Bourbon Chicken

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If good stir-fry chicken makes you really happy, you’re going to love this easy restaurant-quality recipe! Bourbon Chicken features chicken pieces covered in a delightfully sticky-sweet Bourbon sauce that is addicting!

Bourbon chicken brings back memories from my teenage years walking the mall. It’s a great lunch or dinner after a long day of shopping.

If you’re looking for a quick and easy weeknight chicken dinner with a combination of sweet and spicy, Bourbon Chicken is a recipe you’ll want to keep in your monthly recipe rotation.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO MAKE IT

The secret to this meal is in the sauce, it’s loaded with umami flavors coming from the chicken and soy sauce, and balanced with the sweetness form the brown sugar and apple cider vinegar.

• Chicken: I like boneless, skinless chicken thighs, but you can use chicken breasts. Cut the chicken into 1-inch chunks.
• Cornstarch: Cornstarch thickens the sauce.
• Salt and Pepper
• Oil: My preferred fat for frying is lard, bacon grease, or avocado oil. But you could use vegetable, peanut, or canola oil or any other high-heat oil.
• Green Onions: Great for Garnish
• Garlic: Adds great flavor.
• Broth: Low-sodium chicken broth is my go-to! Feel free to substitute bone broth or vegetable broth, though!
• Soy Sauce: I use regular soy sauce but low-sodium Soy Sauce, and Coconut Aminos are all great options
• Bourbon: The alcohol in the bourbon cooks off as the sauce simmers. However, the bourbon is not mandatory the sauce is still amazing with only apple juice.
• Brown Sugar: Packed light brown sugar sweetens the dish beautifully! Honey and maple syrup are also good options.
• Apple Juice: Just a little apple juice adds a slight fruity sweetness.
• Apple Cider Vinegar: Rice vinegar or rice wine vinegar are good options here, too.
• Ginger: It’s best to use fresh ginger the ground can really strong.
• Garnishes: Toasted sesame seeds and sliced green onions are great options for garnish.
• Rice: Cooked rice is the typical side dish served with Bourbon Chicken. But a vegetable side would also be a great option.
• Red Pepper Flakes: A little heat never hurt.

WHAT IF I DON’T WANT TO USE BOURBON?

If you don’t want to use bourbon in your recipe, that is ok, no problem. Any whisky you have on hand will work too. And, if you don’t want to use alcohol at all, you can just use apple juice, or water combined with hoisin sauce. The taste of the bourbon chicken will be slightly altered, but it will still be amazing!

WHY IS THIS CALLED BOURBON CHICKEN?

This dish is actually named after Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Louisiana in addition to the bourbon whiskey in the sauce. Some claim the original recipe did not actually contain bourbon in the sauce and the name came from the street where it was made famous, while others think it was because the chef mixed bourbon with traditional Chinese ingredients such as ginger and sesame to make the sauce. Whether or not the original recipe had bourbon in it really isn’t important since the majority of bourbon chicken recipes today include whiskey.

HOW TO PREPARE BOURBON CHICKEN?

Let’s take a look at the steps for making bourbon chicken. Like all stir-fries, this one is all about not over-cooking the chicken if you are using breast, and then deglazing the same pan to make the sauce in the same skillet.

• Cube the Chicken and coat in Cornstarch, and Fry. Combine your cornstarch, salt, and pepper in a large mixing bowl, and add the chicken pieces. Toss them to coat. Heat a large nonstick skillet adding cooking grease over medium-high heat. Fry half of the chicken to avoid overcrowding in the pan. Cook for three minutes without stirring. Then turn the pieces and cook for an additional 3 minutes. The chicken doesn’t need to be completely cooked through because it will later simmer in the sauce for an additional 15 minutes. Once the chicken is crisp set aside for later.

• Make the Sauce. To the same skillet add the minced garlic for 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add the chicken broth, apple juice, bourbon, soy sauce, ketchup, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, onion powder, ginger, and red pepper flakes to the pan and deglaze the pan. Bring the sauce to a boil and then add back all the chicken. Simmer for 15 minutes or until the sauce has begun to reduce. Make a cornstarch slurry with the last tablespoon of cornstarch add a few tablespoons of cold water and stir.

• Cook the Chicken in the Sauce Briefly.  Simmer for 15 minutes or until the sauce has begun to reduce. Make a cornstarch slurry with the last tablespoon of cornstarch add a few tablespoons of cold water and stir.

• Enjoy! Serve the chicken over rice, garnished with sesame seeds and sliced green onions.

PRO COOKING TIPS AND VARIATIONS

• Add Some Spiciness:  Adding red chili flakes to the sauce will add a little heat.

• Add Pasta to the Skillet: While I usually serve rice another option is warm chow mein noodles stirred right into the skillet would be fantastic.

• Add Vegetables to the Skillet:  To make it a complete meal you can definitely add sauteed vegetables such as onions, mushrooms, steamed broccoli, or green peppers to the chicken.

• Flavor Altercations: Add more sugar if you desire a sweeter sauce. If you love the flavor of bourbon, add more.

WHAT DO YOU SERVE WITH BOURBON CHICKEN?

Rice or steamed riced cauliflower (low-carb option) are excellent choices to serve with bourbon chicken. These options will soaking up all that delicious sauce adding more flavor with every bite. However, there are many other options in the side dish department if rice or cauliflower rice doesn’t sound good to you. Check out these easy recipes for more ideas!

• Balsamic Glazed Brussels Sprouts: Easy Balsamic Brussels Sprouts are sauteed on the stove in a mixture of bacon grease and butter, resulting in a crispy caramelized side dish that’s quick and easy to make and perfect for weeknight dinners.

• Honey Garlic Glazed Roasted Carrots: Honey Garlic Glazed Roasted Carrots are a classic side dish that my family loves.  There is nothing better than eating a sweet side dish and knowing it’s also healthy.  The combination of carrots, garlic, honey, and butter brings the sweetness you want without the guilt. 

HOW TO STORE AND REHEAT LEFTOVERS?

• Bourbon Chicken leftovers are best stored in the refrigerator, in airtight containers for up to 3 days.
• To reheat, place the chicken and any sauce in a covered skillet over low heat. Heat until the sauce begins to bubble and the chicken is warm, stirring occasionally to evenly distribute the heat.

CAN I FREEZE BOURBON CHICKEN?

You can freeze Bourbon Chicken and there are two ways to do this. You can freeze before cooking, or freeze the leftovers after cooking.

• Freeze before cooking: Combine the ingredients in preparing the sauce and add the diced chicken and sauce to a zip-top freezer bag. Seal the bag, pressing out as much air as possible. Freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before cooking. Essentially this this option is like marinating the chicken in the sauce in the freezer.

• Freeze leftover bourbon chicken, Once the chicken has cooled you can pack the chicken and sauce into a zip-top freezer bag, and freeze for up to three months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.