Korean Chicken
I love Korean food, especially Korean chicken. I am glad that I live in a city where great Korean food are plentiful: Korean BBQ, tofu house, regular Korean restaurants, fast food joints, and more.
When it comes to Korean food, I am sure you love Korean BBQ such as Korean BBQ chicken, or kalbi (BBQ short ribs). I love chicken and always love the spicy Korean-style chicken.
How Do You Make Korean Chicken?
This Spicy Korean Chicken recipe is an easy adaptation from Korean BBQ Chicken. It has lesser ingredients in the marinade, and can be grilled outdoor (perfect for summer), baked in the oven, or just pan-fried on a skillet or pan.
It’s so simple and easy and can be prepared all year long.
Spicy Korean Chicken Sauce
This recipe is inspired by my favorite Korean takeout joint. The spicy Korean chicken sauce is made with gochujang, or Korean chili paste, which is the building block of many Korean recipes.
It’s mildly spicy but makes the chicken so much more flavorful and appetizing.
Korean ingredients are very easy to get these days. You can find them at Asian stores, Korean stores, or in the international aisle of your regular supermarket or buy them online from at Amazon.
Buy a bucket of gochujang, marinate a bunch of this Korean Chicken, dig in and enjoy the amazing great taste of Korean food!
Serve the chicken on top of steamed rice, with some boiled vegetables such as broccoli and you have a complete and utterly delicious meal. Enjoy!
What Dishes to Serve with this Recipe?
This meal is best served with steamed rice. For a wholesome meal and easy weeknight dinner, I recommend the following recipes.
Pairs well with:
Other Recipes You Might Like
Spicy Korean Chicken Recipe
Spicy Korean Chicken – amazing and super yummy chicken with spicy Korean marinade. So easy to make, cheaper, and better than takeout.
Ingredients
Ingredients:
- 1 lb boneless and skinless chicken thighs
Marinade:
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Korean chili paste, gochujang
- 1 teaspoon Korean red chili powder, gochugaru or regular chili powder
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 piece ginger, peeeled and minced (1-inch)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- salt to taste
Directions
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1Slice the chicken thighs horizontally to make thinner pieces of meat. Slice each piece of chicken thigh (depends on its thickness) into 2 or 3 horizontal pieces. Set aside.
-
2Combine all the ingredients in the Marinade in a bowl, whisk it to make sure the Korean chili paste (gochujang) is completely dissolved. Marinate the chicken for at least 30 minutes or best for two hours.
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3Grill the chicken until slightly charred and completely cooked through. You may also pan-fried the chicken on a skillet or pan, or bake in the oven at 400F for about 20 minutes. Serve immediately with steamed rice.
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Michelle Boudreau
Yummy i just made this and i added some julienned carrots and onions and baked it for 20 mins then broiled for 5 to get it nice and charred and the edges. Wow this is a good recipe, i am a beginner cook and i think i did a pretty good job at following this recipe, i had everything but the chili powder but it still tastes amazing! I loklve gochijang 😍😍😍😍
Rasa Malaysia
Hi Michelle, yes all my recipes are very delicious. Do try more recipes from me! :)
Ky
Def a win! I used honey vs the sugar and marinated for the 2 hours! Never used this chilli paste before and it’s a new fav! Thanks for the super easy recipe
Rasa Malaysia
Awesome thanks so much!
Maria William
Made this for dinner last night. I added some mushrooms and it was so good! I love finding easy, healthy week night recipes!
Melanie
I made this first about a month ago. I think I have made it weekly since then! Have another batch marinating right now… using Thighs & Breast, all cut thin and in smaller sizes. Cannot wait! LOVE the flavors. Until today, I used just chili powder, and it worked great. Last week I went to the Asian market and got a huge package of Korean Chili Powder! Can hardly wait to grill tonight! LOVING experimenting with new recipes! *PS… there were 3 or 4 levels of heat available for the Gochujang paste, at my asian market. Start at the lowest if you are unsure, or just use less of the level 2 or 3. We’re getting used to spicier, the more we try it! ?Thank you for your recipes!
Rasa Malaysia
Thanks Melanie for your support. :)
Ivy
I just made this using chicken breast and pan fried on a skillet and it’s really good! Thank you for the recipe! It’s really easy to make and delicious!
Dippy
I made this last night and it is DELICIOUS!!! It has a pleasant amount of chili. I also added extra vegetables (brocollini, snowpeas and capsicum). Will definitely be making this again.
Rasa Malaysia
Hi Dippy, that’s awesome, so glad you tried this spicy Korean chicken.
Liisa
I stir friend the chicken and added some par boiled string beans at the end. So yummy!
Rasa Malaysia
Yummy! I love this spicy Korean Chicken.
Courtney
I only marinated for an hour and I was blown away by the flavor. It was really superb.
Rasa Malaysia
That’s awesome, I am so happy that you love this Spicy Korean chicken.
Stephanie
Hello, can anyone confirm if the sesame oil you use is toasted sesame oil?
Going to try this tonight! Thank you very much.
Rasa Malaysia
Yes, it’s toasted sesame oil.
Brynne
Your website has been such a life saver! My husband is Korean and I have been too intimidated to try cooking Korean food at home until now.. These recipes are easy to follow but delicious! This one has been one of our favorites. Thank you!
keith
top dinner,used unboned skin on thigh boned out roughly, then cut thighs into 3 strips. put strips and bones into sauce,then into a fish rack and put on bbq .so don’t throw away the bones they are brilliant to chew on cheers
Jennifer
Are you able to use boneless, skinless chicken breast? Sorry I would love to use thigh meat but fiancé hates dark meat.
Ruby
I will tell you I hate hate hate thigh meat, but I made this just like the recipe says, also tried it with breast the breast dried out a lot, but if I didn’t know these were made with thighs I would have no idea they are so amazing! My whole family loves this recipe and asks me to make it even my picky, can’t stand sauce kid!
Rasa Malaysia
Hi Ruby, thanks so much for trying my Spicy Korean Chicken.
Nancy
I made this. Soooo good. I threw in some water chestnuts and served with steamed snow peas on rice with a slosh of Mae Ploy sweet chili sauce on top. Delish. Are cold leftovers for breakfast!
Josh
Made this yesterday and it turned out awesome, the chicken was very moist and the sauce was awesome
Rasa Malaysia
Hi Josh, great to hear that I am very happy you tried my spicy Korean chicken recipe. Please try more recipes on my site: https://rasamalaysia.com/recipe-index-gallery/
Joyce
This looks fab! Do you think it can be made with chicken breast? No one in my family will eat thighs :(
Rasa Malaysia
Yes chicken breast is fine.
Suzy
I made this last night. I bought a package of skinless boneless thighs at Costco and used half a package. I didn’t change a thing in the recipe. I cooked it in the oven and that was so much easier then stir frying a couple of batches, not to mention less oil. A great recipe to add to my repertoire. It had the same taste of a Korean dish we love at a local restaurant. thanks so much.
Rasa Malaysia
Hi Suzy, thanks for trying my spicy Korean chicken recipe. So glad you liked it.
emre
Lotta positive comments on this recipe, I am gonna try it soon but is it high on sugar ? I ask becuz I have diabetis .
Rasa Malaysia
No Emre, you can try it out.
emre
I tried it , really really good , thanks. Second time I baked it instead, still it was very good and more yummy sauce.
Rasa Malaysia
Thanks for trying this spicy Korean chicken recipe.
Valerie
This chicken is truly outstanding! I make a lot of Asian dishes and I am just beginning to explore Korean flavors. I am in love with this dish. This is the second time I made it and I doubled the recipe because we didn’t have enough leftovers last time. I found a recipe for green beans with gochujang and served that with the chicken over rice. So satisfying.
Rasa Malaysia
Hi Valerie, thanks for trying my spicy korean chicken recipe.
Jamilah
Any halal koren chilli paste/gochujang available? The last time I checked the paste packing, there’s alcohol in the content list.ù
Roni
Alcohol wil not make you die, so just use it
Nadia
Congrats Roni for showing us a rude manner to answer a harmless question. Perhaps first wonder why she’s looking for a substitute gochujang than attacking someone like that. Hey Jamilah! There are recipes online to making an alcohol free gochujang, one by a youtuber, Maangchi! You can check that out too.
Leila
Salam! I understand it’s a religious preference, but the amount of alcohol is negligible; it’s added as a preservative. Also, it will burn off when the chicken is cooked. If still not acceptable I’d look up similar recipes on line for the Gochujang.
eliza
omg this really is AMAZING & SUPER YUMMY!!! I half baked/half broiled them in my toaster oven
til they got charred to my liking. served them with shredded cabbage and Marie’s sesame ginger coleslaw dressing. thanks as always Bee love ya!
Rasa Malaysia
Thanks Eliza, so happy you liked my spicy Korean chicken recipe!
Cathy
I made this yesterday without the Korean red chili powder and it was delicious! It wasn’t spicy =)
Thank you so much for the recipe.
Rasa Malaysia
You can add any chili powder to make it spicy. :)
Sue
Can these marinate overnight?
Rasa Malaysia
Of course you can.
Adrian
I made this tonight, with the oven baking method. Fantastic dish, with the perfect taste and level of spice. My only mistake was in buying chicken thighs with the bone in and skin on. So a lot of time spent on attacking the skin and bones, and a fair bit of meat thrown out.
Rasa Malaysia
Hi Adrian, thanks for trying this recipe next time buy the skinless and boneless chicken thighs. :)
Samantha B
SAME HERE ADRIAN!
I wish I would have looked a littttle closer!
LynnB
This is a very tasty dish! Glad to see you’re back on the Asian food at last. That’s what I”m interested in, not your take on Western food. There are many better at that. Your Asian food though is stunning. Give us more!!!!!
Rasa Malaysia
Lynn – I am trying to build my western food contents as I want to have a variety of contents. Have you tried some of my western dishes, they are seriously good, too. :)
Carole
Gosh LynnB…I know it’s a late comment, but man, that is rude to say. I appreciate ALL of the recipes on this site, I don’t think you should have to limit yourself to one’s rude comments.
Rasa Malaysia
Thanks Carole! :)
Robyn
?
Jim
how hot is this Bee?, or to put it another way, if serving this to anyone adverse to hot food, would this turn them off?
Rasa Malaysia
To me it’s mildly hot but to others adverse to hot food it might be moderately hot, so you can reduce the spice paste.
Jim
Thank you Bee, I’ll do as you recommend!
M
Its not hot at all to me, but i can eat habanero hot sauce as a dip hahahahaha. So if you think jalapeños are spicy… then this most likely will be hot