Food court bourbon chicken is an at home copycat of the popular dish. Featuring perfectly cooked chicken thighs in a flavor packed sauce, you’ll love making this recipe at home.
This post may contain affiliate links. As an amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. See my full Disclosure Policy for details.
We love heading to get Chinese.
But with a family of 6, including 4 hungry boys, trips to the food court are expensive so we love making copycat recipes at home.
This food court bourbon chicken is a spot on dupe of the popular fusion dish and it is so good.
What is bourbon chicken?
Bourbon chicken is a dish that’s a fun fusion of Chinese American and Cajun food.
It’s named for both the liquor in the dish and Bourbon Street in New Orleans.
The chicken dish features a tangy, sweet, salty sauce that is so delicious.
Ingredients
To make this, you’ll need:
- Olive oil
- Chicken thighs– Boneless skinless chicken thighs. Trim them of fat and cut them into 1″ pieces.
- Spices– Ginger powder, garlic powder, ground white pepper
- Bourbon
- Water
- Vinegar– Seasoned rice vinegar
- Sugar– Packed brown sugar
- Slurry ingredients– Cornstarch and cold water
How to Make
Making bourbon chicken is almost easier than getting everyone in the car and heading to the food court.
To do it, whisk together the ginger, garlic, pepper, soy sauce, bourbon, water, vinegar, and brown sugar in a small bowl, and set the mixture aside.
Then, heat the oil in a large skillet set over medium high heat.
When the oil gets hot and shimmers, add the chicken and cook it, stirring every so often until juices have cooked off and the chicken begins to brown, about 8-10 minutes.
Once the chicken begins to brown, pour the sauce mixture into the skillet, gently toss the chicken pieces in it so they get coated.
Bring the mixture to a boil, then immediately reduce the heat to a simmer.
Simmer the chicken for roughly 15 minutes, uncovered.
After 15 minutes, make a slurry by whisking the cornstarch and water together in a small bowl until evenly combined.
Stir the slurry into the skillet and let the mixture cook just until it thickens slightly.
Once it starts thickening, remove the skillet from the heat.
It will continue to thicken as it sits.
Serve over, or with, steamed white rice and enjoy!
Storing Leftovers
Store leftover bourbon chicken in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Reheat in the microwave until warm.
Tips and Tricks
- Chicken thighs tend to come with a lot of fat on them. If you use a knife to remove it, you may end up losing a lot of your meat. I recommend using a sharp pair of kitchen sheers instead.
- Don’t cook with or have alcohol handy? Substitute apple juice. Keep in mind the juice is sweeter so you’ll want to use less brown sugar.
- If you’re sensitive to sugar in general, you can halve the amount of brown sugar called for. It won’t be as sweet, but will still be delicious.
- Make it a full meal and serve this with steamed broccoli, diced zucchini, green beans, or snow peas. You can serve them on the side or toss them in the sauce with the chicken. Water chestnuts will add a nice crunch.
- As soon as the sauce begins to thicken, remove the skillet from heat. This will prevent the sauce from becoming too thick. Even if it appears too thin, the residual heat will continue to thicken it.
- You can sub chicken breasts for the chicken thighs, but know that thighs tend to stay more tender and not dry out after cooking or resting.
Other Copycat Chinese Recipes
Food court bourbon chicken tastes exactly like the kind you’d get from the Chinese place in the food court.
Make it and enjoy!
Looking for other copycat Chinese recipes?
Try these:
- Chinese Orange Chicken
- Instant Pot Beef & Broccoli
- Shrimp Toast Recipe
- Instant Pot Beijing Beef
- Crab Rangoon
- Honey Shrimp With Candied Walnuts
- Authentic Egg Drop Soup
- Panda Express Mushroom Chicken
If you’ve tried this FOOD COURT BOURBON CHICKEN RECIPE, or any other recipe on the site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK, and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and whatever else we’ve got going on!
Food Court Bourbon Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2- 2 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs trimmed of fat & cut into roughly 1" pieces
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp ground white pepper
- 1/3 cup soy sauce
- 1/3 cup bourbon
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 tbsp seasoned rice vinegar
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 tbsp cornstarch + 3 tbsp cold water
Instructions
- To a small mixing bowl add the ginger, garlic, pepper, soy sauce, bourbon, water, vinegar, and brown sugar. Whisk together until evenly combined, and set the mixture aside.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet set over medium high heat. Once hot (shimmery), add the chicken- cooking and stirring every so often until juices have cooked off & it begins to brown, about 8-10 minutes.
- Pour the sauce mixture into the skillet, gently mixing until everything's evenly combined and coated.
- Bring the mixture to a boil, then immediately reduce the heat to a simmer. Allow the chicken to simmer for roughly 15 minutes, uncovered.
- Add both the cornstarch and water to a small bowl, whisking together until evenly combined, and then pour into the skillet. Stir until evenly incorporated.
- Let the mixture cook just until thickened slightly, then remove from heat. It will continue to thicken as it sits.
- Serve over, or with, steamed white rice and enjoy!
Notes
- Chicken thighs tend to come with a lot of fat on them. If you use a knife to remove it, you may end up losing a lot of your meat. I recommend using a sharp pair of kitchen sheers instead.
- Don't cook with or have alcohol handy? Substitute apple juice. Keep in mind the juice is sweeter so you'll want to use less brown sugar.
- If you're sensitive to sugar in general, you can halve the amount of brown sugar called for. It won't be as sweet, but will still be delicious.
- Make it a full meal and serve this with steamed broccoli, diced zucchini, green beans, or snow peas. You can serve them on the side or toss them in the sauce with the chicken. Water chestnuts will add a nice crunch.
- As soon as the sauce begins to thicken, remove the skillet from heat. This will prevent the sauce from becoming too thick. Even if it appears too thin, the residual heat will continue to thicken it.
- You can sub chicken breasts for the chicken thighs, but know that thighs tend to stay more tender and not dry out after cooking or resting.
Nutrition
This post may contain affiliate links. As an amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. See my full Disclosure Policy for details.
Leave a Comment