I hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving. We were hosted at a friends’ house and it was a lovely evening, although I ate way too much (I’m sure I’m not the only one!).
Here is a tremendously easy and quick weeknight meal that is so delicious, you won’t believe it takes less than 30 minutes to throw together. We are big fans of chicken over rice (in all its forms) at our house and this dish is seriously fantastic. I think it might even come close to my husband’s all-time favorite sweet and sour chicken. There is no bourbon in the recipe so no fear if you are worried about that. Regardless of the name, the end result will not disappoint – perfectly sweet with a tiny kick.
Ingredients
- 2lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 4 tablespoons oil (for pan-frying)
- cornstarch (for dusting, optional)
- 1 garlic clove (minced)
- ¼ teaspoon ginger (I used ground ginger)
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- ¼ cup apple juice
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoon ketchup
- 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
- ½ cup water
- 1/3 cup soy sauce
Chicken:
Sauce:
Directions
- Cut chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces, and if you choose lightly dust with cornstarch. Heat oil in your wok and fry chicken bits in batches until lightly browned. Drain on paper towels and set aside.
- In a bowl combine all sauce ingredients. Pour into wok and bring to a boil. Add chicken bits back to the pan, reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
Printed from Mel's Kitchen Cafe (www.melskitchencafe.com)
Recipe Source: adapted from Blog Chef
Alicia – glad you liked this chicken recipe. I hear you on having to give up the leftovers for the husband. I’m proud of you for letting go.
We had this the other night and mmm… it was so good. The leftovers went with my husband for lunch and I was sad there was none for me. LOL!
It reminded me of something I would eat at a restaurant. It was so good! Thankyou. I must have cooked my sauce a little longer because it looked darker and thicker than the one you showed in your picture. This definitely is a keeper.
Can’t wait to try this. We love chicken with rice in almost all forms at our house too!! I was needing a little inspiration for this week’s meal plan and I found it! Thanks Melanie!
This looks delicious! I’m definitely going to have to make this!
Just stopping by to say I love your blog, and your recipes…oh, wow! They all look so good. I really enjoy reading your narratives; it makes me want to try them all! Yumm!!
I realized you might not have access to my blog. If you want to, send your e-mail address to [email protected]. I’d still love to know your secret to ‘perfect chocolate drizzling’! Also, do you have a good pesto recipe? Thanks!
Well, I love the sweet and sour chicken, so I’m sure I’ll love this one too!!
We are big fans of chicken and rice combos…this will definitely be on our list to try!
Anonymous – thanks for your comment and compliment. This is a family favorite for us, too. Thanks for taking the time to let me know you liked it!
“Welcome to Melanie’s blog. 101 ways to make the most fantastic, simple and delicious recipes.” New tagline. I’m just saying. That is all.Hope your Thanksgiving was awesome!
Jenn – I don’t mind at all that you adapted the recipe and tweaked it to fit your timeline. I’m glad it still worked with a few little twists and that is a great idea to use chicken thighs – I bet they added great flavor. Thanks for adding all the detail in your comment about what you did – I think it is helpful!
I LOVE your blog. Your recipes are SO delicious and I usually have all the ingredients already! My fav is the French Bread Rolls. I have made these rolls five times in the last two weeks! I have also made the Chicken Wild Rice Soup three times! Thanks for having such a GREAT blog! Hope it’s ok that I look!
You have to try this one, definitely one of our favorites! It makes it on my meal list every week!
Kali – you are so nice! Thank you for your comment, it definitely made my day. The french bread rolls and wild rice soup are two of my favorite recipes so I’m glad you like them, too. And of course I don’t mind at all that you check this blog out! That’s what it is here for. Thanks again for checking in.
Hey Krista – thanks for commenting. I’m glad you like this recipe. It makes a frequent appearance at our house, too.
Mmm! I just made this dish tonight and really enjoyed it – I’ll definitely be adding it my “rotation.” Thanks!
Payne Family – glad you found this recipe in time to use up some leftovers. I love it when that happens. Thanks for letting me know you liked it!
I may have to make this this week. But I think I’ll do it the cheater way and use frozen popcorn chicken.
Well, this looks like your other amazing, wonderful, tasty, perfect chicken dish (your husband’s favorite), so I really want to try this. My only problem is the ginger — the last time I ate some and then nursed Sam, he woke up the next morning with a horrible, horrible, HORRIBLE diaper rash. I wonder how it would taste if I left it out…?
I made this tonight for dinner. It was really good and very, very similar to what you find in the mall–mmm.Now that’s the short story. Here’s my long story. I meant to have this yesterday for dinner, but my husband ended up at a work dinner. So, I put the chicken (uncooked thighs cut into pieces because they use thigh meat in the mall) into the sauce and let it marinade until I got it out for dinner tonight. I got it out tonight, put the marinade and chicken into a pan and let it cook. Well, then the sauce didn’t look so great, so I removed the chicken from the pan, put it on a cookie sheet and broiled it a little (to cook off some more of the fat from the thigh pieces) while I made up another batch of the sauce. Well, the sauce wasn’t getting thickened, so I started basting the chicken with the sauce. Well, the end result was perfect. My husband is mmm-ing as I type. So, your sauce recipe is perfect, and even with my cooking detour the chicken turned out great. Thanks for the recipe–sorry that I turned it upside-down (because I don’t like it when I go to find a recipe and the commenters turned the recipe around into something completely different).
Tammy – this is such an easy weeknight meal – I’m so glad you liked it!
I was just searching for something quick, that used rice (I had some leftover). Anyway this was so good. I seasoned the chicken just slightly with salt and pepper, it was delicious. Thanks for the recipe.
I am totally drooling! ( sick I know but true!)
You can’t go wrong with quick and easy. A perfect weeknight meal!
My hubby will love this! thanks!!! You have such good chicken and rice recipes on here!
i think it’s an unwritten rule that one must overeat on thanksgiving. if it’s not, it should be.
lovely chicken dish, melanie. your fowl is not foul. 
Yum! We are big fans of chicken and rice dishes at our house too! I love bourbon chicken, but we don’t have bourbon on hand, so this will be perfect!
My husband told me I could make this ANYTIME. He rarely says that. Very yummy and easy. THANK YOU!
I love quick and easy dishes like this one!
D – I’m getting a lot of comments lately about how all the husbands have given approval on recipes. I guess that’s what must count quite a bit, right (I know it does in my house)?? I’m glad your husband approved!
This looks wonderful and easy! I can’t wait to try it.
Katypi – what a sweet comment! Thank you for taking the time to comment and let me know that you enjoy stopping by.
I tried this recipe on Monday and my sister is next to try it. VERY tasty and I loved the pinch of red pepper flavor because it added just enough spice to taste good but not overpower the toddler. Thanks again Mel!
Looks delicious and easy!
We made this last night and it so yummy! Quick, easy, and good enough that even the picky “kid” eaters gave it a thumbs-up!! Thanks for the recipe…we will definitely be making this again!
The Conrad Family – glad you liked this fast weeknight meal. Thanks for letting me know!
Loved it! Made too little of it, will not make the same mistake again!
Kristi – thanks for letting me know you loved this. It sounds like next time doubling it will be key!
The flavor was great. The cornstarch fell of my chicken though, that was weird. Anyhow, the fam loved it. PS. I made the sauce, minced the garlic and all in an awesome little tool, the Chef’n VeggieChop. My mom works at WS, so we get a lot of great new stuff. It’s so awesome! http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/veggiechop-vegetable-chopper/?pkey=x%7C4%7C1%7C%7C4%7Cchefn%7C%7C0&cm_src=SCH
Sally – glad you liked this chicken. That tool sounds great! I wish my mom worked at Williams-Sonoma!
I made this on saturday and it was a huge hit..Thank you very much for the great recipe!!!
Sonya – thank you for checking in on this recipe. Glad you liked it!
My husband loved it tonight and the kids ate it (big win)! I think I might have overcooked the chicken a tad (bad habit) but I will definitely make it again!
Melanie – glad you liked this!
Mel, I LOVE this chicken!!! So delicious and easy – I was disappointed that I didn’t double the recipe – my husband ate all the leftovers! I posted this recipe tonight and linked back here. Thanks for another great one!!
Thanks, Sara!
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Mel, just made this bourbon chicken and it was a delight! Ben loved it, too. Thanks for sharing!! I may never have to go to the mall again!
SO glad, Dana!
I made this for dinner tonight and it was fantastic! We all loved it. Definitely a keeper! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, Amanda!
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Ok, so this was unbelievable! We had eaten chicken with this same name in a food court and so we eager to see if it had the same flavor… it did! We will be making this again and again!
Mel, Again thank you for another great recipe! This is one of my favorite recipes to make for dinner. I make this again and again without ever getting “burned out” on it.
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Made this for dinner tonight! It was SO good!! I can’t wait to make it again
This was another hit at my house! Next time, I think I will make more sauce, but the flavor was great!
This was really good!! We used boneless skinless chicken thighs like they use at the Cajun place in the mall, and it turned out perfect! We doubled the recipe, and had more than enough for dinner, my lunch tomorrow, and a portion for someone on leftover night. Hubby ate 2 helpings, and my girls gobbled it up too. Definitely a keeper…thanks!!
This was soooo good! It was a little spicy for the kids but it was the perfect amount of spice for me! I made a few substitutions, I didn’t have any apple juice, so I used juicy juice tropical juice and I used coconut vinegar instead of cider vinegar. It turned out amazing!
This was the best thing I have ever made! No joke. My kids were freaking out they liked it so much. Next time I’m doubling the recipe because it was gone in a flash. Thanks so much for your website. It’s been just what I needed to get out of my cooking rut.
So I don’t have apple juice, but I do have everything else. Do you think it would still be okay if I used applesauce instead of apple juice?
Salem – I wouldn’t use applesauce. I think it might create weird texture issues. Try subbing in extra chicken broth or even water.
We had this for dinner tonight and it was delish! After frying the chicken I sauteed a ton of veggies (broccoli, carrot, celery, onion, green peppers) then added the chicken and the sauce in and it was great! I love your sweet n sour chicken but this recipe is my new “restaurant chicken” fav because it was so easy! Thanks for another delicious recipe Mel! Don’t know what I would do without this blog…pretty sure my family would starve
Another home-run hit! My hubby and all three kids loved this meal as they do all of your recipes that I’ve tried so far. It was a little more time consuming and messy than I would prefer, but it was definitely worth it! This would also be great with a mix of Asian-style veggies. A keeper for sure. Thanks, Mel.
I am making the Bourbon Chicken tonight. I have a question for you.. Do you put salt & pepper on the chicken before dusting it with the cornstarch?
Thanks, Madeline
Madeline, I don’t ever put salt and pepper on it. Not that I’m Mel, but I think it tastes AMAZING without it!
Hope that helps. Mel, sorry to step on your toes! Just made this again after not making it for about a year. WHY have I not been making it more?! hahaha