Tender chicken cooked in a spicy, smoky and sweet gochujang sauce! This quick and easy Korean spicy chicken is made with simple ingredients in one-pan! A great main dish ready in 30 minutes for all the chicken-lovers.
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This Korean spicy chicken features juicy chicken thighs marinated and stir fried in a spicy, smoky, sweet gochujang sauce with a hint of sesame!
It's a delicious Korean-inspired dish packed with flavor and serves best over steamed rice with Korean side dishes or banchans.
What gives the chicken that spicy and smoky flavor is the gochujang. What is Gochujang? It's a fermented red chili paste that is often used in Korean cuisine.
The best part about this Asian chicken recipe is that it's made with minimal ingredients and you can marinate the meat the night before so you can quickly cook it on a busy weeknight.
It's perfect for meal preparation when you want something savory and spicy that can easily be cooked in one pan.
Ingredients & Substitutes
Please scroll down to below recipe card for exact measurements.
- Skinless Boneless Chicken Thighs: or substitute with skin-on bone-in chicken thighs and debone them yourself, leaving the skin on. For a leaner alternative: substitute with chicken breast. If you're not a fan of chicken, substitute with boneless pork shoulder or pork belly.
- Cold Water
- Onion or Shallots
- Neutral oil: like avocado oil, sunflower oil, grapeseed oil, peanut oil, vegetable oil or canola oil with a high smoke point. Avoid olive oil that has a low smoke point.
- Green onions: for garnishing
- Sesame Seeds: for garnishing. If you're allergic, omit this ingredient.
Chicken Marinade
- Gochujang paste: a thick, spicy and sweet Korean red chili paste made of red chili flakes, fermented soybean paste, glutinous rice and salt. Sold at many Korean grocery stores in a red rectangular tub varying from mild to hot.
- Gochugaru: aka Korean red pepper powder. It's a spicy red chili powder or flake that is seedless. Commonly used in Korean cooking.
- Garlic
- Mirin: a popular sweet rice cooking wine used in Japanese cuisine. You can find this at most Asian or Japanese grocers. For a non-alcoholic version: substitute with chicken broth.
- Sesame Oil: for that nutty flavor. If you're allergic, omit this ingredient.
- Regular soy sauce: or substitute with low sodium soy sauce or light soy sauce. If you’re gluten-free, substitute with tamari sauce, coconut aminos or a gluten-free soy sauce.
- Salt
- White granulated sugar: or substitute with cane sugar, brown sugar or honey.
Note: Most Asian grocery stores will carry most of the Asian specific ingredients or check online stores, like Amazon.
Expert Tips
- Use fresh chicken thighs that don't have a gamey odor that you can smell at the grocery store. If you do smell a heavy odor, get a fresher pack.
- Thinly slice the chicken against the grain so it remains tender.
- Marinate chicken for at least 10 to 15 minutes or overnight if you have extra time for extra flavor.
- Don't over cook the chicken in the pan. Once it's cooked through (an internal temperature of 165 F with a digital instant read thermometer) and the sauce is thicker, remove off heat.
Instructions
Below are step-by-step instructions on how to make Korean spicy chicken:
- In a large bowl, combine marinade ingredients as listed above until smooth.
- Then add sliced chicken into the bowl and mix well. Marinate for at least 10 minutes.
- Heat vegetable oil in a large pan on medium heat. Fry onions until soft and translucent.
- Then add the chicken along with the marinade into the pan and fry for 2 minutes on each side.
- Add water and simmer for 12-15 minutes (uncovered) until chicken is cooked and sauce has thickened. Remove off heat.
- Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds and serve!
Storage
- Leftovers will last up to 4 days stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. To reheat: microwave for 2-3 minutes until hot or reheat in a pan on medium heat.
- Freezer friendly? Korean spicy chicken can be frozen for up to 3 months. To freeze: let the dish cool down completely, then store the cooked chicken into a freezer-safe bag. To reheat from frozen: defrost in the fridge overnight and reheat in a pan on medium heat or microwave until hot.
Pairing Suggestions
This dish serves well with steamed rice and Korean side dishes, such as:
FAQ
Korean spicy chicken can be made up to 4 days in advance and stored in an airtight container in the fridge. To reheat: microwave for 1-2 minutes or reheat in a pan on medium heat until hot.
Yes, feel free to reduce the gochujang and gochugaru by half for the marinade since you can always add more to taste later if needed. Also be sure to use mild gochujang instead of very hot gochujang.
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📖 Recipe
Easy & Quick Korean Spicy Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 lb skinless boneless chicken thighs sliced thinly
- ¼ cup water cold
- ¼ onion finely chopped (or sub with 1 shallot)
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil or any neutral oil
- 1 green onion finely chopped for garnishing
- ½ teaspoon sesame seeds
Marinade:
- 1 tablespoon gochujang
- 4 teaspoon gochugaru
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 teaspoon mirin
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon regular soy sauce
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon white granulated sugar or cane sugar / brown sugar
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine marinade ingredients as listed above until smooth.
- Then add sliced chicken into the bowl and mix well. Marinate for at least 10-15 minutes.
- Heat vegetable oil in a large pan on medium heat. Fry onions until soft and translucent.
- Then add the chicken along with the marinade into the pan and fry for 2 minutes on each side.
- Add water and simmer for 12-15 minutes (uncovered) until chicken is cooked and sauce has thickened. Remove off heat.
- Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds and serve!
Heidi | The Frugal Girls
I really appreciated your tip for adding some melted cheddar cheese on top to tone down the heat. That is an easy way to adjust the spice level of each individual serving without having to change the whole dish.
Melia
This was so good, so smoky and I enjoyed how spicy it was. Thank you for this delicious recipe.