The ingredients are simple: soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger, chicken thighs, a bit of bourbon. Similar to teriyaki sauce, the sauce for Bourbon Chicken is both sweet and salty and slightly sticky. Apparently named after historic Bourbon Street in the heart of the French Quarter of New Orleans, this dish is often found in restaurants serving American Chinese or Cajun cuisine.
You can easily make Bourbon Chicken at home and if you don’t want to use any alcohol in the dish, you don’t have to, so there! The flavor will still be delicious, just a little less smoky. This is a one-skillet meal that comes together quickly. Serve it with your favorite sauteed veggies and some fluffy rice or try it atop any other pasta or grain, riced cauliflower, barley, quinoa, you get the idea.
Bourbon Chicken
Serves 4 to 6
For sauce:
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup brown sugar, light or dark
- ¾ cup water
- Juice of 1 orange
- 3 tablespoons bourbon or water
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For chicken:
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed and cut into bite-size pieces
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
For cooking:
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1-2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
- 3 green onions, thinly sliced
- 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
Make the sauce by whisking all ingredients int a medium bowl until well combined. Set aside.
In another medium bowl, toss the chicken with 2 tablespoons cornstarch and 2 tablespoons sauce mixture until combined.
To cook: Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken all at once and spread into a single layer. Cook without stirring until chicken browns nicely on one side. Then stir and cook, stirring often until chicken pieces are deep golden brown and cooked through.
Stir in the garlic, ginger and half of the green onions and cook for about a minute. Add the remaining sauce mixture. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to medium and cook at a simmer until the sauce is slightly thickened and shiny. This will take several minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in the vinegar and sprinkle with remainder of green onions.
Serve while warm over rice or other grain/vegetables.
