Crispy fried chicken coated in a sweet, savory, sesame sauce with aromatic onions. This easy sweet sticky Korean chicken recipe uses simple ingredients and is ready in 30 minutes. A delicious, better-than-takeout main that is family-friendly and great for busy weeknights.
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This Korean chicken dish features diced chicken thighs coated in cornstarch, shallow fried in oil, and tossed in a sauce made of soy sauce, sesame oil, brown sugar, honey, and garlic.
The chicken is tender on the inside and crispy on the outside. The sauce is perfectly balanced in sweet, savory, and nutty flavors.
The sauce in my Korean-inspired chicken dish tastes similar to the sauce in bulgogi (or Korean BBQ beef). In fact, I adapted the sauce from my bulgogi recipe.
I recommend serving this one-pan Asian chicken with steamed white or purple rice and Korean side dishes (or banchans) - see Pairing Suggestions below.
What makes my recipe unique is the chicken is not spicy so the whole family, including kids, can enjoy it. If you prefer it spicy, mix in 1 tablespoon gochujang or 1-2 teaspoon gochugaru into the sauce.
I also share how to air fry the chicken - see below for instructions.
Ingredients & Substitutes
Please scroll to the recipe card below for exact measurements.
- Skinless Boneless Chicken Thighs: Or use skinless boneless chicken breast, but adjust the cooking time so they don't dry out.
- Cornstarch: Or use potato starch. Avoid replacing with tapioca starch or arrowroot starch as it will cause the coated chicken to stick to each other.
- Onion: Yellow, white, or red onion works for this.
- Neutral Oil: Use a neutral oil like avocado, sunflower, grapeseed, peanut, vegetable, or canola oil. Avoid olive oil or any low smoke point oil.
- Green Onions: This is optional for garnishing.
Sauce
- Regular Soy Sauce: Or use low-sodium soy sauce or light soy sauce.
- Brown Sugar: Ideally light brown sugar, but dark brown sugar will work too.
- Garlic: Avoid replacing with garlic powder.
- Honey: Or use light corn syrup.
- Sesame Seeds
- Sesame Oil: This is recommended for that nutty flavor.
- Cornstarch: Or use potato starch, tapioca starch, or arrowroot starch.
- Cold Water: Or use room temperature water. Avoid using warm water.
- Green Onion
Note: Asian ingredients are typically available at most Asian grocery stores, or you can check online.
Variations
- Pork version: Replace the chicken thighs with diced pork shoulder.
- Tofu version: Replace the chicken thighs with diced extra-firm tofu.
- Gluten-free version: Replace the soy sauce with tamari sauce, coconut aminos, or gluten-free soy sauce.
Expert Tips
- Use fresh chicken thighs instead of chicken breast for the best taste - thigh meat has more fat and won't dry out in the cooking process.
- Don't pat the chicken dry as some moisture is needed for the cornstarch to adhere.
- Evenly dice the chicken into 1.5-inch cubes, so they fry consistently.
- Evenly coat the diced chicken with starch ensuring there are no bald spots.
- Use a heavy-bottomed pan to fry the chicken to maintain consistent oil temperature.
- Heat the oil to 325 to 350°F before frying - using a digital cooking thermometer to check the temperature or insert a wooden chopstick into the hot oil and look for rapid bubbles.
- Fry the chicken in batches in a single layer for crispy chicken and avoid overcrowding the pan.
- Avoid moving the chicken as it fries so it can form a golden crust.
- Drain the fried chicken on a wire rack or paper towel-lined plate to remove excess oil which can cause soggy chicken.
Instructions
Below are step-by-step instructions on how to make sweet sticky Korean Chicken:
- In a small bowl, combine the sauce ingredients as listed above and set aside.
- Dice the chicken thighs into 1.5-inch cubes and transfer into a large mixing bowl.
- Add cornstarch to the diced chicken and toss until evenly coated. Set aside. If needed, feel free to add more cornstarch.
- Heat the vegetable oil in a large pan on medium-high heat. Fry the coated chicken in small batches until cooked and golden, about 5-7 minutes, flipping halfway.
- Remove and transfer the fried chicken to a wire rack or paper towel-lined plate to remove excess oil.
- Reserve 2 teaspoon (10 mL) of the oil in the pan and discard the rest. Fry the chopped onions and cook until softened, about 1 minute.
- Add the sauce and simmer until it's thickened.
- Add the fried chicken and toss until evenly coated in the sauce. Garnish with green onions and remove from heat. Enjoy immediately.
How to Air Fry the Chicken
- Evenly spray the air fryer basket with enough neutral oil or cooking spray.
- Place the coated chicken into the basket in a single layer, giving each piece enough room without overlap. You will need to air fry in batches.
- Evenly spray the chicken with enough neutral oil or cooking spray.
- Air fry the chicken at 400 F for 10-14 minutes until cooked, golden, and crispy. Flipping is not required.
Storage & Reheating
- Sweet sticky Korean chicken can last up to 4 days when stored in an airtight container in the fridge once cooled. To enjoy, reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop until heated through.
- Freezer: Sweet sticky Korean chicken can be frozen for up to 2-3 months when stored in a freezer-safe bag, once cooled. I recommend freezing the fried chicken separately from the sauce. To enjoy, defrost overnight in the fridge and reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop until heated through.
Pairing Suggestions
Sweet sticky Korean chicken pairs well with:
- Appetizers: Korean Scallion Pancake, Kimchi Pancake, or Korean Seafood Pancake.
- Meat Dishes: Korean Spicy Pork, Korean Non-Spicy Pork Bulgogi, or Korean-style Pork Chops.
- Noodle Dishes: Japchae, Perilla Oil Noodles, or Jajangmyeon.
- Rice Dishes: Steamed rice or Kimchi Fried Rice.
- Side Dishes: Kimchi, Korean Cucumber Salad, Korean Potato Salad, Beansprout Salad, Zucchini fritters, Gamja Jorim, Korean Spinach, or Korean Braised Tofu.
- Korean Stews: Sundubu Jjigae, Tuna Kimchi Jjigae, or Tofu Kimchi Jjigae.
FAQ
Soggy chicken can happen for several reasons, including uneven coating with starch, oil that isn't hot enough, overcrowding the pan, moving the chicken too often as it fries, or failing to drain the fried chicken of excess oil.
The coated chicken can be made in the air fryer. To air fry, please refer to the Instructions section above.
To make this chicken dish spicy, mix in 1 tablespoon gochujang or 2 teaspoon gochugaru or Korean red pepper flakes to the sauce mixture.
📖 Recipe
Quick & Easy Sweet Sticky Korean Chicken
Ingredients
- 6 skinless boneless chicken thighs
- ¼ cup cornstarch or potato starch
- 1 small onion diced
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil or any neutral oil
- 1 green onion finely chopped for garnishing
Sauce
- 4 ½ tablespoon regular soy sauce or light soy sauce
- 3 ½ tablespoon brown sugar light or dark brown sugar both work
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tablespoon honey or light corn syrup
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- ½ tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch / potato starch / tapioca starch
- 1 cup water cold
- 1 green onion finely chopped
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the sauce ingredients as listed above and set aside.
- Dice the chicken thighs into 1.5-inch cubes and transfer into a large mixing bowl.
- Add cornstarch to the diced chicken and toss until evenly coated. Set aside. If needed, feel free to add more cornstarch.
- Heat the vegetable oil in a large pan on medium-high heat. Fry the coated chicken in small batches until cooked and golden, about 5-7 minutes, flipping halfway.
- Remove and transfer the fried chicken to a wire rack or paper towel-lined plate to remove excess oil.
- Reserve 2 teaspoon (10 mL) of the oil in the pan and discard the rest. Fry the chopped onions and cook until softened, about 1 minute.
- Add the sauce and simmer until it's thickened.
- Add the fried chicken and toss until evenly coated in the sauce. Garnish with green onions and remove from heat. Enjoy immediately.
Peanut
This is one of my favourite go to family weeknight dinner recipes, everyone eats it and it’s so quick to make.
Christie Lai
Thank you so much for making my recipe and I appreciate this kind review! So glad it's become a family favorite!
Lyra Cicala-Maestre
First time making Sweet Sticky Korean Chicken, took me longer to prep and cook but worth it! My wife really enjoyed the dish and so did it, we will definitely be using this recipe in the future! I love the flavour, it’s sweet, as the name suggests, but not too sweet which is perfect for us! I’ll definitely be coming back to this site to try out other Korean recipes. Thank you for sharing it!
Christie Lai
I am so happy to read this comment! Thanks so much for making it and so glad you and your wife really enjoyed it 🙂
Luhan Strydom
Wow. First time making this ofcourse. I overcooked some of my chicken a little bit. But furthermore I loved it. Loved every second of making this awesome Korean sticky chicken. I am in love with your recipes and wish I could take Korean food classes to learn all this amazing food. Thank you so much.
Christie Lai
Thank you so much for making my recipe and for sharing your positive experience with us! So glad you enjoyed it!
Leslie
This was a complete hit. I have to tell you I did add a squirt of siracha to the sauce and it was delicious. I made a lot of chicken so I doubled the sauce and I honestly think I will triple it next time. SO GOOD, thank you for sharing!!!
Christie Lai
Thank you so much for the kind words and for making my recipe! I'm so glad it was a hit and yum sriracha sauce sounds amazing!
Laura
Made this tonight and it was delicious and so easy!!
Didn’t 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 🙂
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 🙂
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 🙂
Denisse
This recipe has become a family dinner staple. It’s 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 🙂 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 don’t 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 🙂
christieathome
I am really happy to read this! Thank you so much for making my recipe Samantha! 🙂
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 ☺️
Brenda
Wow this was scrumptious. It will become a weekly staple for me and my family.