Easy Bourbon Chicken that’s crispy, sweet, sticky and tastes just like the kind you grew up eating at the mall!
Easy, Crispy Bourbon Chicken
Making this Crispy Bourbon Chicken actually makes me feel like a teenager. A teenager who was a rebel and once actually took Chinese food into the movie theater!
A quick apology to those people who had to watch Dude Where’s My Car in LA in the late 90’s in a Chinese food scented theater. 😉 My bad.
It was kind of the perfect movie to do that in though because the Chinese takeout drive thru scene still makes me belly laugh.
Back to the task at hand, Bourbon Chicken. This chicken is so deliciously sweet and sticky and has a deep bourbon flavor with hints of the apple juice. It’s good. Super good.
Is there bourbon in bourbon chicken? Yes! There absolutely is, but it cooks down in the sauce so much it just adds a certain unique flavor and won’t impair your driving. If you prefer to skip the bourbon, just double the apple juice.
Some tips to make this the best bourbon chicken ever:
- I used chicken breast because my mall used to. If you want a more tender cut, use chicken thighs.
- If you’d like a thicker coating dredge in the cornstarch, dip in a beaten egg then dredge in some flour and deep fry.
- To make this more spicy double the crushed red pepper or swap the red pepper for Sriracha sauce.
Crockpot Bourbon Chicken Recipe:
To make in the crockpot, cook the chicken (use chicken thighs) as directed and add in half the amounts of the rest of the recipe sauce ingredients (they won’t be able to cook down in the slow cooker). Cook on low for 5 hours. Add in the last tablespoon of cornstarch then cook on high for 30 minutes.
Want more Chinese Food Recipes?
- Crispy Sesame Chicken
- Cheesecake Factory Mandarin Cashew Chicken
- General Tso’s Chicken
- Easy Mongolian Beef
- Panda Express Recipes… every single one in fact: Panda Express Recipes Index
- Many more Chinese food options…
Tools Used in the making of the Easy Bourbon Chicken:
Wok: Great for high heat, quick cooking. This wok is a great addition to your kitchen if you love cooking Chinese food or stir fries in general.
Large Frying Pan: I use this Cuisinart for most of my non cast iron cooking unless I am going with a stainless steel option, then I choose my All Clad.
Soy Sauce: Nothing much to say here except Kikkoman has the best flavor overall and I always recommend reduced sodium.
Ingredients
- 6 chicken breasts boneless, skinless (about 3 pounds)
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch , divided
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
- 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 cloves garlic , minced
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup apple juice
- 1/4 cup bourbon
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 2/3 cup lite soy sauce (lower sodium)
- 1/3 cup ketchup
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup light brown sugar , packed
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Cut the chicken into 1 inch pieces and in a large bowl toss it with 2 tablespoons of the cornstarch, salt, and pepper.
- Add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil into your nonstick skillet on medium-high heat and let it heat until a small piece of chicken sizzles.
- Add half the chicken pieces and cook for 3 minutes without stirring.
- Turn the chicken pieces and cook and additional three minutes.
- Remove the chicken from the pan.
- Use the remaining oil to cook the second half of the chicken the same way.
- Remove the chicken from the pan.
- Add in the garlic and cook for 20 seconds until you can just smell it.
- Add in the water, apple juice, bourbon, chicken broth, lite soy sauce, ketchup, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, onion powder, ground ginger and red pepper flakes.
- Bring to a boil then add back in the chicken.
- Cook for 10-15 minutes or until the sauce is reduced by about half.
- Add the remaining tablespoon of cornstarch to a small glass with a tablespoon of water and stir.
- Add into the pan and stir.
- Cook until the sauce is thickened. Serve immediately.
Video
Nutrition
Very good. One of the best “Chinese” recipes I have made at home. Will make this again. Thanks.
“If you prefer to skip the bourbon, just double the apple juice.”
If you prefer to skip the bourbon, just make something besides bourbon chicken
there fixed that for you
We followed the directions, and it came out amazing. We will keep this one in our rotation. We served over brown rice with sweet cantaloupe on the side.
What if you don’t have apple juice?
I have heard that some use white grape juice. Others have used pineapple juice.
you always have the best recipe!!!!!!!! you are my go to thank you for all the great recipes.
You’re welcome Sherrie and thanks for the 5 star review!
This was tasty but the chicken breast turned out quite tough with all the cooking you do to it. Definitely recommend using chicken thighs. Will try that next time.
Some tips to make this the best bourbon chicken ever:
I used chicken breast because my mall used to. If you want a more tender cut, use chicken thighs.
My kid is literally the pickiest eater on the planet. He is a 15-year-old boy, who is very particular about what he consumes and what he puts into his body. I have a hard time finding different ways to prepare chicken. He flipped for this dish. I made it for the first time, three weeks ago and tonight will be the fourth time I’ve made it for him,. In 3 weeks! I did try to double it on my second go around and it was nothing like the first time. Not sure what I did wrong but since that second disaster, I go step first step minus the brown sugar. I 1/2 that and at the very end, stir in a tablespoon of honey Absolutely phenomenal. If I could give 10 stars I would.
Wow! High Praise from a 15 year old boy! Made my day. Thank you Juanita and thanks for the “10” stars!!
Tasted exactly how I remember Bourbon Chicken at those mall Chinese joints (sweet & savory). Directions were clear and easy to follow. Thanks for posting this great recipe!
This was good, but the second time I made it, I cut the brown sugar in half. Even better!!
Wouldnt sesame oil be better?
I think you’re right! I would definitely try the sesame oil…it would give it a completely different taste, I think, but when I cook Chinese food, or other Asian dishes, I often call for sesame oil, even when the recipe doesn’t. You could even add some chili oil in to give it a bit of a kick!
Oops! I meant to say, I often *add* sesame oil, even when the recipe doesn’t call for it. 🙂
5 stars for it being an online recipe that actually goes together correctly from start to finish (there are a lot of half-a**ed recipes out there).
I made this tonight and it was a pleasant surprise. From the first bite I was thinking “Mall Chinese…” but in a good way. The wife liked it as well and it will have a place in my recipe rotation. It was a tad sweet for my taste, so I will probably adjust the sugar by a 1/4 cup and maybe add more soy sauce.
Family loved it! I used 1/2 the sugar after I read the prior reviews and I only used 1/2 the chicken and replaced with a ton of broccoli. Will be adding to the recipe rotation!
If I wanted to double this dish, would I just double all the ingredients, including the bourbon? And because I want to make such a large batch (6 lbs), I know this won’t fit in one pan.
Is it possible to mix all the ingredients together and bake this dish?
Use the Yield button to automatically change the recipe to reflect how many people you wish to serve. I’ve used my All Clad frying pan as well as a wok to make this recipe. Not sure how big a frying pan or wok would be to handle 6 lbs. Maybe two frying pans? Mine is a 14 inch and worked well for the recipe as is. Let me know how it turns out!
It was pretty good, I didn’t think it tasted like the bourbon chicken at the mall at all and that’s what I was looking for. A little to sweet for my taste, but over all pretty good. Kids loved it ??