Korean Spicy Chicken. Spicy, delicious, savoury and smoky! This popular dish is one that is perfect for dinner or for leftovers.
I love Korean food. But this easy Korean spicy chicken dish is one of my all time favourites. The flavour profile will knock your socks off if you enjoy chicken and spice!
It pairs the best with some hot steamed rice and some nappa cabbage and I just can't get enough of it. It's pretty much like a Korean spicy chicken bulgogi recipe where the chicken is marinated in that spicy sauce and then pan fried.
If you can't handle spicy food, I recommend reducing the spices to the suggest amounts below. To soften the spice, you can also consider adding some melted cheddar cheese over top! This is a very common thing to do in Korean cuisine.
I do hope you give this Korean spicy chicken recipe a try! It's one of my favourites especially paired with some hot rice and veggies or banchans (aka Korean side dishes). I also share many other Korean recipes below so check them out below!
Other recipes you may like!
DAKBOKKEUMTANG KOREAN CHICKEN STEW
KOREAN SHRIMP LEEK PANCAKE
DAK GALBI (KOREAN SPICY CHICKEN STIR FRY)
KOREAN FRIED CHICKEN
JANCHI GUKSU (WARM KOREAN NOODLES)
KOREAN TUNA CAKES (CHAMCHIJEON)
GAMJAJEON (KOREAN POTATO PANCAKES)
KOREAN BIBIMBAP
RABBOKI KOREAN SWEET SPICY RAMEN
KOREAN KIMCHI BIBIM GUKSU
For this recipe
You will need the following Korean spicy chicken ingredients:
- 6-8 skinless boneless chicken thighs, sliced thinly
- ¼ cup water
- 1 small cooking onion or 2 shallots, roughly chopped
- 1 tsp avocado oil
- Optional: green onions chopped & sesame seeds
Korean spicy chicken marinade:
- 1 tbsp Korean gochujang hot pepper paste (mild) [For less spicy version, use 1 tsp]
- 4 tsp Korean hot pepper flakes [For less spicy version, use 1-2 tsp] (Tip: freeze the remaining flakes for later usage! Can be kept up to 1-2 years)
- 4 tsp garlic minced
- 2 tsp rice mirin
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp cane sugar
How to make Korean spicy chicken stir fry
In a small bowl, mix together marinade ingredients until smooth. Then add sliced chicken into the bowl and mix. Set aside.
In a wok set on medium heat, fry onions or shallots in avocado oil until soft. Then add marinated chicken with sauce.
Fry slices on both sides for 2 minutes.
Add water and let it simmer for 12-15 minutes (uncovered) until chicken is cooked and sauce has thickened.
Optional: Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds. Serve with rice and veggies!
Where can I buy these ingredients?
You can purchase the Korean hot pepper flakes, hot pepper paste, rice mirin at any Korean grocer. You may find the first two ingredients at an Asian grocer. All of which is located in the sauce and seasoning aisle.
What am I going to do with all these Korean Red Pepper Flakes?
Freeze them in a zip lock bag. My bag from 4 years ago has lasted me for SO LONG in the freezer. Tastes perfectly fine and there's no mould because it's frozen. The flakes also remain flaky as long as you keep them dry and stored in a zip lock bag.
Give it a try!
Well I hope you give my Korean Spicy Chicken recipe a try! It always excites me when you guys make my recipes and I hope this is one you try.
Thanks for visiting my blog! If you enjoyed my Korean spicy chicken thighs, please share it with your family and friends or on social media! Take a picture if you've made my recipe and tag me on Instagram @christieathome in your feed or stories so I can share your creation in my stories with credits to you!
Made this recipe and loved it?
If you could leave a star rating for my easy Korean spicy fried chicken recipe, I would greatly appreciate it 🙂 Thanks so much!
Take care,
Christie
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Easy Korean Spicy Chicken (30-min. Recipe)
Ingredients
- 6-8 boneless skinless chicken thighs skinless boneless, sliced thinly
- ¼ cup water
- 1 yellow onion roughly chopped
- 1 tsp avocado oil
- Optional: green onions chopped & sesame seeds
Marinade:
- 1 tbsp gochujang [For less spicy version, use 1 tsp]
- 4 tsp gochugaru [For less spicy version use 1-2 tsp] (Tip: freeze the remaining flakes for later usage! Can be kept up to 1-2 years)
- 4 tsp garlic minced
- 2 tsp mirin
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp regular soy sauce
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp cane sugar
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix together marinade ingredients until smooth. Then add sliced chicken into the bowl and mix. Set aside.
- In a wok set on medium heat, fry onions or shallots in avocado oil until soft. Then add marinated chicken with sauce.
- Fry slices on both sides for 2 minutes.
- Add water and let it simmer for 12-15 minutes (uncovered) until chicken is cooked and sauce has thickened.
- Optional: Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds. Serve with rice and veggies!
This was so good, so smoky and I enjoyed how spicy it was. Thank you for this delicious recipe.
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.