Sweet Sticky Korean Chicken. Crispy fried chicken smothered in a thick glossy sweet and savory sauce. A quick and easy Korean dish, ready in 25 minutes!
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What is Sweet Sticky Korean Chicken?
It's a delicious Korean-inspired fried chicken dish featuring crispy fried chicken in a sweet and savory sauce! The sauce is made of brown sugar, honey, soy sauce, sesame oil, sesame seeds with garlic. The taste profile is very similar to bulgogi, except this features chicken.
This crispy chicken dish serves best over white rice with vegetables. I know many of you are a fan of my spicy Gochujang Chicken so I had to create something similar but without the gochujang for a milder flavor. That's how this recipe was born!
Ingredients
Please scroll down to below recipe card for exact measurements.Β
- Skinless boneless chicken thighs: or substitute with chicken breast but reduce the cooking time by a couple minutes or it'll dry out
- Cornstarch or potato starch
- Green onion
- Onion
- Neutral oil:Β like avocado oil, sunflower oil, grapeseed oil, peanut oil, vegetable oil or canola oil. Avoid olive oil or any heavy scented oils.Β
Sauce:
- Garlic
- Green onion
- Sesame seeds
- Regular soy sauce: or substitute with low sodium soy sauce or light soy sauce.Β If youβre gluten-free, substitute a gluten-free soy sauce of your choice.Β
- Brown sugar
- Honey
- Sesame oil
- Cornstarch
- Water
Note: Most Asian grocery stores will carry most of the Asian specific ingredients.
How to make Sweet and Sticky Korean Chicken
- Dice chicken thighs into 1.5-inch wide pieces. Transfer chicken pieces to a large bowl and add cornstarch. Mix a few times with tongs to coat the chicken evenly.
- In a small bowl, combine sauce ingredients as listed. Set aside.
- Heat a large pan on medium high heat, add oil. Once the oil is hot, carefully add the coated chicken. Spread it out evenly. Fry until both sides are golden and crispy, about 5-6 minutes per side. Avoid stir frying the chicken so it can develop a crust.
- Remove cooked chicken and transfer to a wire rack or a paper towel lined plate to absorb excess oil.
- Increase to medium-high heat, add chopped onions and cook until softened. About 1 minute.
- Add sauce and simmer to reduce until thickened.
- Toss in fried chicken. Garnish with green onions, optional. Remove off heat and serve to enjoy!
Expert Tips
- Source fresh quality skinless boneless chicken thighs. Thighs are such a forgiving cut of meat and even if you over fry it, itβll still taste tender.
- Prepare your ingredients ahead of time as the cooking process is quick.
- Source fresh aromatics. They will make a huge difference!
- Allow your wok to smoke before adding the neutral oil. This creates a smoky flavor!
- Spread out the chicken in the pan and consider frying in smaller batches.
Other Korean recipes you may like!
π Recipe
Quick & Easy Sweet Sticky Korean Chicken
Ingredients
- 6 skinless boneless chicken thighs
- ΒΌ cup cornstarch or potato starch
- β cup green onion finely chopped (garnish)
- 1 small onion diced
- β cup vegetable oil or any neutral oil
Sauce:
- β cup green onion finely chopped
- 4 Β½ tablespoon regular soy sauce
- 3 Β½ tablespoon brown sugar dark or light brown sugar works
- 1 Β½ tablespoon garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- Β½ tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 cup water cold
Instructions
- Dice chicken thighs into 1.5-inch wide pieces. Transfer chicken pieces to a large bowl and add cornstarch. Mix a few times with tongs to coat the chicken evenly.
- In a small bowl, combine sauce ingredients as listed. Set aside.
- Heat a large pan on medium high heat, add vegetable oil. Once the oil is hot, carefully add the coated chicken. Spread it out evenly. Fry until both sides are golden and crispy, about 5-6 minutes per side. Avoid stir frying the chicken so it can develop a crust.
- Remove cooked chicken and transfer to a wire rack or a paper towel lined plate to absorb excess oil.
- Increase to medium-high heat, add chopped onions and cook until softened. About 1 minute.
- Add sauce and simmer to reduce until thickened.
- Toss in fried chicken. Garnish with green onions, optional. Remove off heat and serve to enjoy!
Laura
Made this tonight and it was delicious and so easy!!
Didnβt have a wok so we used a 3-qt enameled Dutch oven on our stovetop and it worked well! Thank you for the recipe :):)
christieathome
I am so glad you enjoyed it Laura and thank you so much for making my recipe! Happy it also worked out with the dutch oven π
ash
super easy, took me only like ten minutes longer than it says... could've been because my twins woke up :]
christieathome
Thanks for making my recipe and glad you enjoyed it!
Sarah
Made it even faster using chicken tenders in the air fryer, and just making the sauce and tossing it together. My picky toddlers loved it! Thanks!
christieathome
So thrilled to read this, Sarah! Glad it worked for the whole family with chicken tenders π
janet
Thank you for this recipe. My son was born in South Korea 29 years ago and we adopted him at 4 months old. We had access to a lot of Korean culture, food, events when we lived in Long Island but we moved to Vermont 23 years ago and it is as you probably know a very white, non-ethnic state. He loves food and asks me every day what is for supper. I was so happy to be able to make this for his birthday and even though I forgot the sesame seeds it was delicious. So happy to have found you. Janet
christieathome
Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful story with me Janet! I am really happy to hear my website could help you recreate Korean food at home for your adopted son. This is music to my ears π
Denisse
This recipe has become a family dinner staple. Itβs hard for me to make my boy try new things (he has autism) so when I find meals he likes that are so good and the entire family will enjoy I most definitely keep it. I make this recipe often and tonight was another successful dinner night. I normally add snow peas, bell peppers, and Serrano peppers to include vegetable intake and they work perfectly with this recipe.
christieathome
Thank you so much for sharing this comment with me, Denisse! I am really glad I could help provide this recipe so your son can try new things π I love the additions to help balance it out! Have a lovely day!
Erica
Delicious I don't have a wok but a big pan with high sides was ok...also didn't have onion so left it out and it was still tasty! I paired it with a Korean style slaw and white rice. Will 100% make it again....and again...and again
christieathome
Thanks so much for making my recipe! So glad you enjoyed it!
Jeff
Hi could you tell me what is regular soya sauce I have only seen light or dark soya sauce
christieathome
Hi Jeff, it's just your normal soy sauce without the label of light or dark soy sauce. It's thin in viscosity and not thick in texture.Please click here for a direct link to the one I used regularly.
Kimi
I donβt have a Wok, would a regular frying pan be ok?
christieathome
Yes absolutely!
Laura
Hi, I'm hoping to make this tomorrow. I have chicken breasts that I was going to use instead of thighs since that's what I have in the house. I was wondering how many pounds of chicken you used. Thanks!
christieathome
Hi there, sorry for the late reply! I would recommend using 3 large chicken breasts in replacement of the thighs.
Samantha
Followed it exactly and it was delicious! Will make again π
christieathome
I am really happy to read this! Thank you so much for making my recipe Samantha! π
Cheryl
Absolutely delicious. A firm family favourite x
christieathome
I am so glad to hear that you enjoyed this! Thank you so much for making my recipe βΊοΈ
Brenda
Wow this was scrumptious. It will become a weekly staple for me and my family.