Korean inspired gochujang chicken is a delicious stir fry recipe with sweet and spicy sauce. Gochujang paste gives this Korean stir fry its distinctive flavour, while red chillies spice it up and honey add some sweetness. So if you’re in the mood for something Asian but also want something a little different, give this recipe a try. It’s certainly bursting with amazing flavours.
This post may contain affiliate links, please see the privacy policy for details.
Gochujang chicken is sweet, spicy and very savoury. It’s a typical Korean inspired stir fry which looks so appetizing served in butter lettuce leaves with rice and Korean garnishes.
Gochujang Chicken Ingredients
You don’t need a lot of ingredients for this tasty Korean stir fry with sweet and spicy sauce. Along with chicken, you will need gochujang paste, honey, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, onions, and chillies. Swap the honey for sweetener or sugar if preferred.
It’s up to you how you serve Gochujang chicken, but I recommend white rice, butter lettuce, sesame seeds, green onions, and pickled ginger.
How to Make this Korean Stir Fry
Make the sweet and spicy sauce by whisking the gochujang paste, soy sauce, honey, oil, vinegar, and water together. Next, pound the chicken and season it with garlic, ginger, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper, then chop it up.
Heat some oil then fry the chicken, onions and chillies for several minutes or until cooked through, and serve with your preferred sides.
What to Serve with
You can serve this Korean chicken stir fry over a bed of steamed white. For side dishes you could consider a tasty fried rice, Asian cucumber salad, Korean garlic bread, steamed or stir-fried vegetables or even kimchi. It would be the perfect addition to a meal for Korean celebrations or themed meals.
Leftovers will keep for several days in the refrigerator and you can warm them back up in the microwave or in the stove. However, this is so tasty I bet you’ll have a second helping of this yummy stir fry and no leftovers!
What is Gochujang Paste and How Does It Taste?
Gochujang is a Korean chili paste. It’s a bright red, fermented, thick paste which features in a lot of Korean stir fry recipes as well as dipping sauces and marinades.
It offers a touch of spice but it’s not very spicy overall. In fact, gochujang is much milder than jalapenos, for example. The ingredients in this paste include 3-month fermented soy beans, chilli powder, glutinous rice, and barley malt powder. The glutinous rice is what gives it a slightly sweet taste.
You might have heard of bibimbap, which is one of the most famous Korean dishes. This is made with rice, veggies, gochujang, and sesame oil. Gochujang also features in Crockpot ramen soup.
5 Curious Facts about Korean Cuisine
- No other country ferments their food as much as the Koreans! From fermented fish to kimchi, these dishes are very popular there. They’ve been fermenting for more than two thousand years! The main reason is probably the cold, harsh Korean winters which made it hard back then to get fresh vegetables and other fresh ingredients.
- Bean pastes have also been around for thousands of years in Korea, probably even longer than kimchi.
- The Korean word for rice is ‘bap’ and it was used in ancient times as currency there. Interestingly, milk was also difficult to get and was mainly served in the Royal household all those years ago.
- Many Korean recipes are vegetarian. The reason for this is Buddhism is one of Korea’s most common religions, so temple food is meat-free. Koreans also view food as medicine, to an extent, which is why a typical diet involves consuming plenty of vegetables and herbs.
- Korean food is balanced, but not in the way you might think. Meals tend to be contrasting and colourful. The five elements, which are fire, earth, water, wood, and metal, are represented by the colours red, yellow, black, blue, and white. Colourful ingredients combine to make Korean meals and the five essential flavours – salty, sweet, bitter, hot, and sour, also feature in many traditional dishes.
Gochujang Stir Fry FAQs
This isn’t an ingredient you’ll be using every day, so it’s good to know that an opened tub should be fine for up to 2 years when kept refrigerated.
The cuisine of Korea is actually one of the healthiest in the world. Tofu, garlic, beans, and kimchi are ubiquitous, along with a variety of seafood, meats and vegetables. Korean inspired dishes are usually served with short grain rice rather than long grain. If you’re new to Korean stir fry recipes, try this one first, since it’s so easy and also so tasty!
Yes, absolutely! It also works with shrimp, beef or pork, or you could use tofu for a vegetarian take on the dish. Something more unusual like duck would likely also work, so let me know if you make your own version and how it tastes!
Spicy Gochujang Chicken Stir Fry Recipe
Spicy Gochujang Chicken Stir Fry
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts boneless skinless
- ⅓ Cup Gochujang paste
- ¼ Cup soy sauce low sodium
- 2 Tablespoon honey
- 2 Teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 Teaspoon rice wine vinegar
- 2 Tablespoon water
- 1 red onion thinly sliced
- 2 red chilis sliced
- 2 Stalks green onion cut into 1” pieces
For serving *optional suggestions*
- white rice
- butter lettuce
- sesame seeds
- green onions sliced
- pickled ginger
Instructions
- Place a wok over medium high heat to pre-heat.
- Prepare sauce. Combine gochujang paste, soy sauce, honey, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, and water in a bowl and whisk well.
- Pound out the chicken to ¼” thick. Season with salt, pepper, ginger powder, garlic powder, and red pepper flakes. Cut chicken into 1 ½ ” sections.
- Next, add 1 tbsp of canola oil to the wok and swirl to coat the bottom of the pan. Add the chicken, red onion, green onion, and red chilis to the wok. Stir fry for 5 minutes.
- Pour in the sauce and toss to coat. Stir fry for 7 to 10 minutes.
- Serve atop white rice inside of butter lettuce. Garnish with sesame seeds and green onions.
Nutrition
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
This gochujang stir fry recipe is a wonderful Korean inspired recipe. You don’t need a lot of time or different ingredients to make it, and you’ll love the moist chicken, seasonings and mouth-watering sweet and sour sauce.
Other Recipes You Will Love
Bella Bucchiotti
Bella Bucchiotti is a storyteller, food lover, dog mom and adventure seeker living on the Pacific coast. She shares her passion for food, dogs, fitness, adventures, travel and philanthropy, in hopes of encouraging followers to run the extra mile, try new recipes, visit unfamiliar places and stand for a cause. Bella lives with Type 1 Diabetes and Celiac Disease.
Yum! This looks amazing!