot sauce

Coating

• 1.5 to 2 cups panko or Japanese bread crumbs (112 to 150g)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Garlic powder , to taste

Broccoli

• 1 large head broccoli , makes 500 g florets (see notes)
• Neutral oil , for frying

Bang Bang Sauce

• 1/2 cup vegan mayo
• 2 tbsp Thai sweet chili sauce
• 1 tbsp sriracha
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• Pinch of salt

To Serve

• Chopped cilantro for garnish

Instructions

 

• Wet Mix: Add the vinegar into the soy milk or other plant milk. Allow to curdle for at least 5 minutes. This will create a buttermilk-like consistency.
• Dry Mix: In a separate bowl, mix together all the other dry ingredients for the batter.
• Pour the vinegar and milk mixture into the dry mixture.
• Mix until there are no longer any signs of dry flour. This will be a thick pancake batter-like consistency. Lumps are fine, so don't overmix.
• Evenly coat the florets in the batter. You can do this in batches.
• Place each floret from the batter into the breadcrumb mixture. Coat well using one hand (this is to avoid messy hands—I usually use one hand for dry and one hand for wet when coating broccoli).
• Press down the bread crumbs on the broccoli. Set aside once coated.
• Repeat this until all florets are coated.

Bang Bang Sauce

• For the sauce, mix everything in a small bowl. Feel free to adjust to your desired taste.
• (See the baking or air-frying option below)

Heat a frying pot or pan with some oil. Once hot (you can add in some bread crumbs to test the heat—it will start to rapidly bubble once hot), place the broccoli florets per batch (don’t overcrowd the pot) and cook until golden brown, moving it around on each side every 2-3 minutes or so.
• Once golden brown, set aside on a strainer to drain excess oil. Let cool for a few minutes. Cook the remaining florets.

To Serve

• Toss the fried broccoli with the sauce in a large bowl to coat evenly. Serve and enjoy immediately.
• Another option is to use the bang bang sauce for dipping if you plan to keep the broccoli for longer and allow it to remain crisp for longer.

Air-fried/Baked vs Deep Fried

• I personally prefer the deep fried ones especially if you want to enjoy them as-is and use the bang bang sauce for dipping. The air-fried/baked ones come out quite dry (even when sprayed with a generous amount of oil before cooking) so they need to be coated in a lot of sauce.
• The main difference visually? The deep-fried broccoli are more evenly golden brown while the baked/air-fried ones turn out quite pale.

Baking option:

• Heat your oven to 350F. Line your tray with some parchment paper or a silicon mat if you have one. Spray a generous amount of oil on the broccoli.
• Bake the broccoli for 35-40 minutes or until crisp. Flip halfway through cooking. Note that the broccoli will not turn as golden brown throughout compared to when they’re deep fried.
• You can coat the florets in the bang bang sauce and then for another 8-10 minutes at 350F for the sauce to be absorbed.

For Air-Frying:

• Line your air-fryer basket with some parchment paper or a silicon mat if you have one. Spray a generous amount of oil on the broccoli.
• You can cook your broccoli at 350F for 25-30 minutes or until lightly brown and crisp, flip halfway through cooking. Note that air-fryer settings can vary so you can try your settings and adjust from there.
• You can coat the florets in the bang bang sauce and then air-fry for another 7-8 minutes at 350F for the sauce to be absorbed.

Notes

BROCCOLI

• I had a 1kg broccoli (both florets and stalk). Without the stalk, I had 500g florets.
• You can use the broccoli stalk for some soup – check out my Cheese Potato and Broccoli Soup recipe here.

NUTRITIONAL INFO

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 604kcal | Carbohydrates: 72g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.03g | Sodium: 1260mg | Potassium: 710mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 1307IU | Vitamin C: 147mg | Calcium: 249mg | Iron: 4mg

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