Gochujang Chicken
This fiery chicken is perfectly moist and glazed with a sweet/savory marriage of complex flavors. It’s delightfully rich, decidedly spicy, and completely addictive. Serve over rice or noodles and dinner is ready. And you’ll have one pan to clean!
I love the flavors of gochujang – a Korean paste made with red chilies, fermented soybeans, and rice. It’s sweet, tangy (from the fermentation), and spicy, and delivers plenty of umami goodness. If you haven’t tried it before, now’s the time!
Thanks the cornstarch, the exterior of the chicken crisps up, creating beautiful, textural pieces of chicken. That said, the cornstarch (and honey) have a tendency to stick to the bottom of the pan, so use a nonstick skillet.
Round out the meal with rice or Asian noodles. I served my gochujang chicken with rice ramen noodles (I tossed the noodles with a little sesame oil) and it was the perfect side dish. You could also serve the chicken with white or jasmine rice. I strongly encourage you to add a starch on the side to soak up any extra sauce – it’s finger licking good. Add a steam or roasted vegetable and the meal is complete.
Gochujang Chicken
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce, or tamari, or liquid aminos, divided
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar, or honey
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 1/4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, or boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-size pieces
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 tablespoons gochujang paste, or more to taste
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, avocado oil, or neutral flavored oil of choice
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- Fresh cilantro for serving
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 tablespoon of the soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Add the chicken and toss to coat. Let stand for 10 minutes. This process is called velveting and it tenderizes the chicken.
- Add the cornstarch to the chicken and stir to coat.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, honey, gochujang paste, and rice vinegar.
- Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches to prevent crowding the pan, add the chicken and cook until golden brown on all sides. Transfer the chicken to a plate.
- To the same pan over medium-low heat, add the gochujang mixture and garlic and bring to a simmer, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Return the chicken to the pan with any accumulated juices. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce thickens to a glaze.
- Top with cilantro and serve.