Bourbon Chicken with Toasted Sesame Beans

How we make it. 

Bourbon Chicken

4 boneless skinless chicken thighs, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons water
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 cup bourbon
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
3 cloves garlic, grated
2 teaspoons chili crisp sauce
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
Garnish: scallions

Cut chicken thighs into one inch pieces. In a large pan add olive oil and cook chicken thighs on medium heat 5-7 minutes until cooked through. In the meantime in a medium bowl whisk together water and cornstarch until liquid (so cornstarch doesn't lump). Add bourbon, soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, chili crisp sauce and sesame oil. Stir to combine. Pour over chicken and cook down for 10-15 minutes uncovered on medium low heat until thickened. Serve over jasmine rice garnished with green onion.

Jasmine Rice

1 cup jasmine rice, rinsed
1 1/2 cups water
Dash Kosher salt

Rinse rice in a sieve with cold water. In a medium pot bring water to boil, add salt. Once boiling add rice, stirring in before replacing lid, lowering heat to low and cooking for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes remove lid and fluff with fork. Turn off heat and serve warm.

Toasted Sesame Beans

1 pound French string beans (aka haricot verts)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Layer green beans evenly on a baking sheet, tossing with olive oil and salt. Cook for 30 minutes until lightly browned and shriveled. Remove from oven and toss with sesame seeds and oil.

Why we make it.

Who among us does not remember the jewel of the food court toothpick sample, Bourbon Chicken. It was sweet, it was salty. It was gelatinous. This bourbon chicken may have started in the food court, but it ends as a nod to the glamor of midcentury Chinese restaurant cuisine, the ruins of which I used to play in at Emperor of China before it became another crappy Italian restaurant. This dish would be right at home on those white tablecloths, adorned with silver pots of hot mustard as the giant koi swim by. Used to be that making Asian food at home was a fool's errand. The flavors were too wonderfully complex to capture for your average American ding dong. These days though there are so many great jarred Asian sauces at the store that you really can pull off something halfway decent at home if you start with some basics. Toasted sesame oil, Chili crisp sauce, soy. These are a good start. I really made this chicken because the grocery subbed out my bone-in, skin-on thighs this week and I had to do something with all that boneless, skinless meat. But it turns out I had fun doing it. I think you will too.