Crispy fried chicken coated in a sweet and savory sauce with sesame and onions. This quick and easy sweet sticky Korean chicken is ready in 30 minutes with simple ingredients. A great main dish that is better-than-takeout saving you money!
Sweet sticky Korean chicken features chicken thighs shallow fried in oil and tossed in a sauce made of soy sauce, sesame oil, brown sugar, honey, garlic.
This Korean-inspired chicken dish is very similar to the taste of bulgogi beef but instead we're using fried chicken as the protein. But the sauce is essentially the same as bulgogi sauce.
This Asian chicken serves best with steamed rice or brown rice with vegetables along with any Korean side dishes, which are shared below.
It's also not spicy at all, making it inclusive for all but if you want to make it spicy, add 1 tablespoon of gochujang or 2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes into the sauce.
I love this easy chicken recipe because it's made with minimal ingredients and in one-pan in little time. Making it a great dish for busy weeknight meals.
I also share how to air fry the chicken in the recipe card under Notes below.
Expert Tips
- Prepare your ingredients in advance as the cooking process is fast!
- Do not pat dry the chicken! You need some moisture on the chicken so the starch can adhere to it.
- Evenly dice the chicken so they evenly fry.
- Use a heavy bottomed pan if possible as this maintains the oil temperature.
- Make sure oil is hot enough before frying, around 325-350 degrees F. To check if oil is hot, use a digital instant read thermometer or insert a wooden chopstick into the oil and look for bubbles. If you see bubbles, the oil is hot.
- Fry in small batches and do not overcrowd the pan because this reduces the oil temperature leading to less crispy chicken or possibly undercooked chicken.
- Spread chicken apart after tossing into pan. This allows for each piece to develop a crust.
- Drain the fried chicken on a wire rack or paper-towel lined plate to remove excess oil which leads to soggy chicken.
Instructions
Below are step-by-step instructions on how to make Sweet Sticky Korean Chicken:
- In a small bowl, combine sauce ingredients as listed above and set aside.
- Dice chicken thighs into 1.5-inch wide pieces.
- In a large mixing bowl, add diced chicken followed by cornstarch. Toss until each piece is coated in cornstarch. Set aside. If the starch is falling off, feel free to add more cornstarch.
- Heat vegetable oil in a large pan on medium-high heat. Fry chicken in small batches until golden brown on both sides, about 5-7 minutes.
- Remove and transfer chicken to a wire rack or a paper-towel lined plates to remove excess oil. Leave 2 teaspoon or 5 ml of the oil in the pan, discarding the rest.
- Fry chopped onions and cook until softened, about 1 minute.
- Pour in the sauce and simmer until thickened.
- Toss in fried chicken with the sauce. Garnish with green onions. Remove off heat and enjoy!
To Air Fry
- Lightly spray the air fryer basket with enough vegetable oil or cooking spray.
- Place coated chicken into the basket in a single layer, giving each piece enough room. Do not overlap. You may need to air fry in batches depending on the size of your air fryer basket.
- Lightly spray the chicken with oil.
- Air fry chicken at 400 F for 10-14 minutes until desired crispiness, no need to flip over.
Pairing Suggestions
Sweet sticky Korean chicken serves well with:
FAQ
Sweet sticky Korean chicken can be made up to 4 days in advance and stored in an airtight container in the fridge. To reheat, microwave or in a pan on the stovetop on medium heat.
The coated chicken can be air fried and I share instructions below in the Notes section.
To make this spicy, mix in 1 tablespoon gochujang or 2 teaspoon gochugaru or red chili flakes to the sauce mixture.
Other recipes you may like
📖 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
- 1 green onion finely chopped
- 4 ½ tablespoon regular 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 or potato starch
- 1 cup water room temperature or cold
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine sauce ingredients as listed above and set aside.
- Dice chicken thighs into 1.5-inch wide pieces.
- In a large mixing bowl, add diced chicken followed by cornstarch. Toss until each piece is coated in cornstarch. Set aside. If the starch is falling off, feel free to add more cornstarch.
- Heat vegetable oil in a large pan on medium-high heat. Fry chicken in small batches until golden brown on both sides, about 5-7 minutes.
- Remove and transfer chicken to a wire rack or a paper-towel lined plates to remove excess oil. Leave 2 teaspoon or 5 ml of the oil in the pan, discarding the rest.
- Fry chopped onions and cook until softened, about 1 minute.
- Pour in the sauce and simmer until thickened.
- Toss in fried chicken with the sauce. Garnish with green onions. Remove off heat and enjoy!
Notes
To Air Fry
- Lightly spray the air fryer basket with enough vegetable oil or cooking spray.
- Place coated chicken into the basket in a single layer, giving each piece enough room. Do not overlap. You may need to air fry in batches depending on the size of your air fryer basket.
- Lightly spray the chicken with oil.
- Air fry chicken at 400 F for 10-14 minutes until desired crispiness, no need to flip over.
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.