Easy & Quick Bourbon Chicken



Bourbon chicken is a flavorful chicken dish named after Bourbon Street in New OrleansLouisiana and for the bourbon whiskey ingredient. The dish is commonly found at Cajun, Chinese, and American BBQ themed restaurants.
The recipe includes soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger, and bourbon in the base, and the chicken is marinated in this sauce. - Wikipedia 


Almost all Chinese take out menus and those at the mall food courts feature some version of this chicken in a dark sweet/sour sauce served over mounds of steaming white rice. I found this recipe while looking for something to whip up quickly for dinner one night and was intrigued by the more than 2000 reviews it had received over at recipezaar. It may not be athentic, but so many people thought it was great- fast to whip up and delicious, and I do too!


Bourbon Chicken
Recipe source: LinMarie on recipezaar now Food.com from here


Ingredients
  • 2 lbs boneless chicken breasts or tenderloin, cut into bite-size pieces
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 garlic pod , crushed ( I used garlic paste)
  • 1/4 teaspoon ginger ( I used ginger paste)
  • 3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1/4 cup apple juice ( I used store bought prune juice, others have used orange)
  • 1/3 cup light brown sugar ( I used regular sugar)
  • 2 tablespoons ketchup
  • 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/3 cup soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp to 1/4 cup Bourbon whiskey ( Optional) 
Method
  • Heat oil in a large skillet.
  • Add chicken pieces and cook until lightly browned.
  • Remove chicken.
  • Add remaining ingredients, mix well over medium heat until everything is dissolved and well combined.
  • Add chicken and bring to a hard boil.
  • If you like the sauce to be thicker, you can add 1 tsp of cornflour diluted in about 1/4 cup water while boiling and mix well. 
  • Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring often.
  • Serve over rice and with steamed vegetables.
Verdict: 
Ease:  * * * * *
Taste: * * * * *

It's all done in about half an hour and is so easy to prepare but tastes like you have slaved for hours. Was an instant hit and will definitely be made very frequently.
Thanks Anonymous commentators, have included your suggestions and will try them next time I make this! Do leave your names so I can thank you by name :) 

4 comments:

  1. Another great sounding recipe, thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Where's the BOURBON???

    ReplyDelete
  3. You can add a slurry of cornstarch & water to tighten up the sauce. It looks too watery!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks for the sggestion Anon! I tried the recipe as is and liked it with rice. Next time someone wants it thicker, will use a thickener.

    Anon this recipe didn't use Borbon, however I take your point, the addition of a table spoon of bourbon would be fantastic. Amending the recipe.

    ReplyDelete

Your comments make me smile and encourage me to keep blogging! Thanks for visiting and taking time to leave me a message :)