Recipe Background
Bourbon Street Chicken blends bold flavors with simple steps, ideal for any occasion.
It was on my very first day as a culinary instructor when the idea for this Bourbon Street Chicken recipe blossomed. I'd been asked to demo a dish that combined bold flavors with straightforward techniques - something the students could recreate without a dining hall's resources. My first instinct was to reach for ingredients that are always in my kitchen: fresh ginger and soy sauce. The decision to include bourbon came from a fond memory of an impromptu New Orleans trip, where I first tasted a sweet, tangy chicken dish that knocked my socks off.
As I prepped the ingredients in that bustling demo kitchen, the air filled with the comforting aroma of garlic meeting sesame oil. The students watched intently while I diced chicken breasts, explaining the importance of keeping the meat uniform for even cooking. I shared a tip - if you let the sauce simmer until it coats the chicken just right, it melds the flavors beautifully. The best part was scattering sesame seeds and green onions to add a refreshing crunch. It felt like a victory parade after taking their first taste, and their excitement mirrored my own when I first crafted this dish in a new apartment kitchen all those years ago.
In that moment, the memory of those flavors from Bourbon Street fused with my own personal twist, creating a recipe that was all mine. I smiled, knowing that I'd shared a little piece of culinary magic with a new generation, one savory bite at a time.
Ingredients
For the bourbon chicken:
- 1 teaspoon ginger freshy grated
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/3 cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 1/3 cup bourbon
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 1/2 cup water room temperature, plus 1/4 cup water, cold, divided
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar packed
- 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 tablespoon sesame oil
- 6 (4-ounce) chicken breasts boneless and skinless, diced
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
Optional, for serving:
- white rice to taste, cooked and warm
- sesame seeds to taste
- green onions to taste, sliced
Directions
- In a small bowl, add the ginger, the garlic, the black pepper, the onion powder, the red pepper flakes, the soy sauce, the bourbon, the ketchup, 1/2 cup of the room temperature water, the rice vinegar, and the brown sugar and stir to combine.
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add the olive oil and the sesame oil and stir to combine.
- Add the chicken pieces to the heated oil mixture and cook, stirring occasionally, about 5-7 minutes.
- Add the sauce mixture to the chicken pieces and bring to a boil.
- Reduce the heat and simmer the chicken mixture, about 15 minutes.
- In a small bowl, add the cornstarch and the remaining cold water and stir to combine.
- Add the slurry mixture to the chicken mixture and stir until the sauce has thickened.
- Evenly divide the rice between six bowls and top each with equal amounts of the bourbon chicken.
- Serve the bourbon chicken sprinkled with the sesame seeds and the green onions.
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