Bourbon chicken is having a moment again this autumn, with food-court nostalgia turning up all over cooking sites as a sticky, glossy chicken and brussels sprouts dinner. The appeal is obvious: a sauce that goes sweet, savoury and a little sharp all at once, poured over something crisp. You don’t need the bourbon to get there.
This version swaps it out entirely and leans on maple syrup, fresh ginger and a splash of vinegar to do the heavy lifting instead. It’s a single pan, it uses ingredients that keep in a student kitchen for weeks, and it’s done faster than a delivery order would arrive.
Ingredients
Serves 2
- 400g boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 250g brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
- 2 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch), divided
- 2 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce, divided
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil, divided
- 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated (or 1 tsp ground ginger)
- 60ml pure maple syrup
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 120ml water
- A pinch of chilli flakes
- Cooked rice, to serve
- 2 tbsp chopped peanuts or pecans, to serve (optional)
- 1 spring onion, sliced, to garnish (optional)
Method
- If you’re having rice, get it on first so it’s ready by the time the chicken is.
- Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large, wide pan or skillet over medium-high heat. Add the brussels sprouts cut side down and let them sit, undisturbed, for 4 to 5 minutes until the cut side is deeply browned. Tip them onto a plate.
- Toss the chicken pieces with 1 tbsp cornflour and 1 tbsp soy sauce until coated. Add the remaining oil to the pan and fry the chicken for 6 to 8 minutes, turning occasionally, until browned and cooked through. Move it to the plate with the sprouts.
- Turn the heat down to medium. Add the garlic and ginger to the same pan and stir for 30 seconds, just until you can smell them.
- Whisk the maple syrup, vinegar, remaining soy sauce, water, remaining cornflour and chilli flakes together in a cup, then pour it into the pan. Simmer, stirring, for 1 to 2 minutes until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.
- Return the chicken and sprouts to the pan and toss everything through the sauce for a minute, until glossy and hot.
- Serve over rice, scattered with chopped nuts and spring onion if you’re using them.
Total time comes in at around 35 minutes: 10 for prep, the rest for cooking, which leaves room to tidy the kitchen while the sauce reduces.
Why this dish is kind to a student budget
Brussels sprouts are properly in season right now. They’re typically in season in the UK from late autumn to early spring, with the peak season being from October to December. That’s exactly when they turn up cheapest and most reliably in the shops, loose or in nets.
Chicken thighs are also one of the better value cuts going, and they stay juicy through a hot sear in a way breast meat doesn’t always manage. Prices do jump around between shops, so it’s worth a quick scan if you’ve got more than one supermarket nearby.
The lowest unit price for chicken thigh fillets is £5.99/kg at Aldi, with the other big UK supermarkets sitting close behind. For 400g, that’s under £2.50 before you’ve even thought about the sauce ingredients, most of which you’ll use a tablespoon or two of and keep for next time.
| Ingredient | Amount used | Approx. UK price | Budget note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken thigh fillets | 400g | From £5.99/kg | Cheapest at Aldi; freezes well if you buy a bigger pack |
| Brussels sprouts | 250g | Around £1.19 for a 200g pack | Loose sprouts by weight are usually cheaper than pre-packed |
| Maple syrup, soy sauce, vinegar, ginger, garlic | A few tablespoons total | Pantry staples | One bottle of each lasts for weeks of cooking |
| Rice and optional nuts | To serve | A few pence per portion | Buy rice in bulk bags, nuts loose if your shop does it |
Swaps and tips
For a vegetarian or vegan version, swap the chicken for a block of pressed, cubed extra-firm tofu or a drained tin of chickpeas. Coat it in the same cornflour and soy mixture and fry until the edges catch a bit of colour; everything else stays the same.
If you need this gluten-free, use tamari instead of soy sauce and double check your chilli flakes don’t have any sneaky additives.
Leftovers keep well in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days, and this is a genuinely good next-day lunch. Reheat gently in a pan with a small splash of water to loosen the sauce back up, rather than microwaving it dry, which tends to make the sprouts go rubbery.
If you’ve got extra sauce ingredients kicking about, the same maple-ginger mix works well brushed over roasted carrots or stirred through a quick noodle bowl, so nothing goes to waste.
Allergen note
This recipe contains soy (soy sauce) and, if you add the topping, tree nuts or peanuts. Use tamari in place of soy sauce for a gluten-free version, and leave off the nuts or swap in toasted seeds if you’re cooking for someone with allergies.