Juicy chicken thighs, marinated in a sticky, sweet and spicy sauce and grilled to perfection. What’s not to love about this DELICIOUS gochujang chicken recipe? Serve with a crunchy slaw and soft flatbreads and you’ve got a winner of a dish.
If you’re looking for a way to mix up your regular chicken dishes, this gorgeous marinade will do just that. If you’ve not used gochujang before you are in for a serious treat! It’s sweet, spicy, salty and super savoury and I bet you’ll become as obsessed with using it as I am.
This recipe is great for weeknights – just marinate the chicken, throw together the crunchy slaw while the chicken is cooking and serve up with flatbreads or wraps. And don’t worry if you don’t have time to marinate the chicken for 30 minutes. It will still be great!
There are a few ways you can cook this chicken. I find that if you cook it just using the stove top, the outside of the chicken is prone to burning before it’s cooked all the way through. The method I’m using ensures super juicy chicken with just the right level of char.
While barbecuing is a fab way to cook for the best charred flavour, it’s not always something you want to do, especially on a weeknight. Cooking the chicken initially in a skillet on the stove top means you get the initial browning, and then transferring it to the grill (broiler) to finish off and char is the best method to mimic that barbecue result in an every day, year-round way.
Ingredients
- Chicken thighs. I’m using boneless and skinless thighs here as they’re super juicy and can stand up to the heat needed to get the lovely charring from the grill. Always use free range.
- Gochujang paste. This is a real staple for me so I always have some on hand. It’s a Korean fermented chilli paste and it’s a super flavour powerhouse. It’s spicy, sweet and deeply savoury. Larger supermarkets are starting to stock it, or if you’ve got an Asian supermarket nearby, you’ll find it there. You can also pick it up on Amazon.
- Rice vinegar. The vinegar helps to tenderise the meat as it’s marinating, and I love using rice vinegar with these flavours. You can swap it out for white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar if that’s what you have though.
- Honey. Gochujang is strong, savoury and spicy and so benefits from a little bit of sweetness. The honey will also help the chicken to get that lovely, charred colour we’re looking for when it’s grilling. Use maple syrup if you don’t have honey.
- Sesame oil. I LOVE the flavour sesame oil brings to this dish, but if you don’t have any, just add an extra tablespoon of olive oil.
How to make it
Start by marinating the chicken thighs. I’m keeping things simple here by mixing the chicken and marinade in one bowl, rather than making the marinade separately and pouring it over the chicken. Anything to on washing up! Mix everything well so that the marinade coats the chicken thoroughly. Set aside in the fridge for (ideally) at least 30 minutes.
When you’re ready to cook, get the chicken out of the fridge and heat your broiler (grill)to its highest setting. Cut the chicken into chunks then thread the chunks onto the skewers. Cook the skewers in an ovenproof skillet over high heat (use a regular pan and then just transfer to an oven tray to grill if you don’t have one), for a few minutes on each side, then transfer to the oven to get lovely and charred.
PRO TIP: If you’re using wooden skewers, make sure to soak them in water for about 30 minutes before using them (I like to do this while the chicken is marinating and the oven is heating). This will stop them from burning.
They’re now ready to eat! I’m serving them with a quick, crunchy slaw, flatbreads and my favourite 2-minute gochujang aioli.
Got a question?
You can prepare everything ahead of time and then just cook the chicken when you’re ready to serve. The gochujang aioli can be made a week in advance, and the slaw with dressing will be fine for 2 days (or prepare the slaw vegetables and then just toss them with the dressing ingredients when you’re serving).
You can marinate the chicken up to 24 hours in advance of cooking it. Alternatively, you can cook the chicken too and then either serve it cold (still delicious!) or pop it in the microwave for a minute to reheat.
The gochujang paste does give this chicken a kick, so if you’re worried about spice, reduce the amount of gochujang in the marinade to 1/2 a tablespoon, or even 1/4 if you’re very worried.
This chicken will be absolutely fine stored in a covered container in the fridge for 5 days. You can either eat it cold or reheat it in the microwave. Just make sure it’s fully heated through if you’re doing that.
This would also be great with crispy skin on roast potatoes and green goddess salad, stuffed into bao buns or served with smacked cucumber salad.
You sure could! Cooking on a barbecue is my favourite way to cook marinated chicken like this – you just can’t beat the flavour you get from the smoke and fire. Grill them for 5 minutes on each side until super charred and cooked through (slice into a piece if you’re unsure if it’s cooked – it should be white and juicy).
Like this recipe? Here are more quick ideas you might enjoy
If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! You can leave me a comment below.
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Sticky Gochujang Chicken
- Total Time: 33 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Diet: Low Fat
Description
Juicy chicken thighs, marinated in a sticky, sweet and spicy sauce and grilled to perfection. What’s not to love about this DELICIOUS gochujang chicken recipe? Serve with a crunchy slaw and soft flatbreads and you’ve got a winner of a dish.
I’m serving the chicken on skewers, but you can easily make them as whole pieces, and I break that down in the instructions below.
Ingredients
For the gochujang chicken –
- 1lb/500g free range, boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1 tablespoon gochujang paste
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
For the slaw –
- 1/4 of a white cabbage
- 1/2 a cucumber
- 2 scallions (spring onions)
- A handful of cilantro (coriander) leaves
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds
For the gochujang aioli –
- 4 tablespoons aioli
- 1 tablespoon gochujang paste
To serve –
- Flatbreads
- Skewers (if you’re using wooden skewers, soak them in water for 30 minutes before using so they don’t burn)
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- Marinate the chicken. If you’re making skewers, add the chicken thighs to a large mixing bowl or container, then using scissors, cut the chicken into large chunks (about an inch in size). If you’re not making skewers, just keep the chicken whole. Add 1 tablespoon of gochujang paste, 2 tablespoons of rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of honey, 1 tablespoon of sesame oil and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Grate the 2 garlic cloves and ginger directly into the bowl. Give everything a really good mix, making sure to coat the chicken thoroughly. Put in the fridge to marinade for at least 30 minutes.
- Make the slaw. While the chicken is marinating, finely shred the cabbage by slicing it finely with a knife, or use a mandoline. Cut the cucumber in half and scoop the seeds out with a small spoon, then discard them. Cut each half into long thin strips, then cut the strips into small cubes. Finely slice the spring onion, then add everything into a large mixing bowl along with the handful of coriander leaves. Add 1 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon sesame oil, 1 teaspoon of fish sauce and the 2 teaspoons of toasted sesame seeds. Give everything a really good toss then set aside.
- Make the gochujang aioli. Combine the aioli and gochujang paste in a small bowl and mix to combine into a creamy, cohesive sauce. Set aside.
- For chicken skewers. Heat your broiler (grill) to its highest setting. Thread the chicken pieces onto your skewers and set aside on a plate. Get 1 tablespoon of olive oil into an oven-proof skillet (if you don’t have one, use a normal pan and then transfer the skewers to an oven tray). Add the skewers and cook for 4 minutes on each side. Transfer the whole skillet to the top shelf of your oven and grill for 8 minutes, until lovely and charred on top. Remove from the oven and set aside.
- For whole thighs. Heat your oven to 390F/200C fan. Transfer the thighs to an ovenproof dish and cook in the oven for 15 minutes, until they’re starting to change colour (they’ll go a little whiter). At this point, change your oven to grill (broil) and turn the heat up to 480F/250C. Move the dish to the top shelf of the oven and grill for 8 minutes, until the chicken has lots of charred bits on top. Remove from the oven and set aside.
- Garnish and serve. Divide your flatbreads between plates, then pile on lots of the slaw. Top with chicken skewers, followed by a good drizzle of the gochujang aioli and the tablespoon of toasted sesame seeds. Dig in!
Notes
INGREDIENT NOTES: You can marinate the chicken for up to 24 hours if you want to get ahead. And if you’re in a rush, it’s ok if you don’t marinate it for 30 minutes, it will still taste good!
STORAGE INSTRUCTIONS: Store any chicken leftovers in a covered container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Either eat cold or reheat thoroughly in the microwave.
SUBSTITUTIONS: Use white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar in place of rice vinegar if you like. Likewise, swap out gochujang paste for sriracha or another hot sauce, or reduce the quantity of gochujang if you’re worried about the level of spice.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 23
- Category: meat
- Method: grill
- Cuisine: asian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 skewers
- Calories: 513
- Sugar: 5.7g
- Sodium: 1043.1mg
- Fat: 39.2g
- Saturated Fat: 6.2g
- Unsaturated Fat: 30.8g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 15.9g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 27.1g
- Cholesterol: 117.5mg
Keywords: chicken skewers, grilled chicken, korean chicken
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