Maria Emmerich’s Bourbon Chicken
When I was in high school, I loved going to Chinese restaurants for take out on Fridays. But I changed my lifestyle 23 years ago and I’m never looking back!
Also, when Craig lost his job, and we couldn’t afford to go out to eat, I started cooking our favorite restaurant meals at home! Not only was it a great way to save money, but we both lost a lot of weight eating healthier versions at home!
Check out our favorite restaurant recipes made keto in my best-selling cookbook Keto Restaurant Favorites! Click HERE to find it on SALE!
On a side note, I just found this old photo I took years ago. Why is there SUGAR in Salt???
MARIA EMMERICH’S BOURBON CHICKEN
When I first heard of bourbon chicken, I assumed it was because it was made with bourbon, but it has nothing to do with alcohol. The name comes from the Chinese cook who created it and worked in a restaurant on Bourbon Street in New Orleans.
I had the great opportunity to film this Bourbon Chicken video in New Orleans in the Swerve Kitchen! Afterwards I hung out on Bourbon Street! Does anyone else love New Orleans? I don’t even drink and I’m in bed by 8pm but MAN, I love that city!
Check out my video to see how easy it is to make my Bourbon Chicken!
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Maria Emmerich's Bourbon Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite sized pieces
- ½ teaspoon Redmond Real salt
- ½ cup chicken bone broth (I used Kettle and Fire)
- 1/3 cup Natural Sweetener
- ¼ cup tomato sauce
- 1/3 cup tamari sauce or coconut aminos
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar or coconut vinegar
- ¾ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- ¼ teaspoon fresh ginger grated, or more if you are like me and LOVE fresh ginger
- 1 clove garlic smashed to a paste
OPTIONAL:
- Scallions sliced on the diagonal, for garnish
- Sesame seeds for garnish
- 1 batch Zero-Carb Fried Rice for serving (optional), or Fried Cauliflower Rice
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large wok or cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel. Season well on all sides with the salt.
- Place the chicken in the wok and stir-fry on all sides until light golden brown, about 4 minutes. Remove the chicken from the wok and set aside. Add the broth, sweetener, tomato sauce, coconut aminos, vinegar, red pepper flakes, ginger, and garlic to the wok and whisk to combine. Simmer until reduced and thickened, about 10 minutes.
- Return the chicken to the wok and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes, until the sauce is thickened and the chicken is warmed through. Garnish with scallions and sesame seeds and serve over fried rice, if desired.
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. To reheat, place in a lightly greased skillet over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until heated through.
Nutrition
TESTIMONY OF THE DAY
“I started to gain weight after high school. I got married and had 2 boys. After my second child I was finally diagnosed with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. I tried and tried to lose weight. I always blamed it on my thyroid. At 270 pounds I had gastric bypass 16 years ago. 10 years ago I was the first person after having gastric bypass to be able to donate part of my liver to my then 12 year old niece. The trauma from the donation took its toll on my body and I ended up getting fibromyalgia. I slowly started to pack on my weight again. I had gained 50 pounds back from before the donation.
January 1st 2017 I decided to go keto. The first year I did it all wrong! I lost weight but very slow. I started being honest with myself about being a food addict. I do not “cheat” on this lifestyle. I can NOT just have one small slice of cake at a party. If I do I know that all my cravings for sugar will start all over again. I was feeling very overwhelmed because I knew that keto was a great lifestyle but my weight loss totally stalled and I didn’t know what to do. I also found out that I’m post Menopausal. So I have Hashimoto’s, fibromyalgia and I’m post menopausal! I felt like I was doomed!!
Then I heard about Maria Emmerich! Wow everything changed!
I read your keto book (Keto: The Complete Guide to Success on the Ketogenic Diet). I started all the supplements for hypothyroidism. I stopped all the extra fat that I was adding into my diet. I weight melted off and I feel great!! I’m smaller than I’ve ever been. I didn’t know that I could be less than 120 pounds. I never even let myself dream of being this small. I’m never going back!
My husband started your keto just a couple of months ago and he has now lost 30 pounds and feeling great! Thank you Maria for all your knowledge. I’m forever grateful!” Melissa Goleno
Most people I consult are doing keto totally wrong. Get fast results with the my NEW Keto Packages!
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I have diverticulitis and had Colon surgery a year ago. I hadn’t had any flare ups since surgery until this week. I went to my doctor n started an antibiotic. While there I told her I was going to do the keto diet n she expressed concern n told me my colon doesn’t need that kind of fat going through it. She felt it would cause more problems. My friend gave me your blog n suggested I reach out to you to see if there is an adjustment I could make or maybe it is just a doctor being over protective about things. Any advice?
There is no truth to that. Fatty acid metabolism starts with fat absorbed through small intestine. That is biology 101. The fats will not be in the colon. We have helped tons of clients with diverticulitis with this lifestyle.
I just made this again for the family last night… always a favorite! I always make double the amount of sauce, as we like to dribble extra on whatever veggies we eat it with. Yum!
Awesome! Thanks!
I recently found out the reason they put sugar in salt is to “fix” the iodine do it doesn’t Leach out.
Yeah. Still not needed. Better to add iodine separately. 🙂
This recipe is so delicious! The flavor reminds me of sesame chicken, which I have not had in years. I think Restaurant Favorites may be my favorite of your books…but I love them all. Quick and Easy is the one I recommend for anyone just starting keto.
Thanks!!
Is zero carb fried rice something you can buy, or do you mean the fried cauliflower rice?
It is a recipe of mine from the Restaurants book. It uses eggs. 🙂
Hi! What Natural Sweetener do you use? Or is Natural Sweetener brand? Thanks
When a recipe calls for Natural Sweetener you can use erythritol or an erythritol monkfruit blend.
Will allulose work for this recipe?
Sure!
Hi, my question is that I have the protein sparing modified fast method cookbook and I’m using the bourbon chicken recipe. It’s the same recipe that is here online, but the macros are very different. Why is that. In the book it says 7 G of fat at 62 g of protein, and for this recipe here, it’s says 32 G of fat and 44 G of protein. So how do they differ? Also the one online here shows more calories than the one in the protein sparing cookbook.
because protein sparing is VERY low fat 30-40/day and HIGH protein. this version uses breasts instead of thighs, which have more fat than breast meat, and breast meat has more protein. this affects macros.