No bourbon in this bourbon chicken.
So, what do you do in the winter months to pass the time, all that shopping for the holidays is past and even if you resolved to get in the gym more often, that still leaves a lot of time on your hands; that is if you are not working or taking care of the kids. I would like to go back a few (a bunch) years and still have the kids at home, cooking and taking care of them, running them all over the place. OUCH, I just pinched myself to see if I was dreaming. I love being a mother for three of the best kids I know, but its fun watching them be parents and watching the five little grandsons grow up.
There are probably eight million ways to do chicken and this is just one of them. (Hey, recognize that line — “There are eight million stories in the naked city; this has been one of them.” (The Naked City TV series from 50’s/60’s). Who doesn’t love chicken and like I said, there are a kazillion ways to prepare it.
Have you ever been to a food court and pass one of the food “hawkers” ready to push a toothpick in your face with a chunk of chicken on it? If you have, then you probably liked it and I think almost all those mall, Asian food booths and some take out places have their version of Bourbon Chicken.
Bourbon Chicken, I read, got it’s name from Bourbon Street in New Orleans. Some versions do have bourbon but this one does not. I think the first time I tried this bourbon chicken was here in Texas and since we had a computer (we’d had one since 1983) I could start searching the internet. Not much on the internet back then (1990 when we moved to Texas) but I went searching for a few years and it probably took me that long with my search and trail and error on a recipe but I think I finally got it. Now, I’m tweaking what I came up with years ago and I cooked this on our new outdoor Alfresco grill which we have been waiting months to use. Our outdoor kitchen was used every day Thanksgiving week.
BLAST FROM THE PAST: This Asparagus and Mushroom Salad is a delicious and different way of using your asparagus and mushrooms. I have not made it in a while and will be doing it very soon as I love asparagus and boiled eggs together. Please let me know if you try it.
Grate the fresh ginger using a micro grater.
Mix all the marinade ingredients together then reserve about 1/3 cup of the mixture to glaze the chicken as it bakes or grills.
Marinate the chicken in the mixture for 3-4 hours.
Grill the chicken until no longer pink inside. Brush some of the reserved glaze over chicken as you turn it.
- 8-10 chicken thighs, boneless
- 4 oz. soy sauce
- 1/4 c. vegetable oil
- 3/4 c. brown sugar (or to your sweetness)
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 Tbsp. fresh grated ginger, or 1 tsp. ginger powder
- 2 Tbsp. dried onion flakes
- 1/4 c. chicken broth
- 1/2 c. Mirin (Japanese sweet rice wine) (or sherry)
- 1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced
- 1 Tbsp. sesame seeds, toasted
- Mix all marinated ingredients. Set aside.
- Rinse the chicken thighs and trim fat. Dry with paper towels. Put the thighs in a plastic Ziplock bag and pour about half of the marinade over the chicken. Smash to make sure all chicken surfaces are covered. let marinade 4-6 hours or overnight.
- Grill Chicken thighs and when thighs are done, drizzle on the remaining "saved" marinade and toss to coat. Serve with white rice and sprinkle with scallions and the toasted sesame seeds for garnish.
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