Happy December! I've got good news for you. You don’t need to go to the mall food court to enjoy Bourbon Chicken anymore, which is especially helpful for me because I do all my shopping on Amazon anyway. This is a homemade version of what is offered at the Cajun/Chinese restaurant at many shopping malls. Bourbon Chicken is named after Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Louisiana and the fact that it contains bourbon whiskey. I highly doubt the mall food court uses bourbon though. This is so much tastier than the mall’s version. This recipe for Bourbon Chicken is much more flavorful than any food court offering, plus the spice level can be easily adjusted to suit your tastes, you can use better quality chicken, and it is quick and easy to make at home.

One of my favorite things about this dish is that even though there are several ingredients, they are all things that I keep in my fridge/pantry all the time anyway. Not only do I not need to buy a lot of extra ingredients to make it, I can also whip it together on short notice if I don’t feel like going to the store. (I almost always have chicken thighs in my fridge though, and I realize that is probably not the case for everyone.)

Bourbon Chicken

(Scroll down for printable version of this recipe.)

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs cut into 1” pieces

1 cup chicken broth

½ cup water

⅔ cup low-sodium soy sauce

1 cup brown sugar

¼ cup ketchup

¼ cup bourbon

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

4-5 cloves garlic, minced

1 small onion, chopped fine

1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes (use more or less depending on your preferences)

1 teaspoon ground ginger

¼ cup apple cider (or apple juice)

2 tablespoons corn starch

Salt and pepper, to taste

2-3 green onions, sliced fine to garnish (optional)

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a large skillet. Season chicken with salt and pepper and add to skillet, cooking until chicken has just cooked through. (It will cook more in the sauce.) Remove chicken to a plate and cover to keep warm.
2. Add broth, water, soy sauce, brown sugar, ketchup, bourbon, apple cider vinegar, garlic, onion, red pepper flakes, and ginger to the skillet and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring frequently for about 20 minutes. Sauce will have reduced and onions will be tender, but it will not be thick yet. Return chicken to the skillet.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the apple cider and corn starch. Add to skillet and stir to combine. Continue simmering until sauce has thickened and chicken is heated through, about 5 minutes.
4. Serve over rice and sprinkle with green onions.

I hope you all have a Happy December! Thank you so much for stopping by my site.

-Mandy