No-Marinade Bourbon Chicken Recipe

Updated on December 22nd, 2023

Bourbon chicken is a Chinese-Cajun dish featuring fried chicken in a tangy, salty sauce. Some renditions of this dish actually have bourbon in the sauce, but this bourbon chicken recipe does not. It uses rice wine and vinegar — more common pantry ingredients that produce an incredibly delicious result.

What’s bourbon chicken?

There aren’t too many dishes that blend elements of Chinese and Cajun cuisine. This one is rumored to have originated on New Orleans’ famous Bourbon Street.

Today, you can find bourbon chicken on Chinese takeout menus. It’s known for having a tangy, salty, spicy, and somewhat addictive sauce. My husband, who notoriously doesn’t care for Chinese food, can’t get enough of this recipe.

Ingredients for bourbon chicken at home

Here are the ingredients you need to make this fabulous bourbon chicken recipe at home:

• 2 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
• Oil for frying
• 3 tablespoons of cornstarch
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
• ¾ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• ¼ cup rice wine
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• ½ cup water
• 1/3 cup soy sauce

As you can see, except for the rice wine and the chicken, most of these items are pantry staples.

Substitution options

Meat. You could make this recipe with a leaner cut of pork. Boneless, skinless chicken thighs would also work, though they are harder to cut up into even chunks.

Oil. I use avocado oil for frying, but it’s a little spendy if you don’t shop at a club store. Try vegetable oil or canola oil instead.

Cornstarch. You could omit the cornstarch and skip this step entirely. You’ll miss out on a bit of texture on the chicken and the sauce, but the flavors won’t be affected.

Ginger. You can swap in 3/4 teaspoon dried ginger in lieu of fresh ginger. Know that you will lose a bit of that fresh ginger tang. If you go this route, promise me this: You’ll buy fresh ginger on your next grocery run. Cut it up into 1-inch pieces, put them in a resealable bag, and keep it in the freezer. When you have a recipe that calls for fresh ginger, pull out a piece and let it thaw for 5 minutes.

Rice wine. If you don’t have rice wine, try apple juice or apple cider instead.

Sugar. Coconut sugar can easily stand in for brown sugar here.

Bourbon. You don’t need bourbon, but if you want bourbon…add 1 tablespoon to the sauce and reduce the water measurement by the same amount.

Bourbon chicken recipe step by step

As far as Chinese dishes go, this one’s pretty simple.

1. Make the sauce

To start, mince a clove of garlic and a small chunk of fresh ginger. Then mix these ingredients into a bowl:

• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
• ¾ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• ¼ cup rice wine
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• ½ cup water
• 1/3 cup soy sauce

2. Prep the chicken

Now, cut the chicken breast into 1-inch chunks. I’d say “cubes” but that’s pretty much impossible — so chunks are fine. The important thing is to make them generally consistent in size so they cook evenly.

Next, sprinkle the cornstarch over the top of the chicken pieces. Stir the pieces gently to distribute the cornstarch. This gives the chicken an extra bit of texture and thickens the sauce.

3. Fry the chicken

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a wok or deep skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, fry the chicken pieces until they are lightly browned on all sides. They do not need to be fully cooked, since they’ll simmer in the sauce in the next step.

Remove the chicken pieces to a tray lined with paper towels to drain.

4. Simmer chicken in the sauce

Turn the heat under your wok down to medium and add the sauce mixture to the hot pan. It should come to a boil quickly. Turn the heat down again, move the fried chicken pieces back to the wok, and let the whole thing simmer for 10 minutes.

Before you dive in, do a quick check to ensure the chicken is fully cooked. You can jab a meat thermometer in there or cut one of your larger chicken pieces open. You’re looking for a temperature of 165°F (74°C) and clear juices inside the meat.

Serve the chicken and sauce over white rice, thin spaghetti noodles, or rice noodles.

More Chinese takeout favs

If you like bourbon chicken, you may also like these:

Chinese Honey Chicken Recipe

Chinese Chicken Skewers Recipe

Slow Cooker Chicken with Cashews Recipe