Where I come from, bourbon chicken is one of those tasty perks we would get from walking around the mall near the food court. Back in the day (cue the wavy lines), there would always be a guy standing by, waiting for you to come and try the free samples of bourbon chicken. Of course, after you tasted that deliciousness, you just had to go over and get a giant plate of goodness. Unless, of course, your parents said no, which meant you had to circle back for more free samples with your friends!!
I was thinking about this the other day, so had to search for a recipe (of course) and came across several. I wanted to give this one a try, because it looked scrumptious, but also because I loved the name of their blog, Scrambled Chefs. You can learn more about them here. I will tell you that my family DEVOURED this recipe, so I will definitely be going back to their blog to check out more recipes in the future. Enough said, let’s jump right in!!
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- 2 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts OR thighs, cut into 1″ pieces
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp olive oil
For the Sauce
- 1 cup water
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 cup apple juice
- 1/2 cup bourbon
- 2/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
Garnish
- 3 green onions, diced
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds
Instructions
Cut the chicken breasts into 1″ pieces and place in a large bowl. Combine chicken with the cornstarch, salt, and black pepper.
Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to large skillet over medium heat. When oil is shimmering, add the chicken, and cook for 2-3 minutes per side, stirring until the chicken is just browned. Please note that MY chicken was a bit more browned than it should have been, because I have ADHD and became utterly distracted by my adorable little dog! Remove the chicken from the skillet.
Whisk together 1 cup of water and 1 tablespoon cornstarch. Add to the skillet, along with the apple juice, bourbon, soy sauce, ketchup, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, onion powder, garlic powder, ginger, and red pepper flakes.
Add the chicken back to the skillet once mixture has come to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer @ 10 minutes, until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165⁰ F, and the sauce has thickened slightly.
You can serve on its own, in a lettuce wrap or over rice. Be sure to remember to garnish with sesame seeds and green onions (I nearly forgot).
VERDICT: This recipe tasted very similar to the bourbon chicken of my past, so it’s a keeper for our family. I really hope that you will give this a try, and please do go and check out Scrambled Chefs. Let’s make great food together!
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Bourbon Chicken
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 lb boneless chicken breasts OR thighs
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp olive oil
For the Sauce
- 1 cup water
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 cup apple juice
- ½ cup bourbon
- ⅔ cup low sodium soy sauce
- ¼ cup ketchup
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup packed brown sugar
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes
- 3 green onions, sliced for garnish
- sesame seeds for garnish
Instructions
- Cut the chicken breasts into 1" pieces and place in a large bowl. Combine chicken with the cornstarch, salt, and black pepper.
- Add2 tablespoons of olive oil to large skillet over medium heat. When oil is shimmering, add the chicken, and cook for 2-3 minutes stirring until the chicken is just browned. Remove the chicken from the skillet.
- Whisk together 1 cup of water and 1 tablespoon cornstarch. Add to the skillet, along with the apple juice, bourbon, soy sauce, ketchup, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, onion powder, garlic powder, ginger, and red pepper flakes.
- Add the chicken back to the skillet once mixture has come to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer @ 10 minutes, until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165⁰ F,and the sauce has thickened slightly.
- You can serve on its own, in a lettuce wrap or over rice. Be sure to remember to garnish with sesame seeds and green onions.
