Pan fried brown sugar chicken recipe with variations

Some folks prefer to eat their chicken tasting sweet and there are many ways to achieve this flavor. The easiest in my book is to pan-fry the chicken with actual sugar and aromatics. Enter Brown Sugar Chicken, a very simple, sweet and delicious recipe to start with.

Simply sweet, simply delicious

Brown Sugar Chicken is stupid easy and can be prepared in a skillet in under 20 minutes and/or roasted in an oven for that extra caramelization for an extra 30 minutes. So for this simple recipe, you'll need fat, garlic, salt, and pepper (for seasoning the chicken), herbs, chicken broth, brown sugar, herbs (of choice) and four chicken breasts.

The chicken goes into the skillet first, sauteed in fat for a few minutes, then removed. Next, the garlic, chicken broth, brown sugar, and herbs are sauteed until the sugar is dissolved. Finally, the meat is added again to absorb the mixture while covered for several more minutes. If you don't have any broth for the recipe, it's ok to use water instead but it's advised to stick to chicken broth especially the regular kind. That will give this Brown Sugar Chicken a strong chicken flavor through and through.

The recipes

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Salt and pepper to season
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp butter
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 cup chicken broth or warm water
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1-2 tsp freshly chopped herbs of choice

Directions:

1. Place the chicken breasts flat on a cutting board and season them on both sides with salt and pepper. Make sure to rub the sides across the board to mop up any of the seasoning left behind.
2. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the breast and saute until brown on each side (takes up to 8 minutes). Remove the breasts and set aside.
3. Melt the butter in the skillet, then add the garlic to saute for a minute. Add the chicken broth, brown sugar, and herbs to the skillet. Stir until the brown sugar dissolves.
4. Return the breasts to the skillet, cover and reduce in the mixture over low heat for 10 minutes.
5. Serve with sides of choice.

Serves: 4

Variations

• Thyme and parsley - Use chopped thyme and parsley in equal parts for the herbs.
• Rosemary - Use chopped rosemary for the herbs.
• Honey and mustard - Substitute a quarter cup of honey and a tablespoon of mustard for the brown sugar.
• Roasted - In Step 4, place the covered skillet containing the chicken breasts in the oven preheated at 80°C for 30 minutes to roast instead.
• Citrus - In Step 3, add the zest and juice from one orange or 2 lemons along with the other ingredients.
• Bourbon - In Step 3, add one to two tablespoons of Bourbon to reduce along with the other ingredients.

Did you enjoy that chicken recipe? If you want more, try this one for a chicken Suprême dish. Or you can try this one for a Veloute sauce reduction sometime in the near future.