We love recipes that elevate already delicious chicken with a ton of rich, complex, and tasty flavors, and we love them even more when they’re as easy as this Sweet and Spicy Gochujang Chicken recipe! If you’re already a fan of the wide array of flavors in Korean cooking, or are looking to expand your palette, then this is the perfect recipe for a flavorful and easy dinner with juicy Halal chicken and an amazingly tasty sticky gochujang sauce. It’s the best parts of Korean BBQ, but made conveniently at home.
This recipe is super simple to get into without much preparation needed. Pounding the chicken into a uniform flatness helps ensure that the chicken will cook evenly and quickly. It will only need to get broiled for a few minutes on either side until it’s done so you can enjoy it sooner, but first you’re going to need to mix together the sauce.
Aside from juicy and flavorful chicken thighs, the key component to this recipe is it’s fantastic gochujang marinade. It’s a red pepper paste that has a fair amount of heat, but when combined with brown sugar, soy sauce, and garlic among other seasonings it’s cut with delicious savory notes and a much-appreciated sweetness. If you’re not a fan of heat, then this sauce is still definitely worth a try for the other flavors that accompany it, and if you are a fan of heat, then up the amount of gochujang or gochugaru you use. This kind of sauce is why Korean cooking has become a worldwide favorite; it’s packed with tons of flavor in a way that is always a fantastic surprise even when you’re expecting it.
Mix the chicken around in the sauce until it’s evenly coated and set aside for about half an hour if you want it fast, or for a few hours if you want more flavor. Once you get to cooking, it’s done in no time, just lay out the chicken on a wire rack on a lined baking sheet and broil it for a few minutes. If the chicken’s flat enough it should cook no problem, but take it out and give the chicken a flip to hit the other side if needed.
The high heat will also help thicken the marinade and adhere it to the chicken, making it a delicious sticky sauce that goes so well with the crispiness of the chicken. This recipe has fantastically complex combinations of flavors AND texture that makes it a delight to enjoy. It does it all!
We served ours with some white rice along with a seaweed salad and some kimchi for that Korean BBQ flavor experience at home and it was awesome! Personally, I love Korean BBQ and hate leaving my house so this was the perfect recipe to get the best of both worlds. That’s it for this recipe; it’s meant to be incredibly simple to prepare but offers so much in providing great flavor. If you’re already a fan, we think you’ll love this, and if you aren’t familiar with Korean cooking yet then this is a great jumping off point. Share with someone that would enjoy this with you, and we hope to see you next week.
