Tasty and Easy to Make Gochujang Sweet Spicy Korean Chicken Recipe
This Korean chicken recipe is very flavorful and easy to make. You may have heard Guchujang (“chili paste” in Korean) , which has a perfect balance of sweetness and saltiness. The chicken and sauces taste great with many different options, I often opt for long grain rice as it soaks up the flavor, is filling and gives added texture, too. I braised this chicken using a dutch oven. You can also cook this recipe using your crock pot or slow cooker.
Korean food is becoming one of my favorites and much of that is due to the peppers and spices that they have perfected over the generations. It goes far beyond kimchi, too! The Asian market closest to us has so many varieties of Korean sauces and paste, I keep trying new ones, some sound similar like red pepper paste and red chili paste, but the tastes are different and wonderful.
Find Gochujang or Korean Hot Pepper Paste at any Korean or Asian markets or online. This fermented Korean condiment made from red chili, glutinous rice, fermented soybeans, and salt (rich in flavor and color)
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- 8 cloves garlic finely grated
- 2- inch piece ginger peeled, finely grated
- ¼ cup gochujang Korean hot pepper paste
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 1/2 - 1 tablespoon agave nectar depending on your liking (equal to 2 tablespoons sugar or honey)
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper add more to your liking
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth or more if needed
- 3 pounds of mixed chicken thighs and chicken legs or about 8 chicken drumsticks bone in
- Mix onion, garlic, ginger, gochujang, soy sauce, agave nectar, rice vinegar, toasted sesame oil, and 1 tsp. pepper in a mixing bowl, then set aside.
- Season chicken with 1 teaspoon salt. Heat butter and vegetable oil in a medium dutch oven or pot.
- Cook chicken until lightly browned for about 5 minutes.
- Add the sauce from first step and bring to a simmer, for about 3 minutes.
- Add broth and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and cover pot.
- Cook until chicken is tender for about 40-50 minutes.
- Serve with rice and Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from BonAppetit
13 comments
This is great dinner idea! I don’t usually eat korean food but I would love to make it at home someday:)
hope you’ll enjoy this recipe
This plate looks gorgeous!! I’ve never hard this chicken before.. I am so curious regarding the flavors!! Looks amazing!
Pretty similar to BBQ, mildly spicy
This looks so amazing….mouthwatering! And yes, I want to eat this chicken on a bed of rice!! Beautiful pictures that are mouthwatering! You mastered it! Great work!
Thanks Amanda. I always enjoy eating chicken with rice
Wow, these pictures are literally making my mouth water! Time for me to go shopping for ingredients! 🙂
Thanks Elizabeth!
Stuff like this should not be allowed to appear in my timeline before breakfast, what a delicious looking dish. Another korean dish for me to add to my list to play around with, I have been searching for Gochujang for a few months now and am really struggling out here in central Europe 🙁
Thank you Brian. Maybe you can order it online? Hope you’ll find it soon
Made this last night. I thought 3 cups of stock was too much. Sauce didn’t thicken up I even out in a slurry
I am sorry to hear the sauce didn’t thicken for you! I cooked the recipe using my small enamel dutch oven (Staub brand) and kept simmering until the sauce thinned out so the timing seemed right on that one…. however I do have a La Creuset and it seems to take longer with that one, so I will adjust my recipe to start with less liquid and add more if needed. Thanks so much for the feedback, I really do appreciate it.