Bourbon Chicken
Ingredients
Chicken:
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts or chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 2 to 4 tablespoons canola oil, vegetable oil, or olive oil
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
Sauce:
- ½ cup water (see note)
- ⅓ cup low-sodium soy sauce
- ⅓ cup lightly packed brown sugar
- ¼ cup apple juice (see note)
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 garlic clove, finely minced (or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder)
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger or 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Instructions
- For the chicken, pat the chicken pieces dry and season lightly on all sides with salt and pepper.
- In a gallon-sized ziploc bag, toss the chicken and cornstarch together until evenly coated.
- For the sauce, whisk all the sauce ingredients together and set aside.
- In a large, 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat the oil over medium heat until hot and rippling.
- Cook half of the chicken in a single layer for 30 seconds. Flip and cook on the other side until golden. It will finish cooking in a later step.
- Remove the chicken to a plate and repeat with the remaining chicken (removing it to the same plate when browned). Add additional oil to the pan, if needed.
- Wipe any excess oil out of the skillet and return it to medium heat. Add the chicken back to the skillet and pour in the sauce.
- Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has thickened a bit.
- Serve cooked rice.
Notes
Apple Juice + Water: For a slightly different flavor, you can sub in 3/4 cup chicken broth for the apple juice and water.