15-Minute Spicy Korean Chicken — Fast, EASY, perfectly SPICY chicken that’s so tender and juicy! Who needs takeout or a restaurant when you can make this AWESOME chicken at home in 15 minutes?
Spicy Korean Chicken Recipe
I love spicy food whether it’s Mexican, Thai, Indian, or Korean, count me in. I love a recipe even more when it’s easy, made in a skillet, and ready in 15 minutes.
This Korean spicy chicken is a perfect recipe for busy weeknights or when you’re trying to up your what-to-do-with-chicken-again game. We’ve all been there. This gochujang chicken is wonderfully tender, moist, juicy, and perfectly spicy. The kind of heat that makes you want to keep eating more. And more.
There are layers of flavors from soy sauce, garlic, ginger, rice vinegar, and more. If you’re not a spicy food fan, then this probably isn’t the recipe for you. Or you’ll definitely want to reduce the amount of gochujang sauce you add.
What is Gochujang Sauce?
Gochujang sauce is a Korean sauce that’s great for dipping, marinating, seasoning, or glazing. I find it in the Asian section of my regular grocery store or you can always Amazon it.
In my opinion, it has a similar heat profile to chili garlic sauce (or possibly sriracha) and could probably be used interchangeably with either of those two (traditionalists, please no hate mail), noting the ultimate flavor profile will change a bit, but the overall heat level will likely remain about the same.
I throw this out there for anyone concerned about spending $4.99 on a sauce for one recipe. Now you have other recipe options to use it with!
How to Make Korean Chicken
Add the gochujang sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, vinegar, brown sugar, ginger, and garlic to a large bowl and stir to combine. Add the chicken, cover, and place in the fridge to marinate for at least 1 hour, or up to 8 hours.
Use a slotted spoon to separate the chicken from the marinade and place in a well oiled skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until chicken is cooked through. While the chicken cooks, add cornstarch and water to a bowl and stir to combine.
Add the cornstarch slurry to the side of the skillet and turn the heat down. Gently stir the slurry into into the pan sauce. Keep stirring for about 1 to 2 minutes, or until sauce has thickened. Spoon the thickened sauce over the chicken pieces or just flip them around in the sauce to coat them evenly.
Remove pan from the heat, add the green onions, sesame seeds, and serve immediately. I like to pair this spicy Korean chicken with rice, but you could also do fried rice, cauliflower rice, or just make a salad. Something cool to tone down the heat factor wouldn’t be a bad option at all!
Tips for the Best Korean Chicken
When cooking the chicken, make sure to stir it a few times so that it cooks evenly throughout. If you’ve diced the chicken small enough, it should cook within 5 to 7 minutes.
The cornstarch slurry isn’t completely necessary, but I like to add it in to thicken up the sauce. I don’t like when the sauce is super runny, but if you don’t have cornstarch on hand or simply prefer not to use it that’s fine!
Note that there’s really no substitution for the gochujang sauce in this recipe. It gives this Korean spicy chicken its signature flavor — I promise it’s worth buying a bottle!
Lastly, I find reduced-sodium soy sauce best for this recipe. Regular soy sauce is a little too salty for me, and I much prefer the lower sodium versions for the Korean chicken marinade.
More Asian Chicken Recipes:
- P.F. Chang’s Chicken Lettuce Wraps {Copycat Recipe} – Skip the restaurant version and make at home in 20 minutes! Easy, healthier because you’re controlling the ingredients, and they taste way better!
- Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps – EASY, ready in 20 minutes, and layered with FLAVOR galore!! High protein, gluten-free, and the Thai twist is AMAZING! Your NEW GO-TO chicken wrap recipe!!
- Easy Better-Than-Takeout Chicken Fried Rice – One-skillet, ready in 20 minutes, and you’ll never want takeout again after tasting how good homemade is!! Way more flavor, not greasy, and loads of juicy chicken!
- Slow Cooker Thai Peanut Chicken — This Slow Cooker Thai Peanut Chicken is coated in the most incredible peanut sauce. Serve it over rice for an easy meal, and garnish with green onions and extra peanuts for added crunch!
- Sesame Mango Chicken — An EASY Asian-inspired recipe with tender sesame chicken, juicy mango, and soy-garlic-ginger infused cabbage and carrots!
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15-Minute Spicy Korean Chicken
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup gochujang sauce
- ¼ cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 4 to 5 cloves garlic, finely minced or pressed
- 1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, diced into bite sized pieces
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 scant teaspoon cold water
- green onions, diced into thin rounds for garnishing
- sesame seeds, for garnishing
Instructions
- To a large bowl, add the gochujang sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, vinegar, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, and stir to combine.
- Add the chicken, cover, and place in the fridge to marinate for at least 1 hour, or up to 8 hours.
- To a large skillet, add the olive oil, and using a slotted spoon add the chicken (discard leftover marinade), and cook over medium-high heat for about 5 to 7 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through; flip intermittently to ensure even cooking.
- While the chicken cooks, to a small bowl add the cornstarch, water, and stir to combine until dissolved.
- After the chicken has cooked through, add the cornstarch slurry to the side of the pan (don’t dump it over the chicken), turn the heat to medium-low, and gently stir the slurry into into the pan sauce. Keep stirring for about 1 to 2 minutes, or until sauce has thickened up to desired level. Spoon the thickened sauce over the chicken pieces or just flip them around in the sauce to coat them evenly. Note – the cornstarch addition is not absolutely necessary but I prefer the sauce thicker and with more body rather as opposed to runny and find the extra 1 to 2 minutes worth it.
- Remove pan from the heat, add the green onions, sesame seeds, and serve immediately. Chicken is best warm and fresh but will keep for up to 5 days in the fridge.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Even More Easy Asian Recipes:
Spicy Pork Lettuce Wraps – EASY, ready in 20 minutes, perfectly SPICY yet wonderfully fresh!! Just enough heat to keep you going back for more! A new dinnertime WINNER!!