In late December last year, inspiration hit. I would go through the new recipes I’d collected and choose ten I planned to make in 2026. I wrote a post about my list, which actually had eleven recipes; I’d included the one I had planned to make for our New Year’s Eve celebration.
Alas, my plan ran into a snag before I could even cook the first recipe. Being in the hospital on New Year’s Eve hadn’t been on my bingo card. I was able to come home late on the afternoon of December 31st and wait for my surgery here, but I was in no shape to cook anything. I honestly don’t remember what Ken cooked that night—maybe the emergency package of hotdogs in the freezer? It definitely wasn’t the cacio e pepe I’d planned.
After I recovered from the surgery and started cooking again, I pulled several recipes from the list and tried them. I made five recipes from the list, all delicious. Besides the cacio e pepe, I tried ravioli soup, spanakopita stuffed peppers, chicken egg roll bowl (I’ve done this twice), and orange chicken piccata with shallots. But I’d put the list aside with six recipes remaining. 
Actually, now there are five recipes remaining. I cooked bourbon chicken from the list last night. Yes, it is very reminiscent of the mall food court staple. I probably haven’t been to a mall food court in nine or ten years, but there would always be someone offering samples of bourbon chicken in front of one of the vendors. I don’t think I ever actually bought bourbon chicken, but the samples were always tasty.
The recipe is from Aaron Hutcherson, formerly a recipe developer and writer for the Washington Post, where I found this. It’s incredibly simple. You make a soy sauce mixture that includes just a little bourbon, then mix a small amount of the mixture with boneless chicken chunks and cornstarch. After the chicken is cooked, you add ginger, garlic, and the rest of the soy mixture for the sauce. Except for a splash of vinegar at the end, that’s it.
I did run into a glitch. I cut the recipe in half for just the two of us. I’d originally planned to cook this in my wok pan, but the directions said nonstick skillet, so that’s what I used. But because I also cut the amount of oil in half, the cornstarch coating on the chicken stuck to the pan. I had lumps of “brown bits” that kinda, sorta dissolved when I added the soy sauce mixture, but the sauce wasn’t smooth and definitely wasn’t pretty. The next time, I’ll use the wok pan, and cut back on the amount of cornstarch. The sauce was super thick, and thickened much quicker than I expected, given the amount of liquid I added.
This is the full recipe. It’s easy to cut it in half. And if you want to make it alcohol free, simply eliminate the bourbon.
Bourbon Chicken
- 1/2 cup soy sauce, preferably reduced-sodium
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar (light or dark)
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 tablespoons bourbon
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts, trimmed of excess fat and cut into 1- inch pieces
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons neutral oil
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- Cooked rice or noodles, for serving
- Steamed broccoli or snow peas, for serving
In a medium glass liquid measuring cup, combine the soy sauce, brown sugar, water, bourbon, sesame oil, and pepper. Microwave on HIGH until hot, about 2 minutes. Whisk to dissolve sugar.
In a medium bowl, stir together the chicken, cornstarch, and 2 tablespoons of the soy sauce mixture until evenly coated.
In a large nonstick skillet or wok over medium high heat, heat the neutral oil until shimmering. Add the chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned and cooked through.
Stir in the garlic, ginger, and remaining soy sauce mixture. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is syrupy. Remove from the heat and stir in vinegar. Let cool for 5 minutes and serve hot with rice or noodles, and broccoli or snow peas. Makes 4 to 6 servings.
Broccoli was the perfect veggie to serve with this. I’d found a box of rice noodles, shoved in the back of a cupboard, a couple weeks ago, so we decided to cook those. I’ve made rice noodles before that were fine. This was a different brand, and though I followed the package directions, they turned into a sticky, gelatinous mess. Next time, I’ll make rice.
So, taste-10, appearance-6. But definitely worth another try.
Happy eating!
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