Found on Pinterest: Bourbon Chicken in the Slow Cooker

I’ve always found those Cajun-Chinese places that you often see in mall food courts rather curious. I also find them very tasty. My favorite dish at these joints is Bourbon Chicken. I was very proud this summer when my 8-year-old niece announced that this was also her dish of choice when we visited the mall. “Bourbon chicken with fried rice and extra sauce, and can you please put the extra sauce right on my rice?” was her order to be exact.

I pinned a couple of Bourbon Chicken recipes and chose this one because it was important to me that the chicken be falling apart tender, and the slow cooker is the best way to get that kind of results, in my opinion.

This was honestly one of the best recipes I’ve made in a long time. Sweet and spicy, and the sauce was the perfect consistency. It wasn’t an exact match to the mall but it was pretty darn close. I cut the red pepper flakes down to 1/2 teaspoon and still felt it was a touch hot. And I like heat. Next time, (oh yes, there will be a next time) I will probably cut it down to a 1/4 teaspoon. I also only used about a pound of chicken but kept the sauce recipe the same. As The Niece would say, extra sauce is always good.

I served it over my Light Fried Rice that I’ll share later in the week.

Bourbon Chicken in the Slow Cooker

2 lbs boneless chicken breasts cut into bite-size pieces

2 tablespoon cornstarch

2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 garlic clove crushed

1/4 teaspoon ginger

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 cup apple juice

1/3 cup light brown sugar

2 tablespoons  ketchup or chili sauce (I used Thai chili sauce)

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

1/2 cup water

1/3 cup reduced sodium soy sauce

Whisk all ingredients into slow cooker and add chicken. Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4.

Using a little under a pound of chicken, I got about three servings. The full recipe as shown would probably make about 6 servings.

General Tso’s Chicken with Broccoli

I love Chinese food. Sadly, my favorites are generally the ones that are bad for you. I have tried several “light” Chinese recipes and haven’t been crazy about any of them. This one though from Men’s Health is a winner. Baking the chicken with a cornstarch coating gives it that fried texture without the oil and fat of frying. The sriracha sauce gives it plenty of heat but if you don’t like the spice, you can omit it. It has plenty of flavor without it.

General Tso’s Chicken with Broccoli

1 lb bonless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch cubes
2 Tbsp plus 2 tsp cornstarch
2 Tsp vegetable oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp minced fresh ginger
1/4 cup reduced sodium chicken broth
1 Tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
1 Tbsp hoisin sauce
1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp chili sauce, such as sriracha
4 cupssteamed broccoli florets, for serving
Cooked brown rice, for serving

Preheat oven to 375 F. On a foil-lined baking sheet, toss the chicken chunks with 2 tablespoons cornstarch. Spread the cubes out and bake until they’re cooked through, about 12 minutes. (NOTE: I sprayed the foil with Pam first).

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, heat the oil, garlic and ginger on medium for 2 minutes, stirring often. Add the broth, soy sauce, hoisin, vinegar, honey, and sriracha; simmer 3 minutes. Whisk the remaining cornstarch into 2 tablespoons of water; add that and heat until the mixture has thickened, about 30 seconds.

Add the cooked chicken to the pan with the sauce and toss together. Serve alongside the broccoli and over brown rice.

Makes 4 servings.

Nutritional Information: 311 calories, 7g fat, 41 g protein, 22g carbs, 440 mg sodium