Homemade bourbon chicken combines a delicious sticky sauce with tender pieces of chicken for an easy dinner at home. With the simple sauce ingredients, you will be eating this popular chicken main dish at home in no time.
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The Great Flavors of this Copycat Recipe
This recipe is built around a bourbon chicken sauce that combines sweet brown sugar with smoky bourbon and salty soy sauce. The simple sauce with Asian spices and tender bite-sized pieces of chicken has become a favorite dinner that my whole family loves.
Now, we always look for it at Chinese restaurants and my kids ask for it regularly. To be honest, its better at home though because we are able to use better quality ingredients and choose lean all-white meat chicken.
Bourbon Sauce Ingredients
Chinese bourbon chicken is really about the sauce. The flavor is built on the bourbon, brown sugar, and soy sauce. The spices and hoisin brighten it up. And cornstarch is the perfect thickener which helps the sauce hold on to the chicken. It's so good!
- 2 pounds Chicken Pieces - use whatever cut of chicken you like whether that's chicken breast, tenders, or skinless chicken thighs.
- Cooking oil - I usually go with avocado oil but olive oil is also a great option
- Bourbon
- Brown Sugar
- Soy Sauce
- Hoisin Sauce
- Water
- Corn starch
- Ground Ginger
- Garlic Powder
- Onion Powder
- Sesame Oil
- Sesame Seeds or Green Onions to garnish
What Kind of Chicken Should I Use?
In the traditional recipe found in most mall food courts, you will find chicken thighs for the recipe. That is because of the affordability and tender texture of the thighs.
However, I prefer chicken tenders cut into small pieces. The other option, if you prefer white meat chicken, would of course be chicken breast.
Supplies to Have Ready
One reason I love recipes like this, it doesn't require any special equipment.
- large skillet
- cutting board with a sharp knife
- measuring cup and measuring spoons
Do you want weekly recipes and help with meal planning?
Making Bourbon Chicken Step-by-Step
I have detailed instruction in the full recipe card, but here is a quick snap shot:
- Measure your sauce ingredients and cut your chicken into bite-sized pieces.
- Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the chicken with the 2 tablespoons of cornstarch. The rest of the cornstartch will be used to thicken the sauce at the end.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, add 2 tablespoons of oil and cook the chicken in batches until it is golden brown.
- After the chicken has cooked, remove it from the skillet and make the sauce.
- Increase the temperature to medium high heat and add the brown sugar and bourbon to the pan. After 2-3 minutes, add the rest of the sauce ingredients.
- Cook the sauce for 5 minutes and add the chicken back in.
- If needed, add one tablespoon of water to the remaining tablespoon of cornstarch and mix it really well. Add that to the sauce and stir. Cook for a few more minutes so the cornstarch can activate and thicken the sauce.
YUM! It's so tasty and probably faster than Door Dash if you focus.
Recipe modifications
- add red pepper flakes for a little kick
- double the sauce ingredients you want a lot of sauce, especially if you like to add your stir fried veggies to it
- substitute coconut aminos for the soy sauce if you need to. Be sure to check for overall flavor and season with extra salt if needed, but dont go crazy.
How to Serve Bourbon Chicken and Great Side Dishes
My first favorite side dish for this is fried rice. A simple, classic fried rice is just what I need for an easy weeknight meal. Plain steamed white rice is the more traditional side you would find in a mall food court.
More Asian recipes that I love include: Japanese ginger salad dressing, easy homemade egg rolls, and simple lo mein.
Saving Leftovers and Reheating Instructions
Transfer the leftovers if there are any into an airtight container. Keep refrigerated for up to 4 days.
The next day, reheat in the microwave on medium power for 1 minutes. Stir the leftover chicken and repeat in 30 second increments until the chicken is warmed through.
You can also reheat the leftovers in a pan set over medium heat.
Bourbon Chicken Printable Recipe Card
Copycat Takeout Bourbon Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 pounds Chicken Breast
- 3 tablespoon vegetable oil avocado, olive, or your preferred cooking oil
- 3 tablespoon Corn starch
- ⅓ cup Bourbon
- ⅓ cup Brown Sugar
- ⅓ cup Soy Sauce
- 2 tablespoon Hoisin Sauce
- 3 tablespoon Water
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1 teaspoon Onion Powder
- ½ teaspoon Ground Ginger
- ½ teaspoon Black Pepper
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Sesame Oil
- Sesame Seeds or Green Onions to garnish
Instructions
- Measure all of the sauce ingredients and spices.
- Cut two pounds of chicken into bite sized pieces. Season the chicken pieces with salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons of the cornstarch. Reserve the other tablespoon of cornstarch for later.
- Set a large skillet over medium heat. When the skillet is hot, add 2 tablespoons of cooking oil.
- Add half of the chicken to the skillet and cook until it's golden brown on both sides. Remove the cooked chicken to a plate and set aside. Add more cooking oil if needed and cook the second half the chicken.
- Remove the rest of the cooked chicken and set aside.
- Add the bourbon and brown sugar to the pan. Bring the mixture up to a bubble and reduce to medium heat. Cook the bourbon and brown sugar mixture for 2 minutes.
- Add the soy sauce, hoisin sauce, water, garlic, onion, and ginger. Stir the sauce well and bring it up to a bubble.
- After the sauce has cooked for 5 minutes, add the chicken back in and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
- If you want the sauce to be thicker, add 1 tablespoon of water to the remaining tablespoon of cornstarch. Stir it well and add the mixture to the bourbon chicken. Cook the sauce for 3-4 minutes so the cornstarch can activate and thicken the sauce.
- Turn off the heat and serve the bourbon chicken with steamed rice and stir fried vegetables.
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