Korean Chicken Thighs
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These delicious Korean chicken thighs are marinated in a sweet and smoky chili paste called gochujang and make an easy weeknight meal. Serve them with a side of rice or cauliflower rice for a full meal. You will LOVE them!
We could honestly talk about how good these Korean chicken thighs are until we’re blue in the face! Actually, don’t take our word for it – here’s what one recipe tester had to say:
Hands down the best chicken recipe I can remember making. It brings the heat and sweet and made me think I was eating at a restaurant. This will be added to my normal dinner rotation.
~Jessie F.
- All aboard the flavor train: Between the slightly spicy, salty gochujang paste, the sweet honey, and the savory soy sauce and sesame oil, these Korean chicken thighs are a winning flavor combination. The spice from the fermented chili paste has a slight kick, but it’s truly a dish the whole family can enjoy!
- Easy & inexpensive: This recipe has 4 steps and only 10 minutes of prep time, making it a great weeknight option. Not to mention, chicken thighs are usually less expensive than chicken breasts, and many of the ingredients needed you likely have in your pantry or on the door of your fridge.
- Versatile: These chicken thighs can be served over rice or sliced and tossed on a salad for a lighter meal. If you’re following a paleo diet, you can easily make your own gochujang or use a paleo-friendly variety. This is a delicious paleo option served over cauliflower rice! If your household is gluten-free, you can order gluten-free gochujang to make these Korean chicken thighs.
Is this a traditional Korean chicken thigh recipe?
This chicken thigh recipe features Korean flavors. To achieve the flavors characteristic of Korean cuisine, we use gochujang, soy sauce, sesame oil, and ginger. It’s a delicious combination.
A few ingredient notes
7 ingredients are all you need to make this sticky, spicy-sweet chicken dish:
- Honey: 3 tablespoons of honey adds enough sticky-sweetness to balance the salty and savory flavors in this dish.
- Gochujang: Add 3 tablespoons of gochujang (homemade, store-bought, paleo, or gluten-free varieties will work perfectly) to give your chicken a distinct spicy, funky, salty quality.
- Soy Sauce: Add a tablespoon of soy sauce, or coco aminos if you’re making paleo chicken thighs, or tamari if going gluten-free. This adds another layer of flavor and depth to the marinade.
- Sesame oil: Is there any better smell than sesame oil? Just a teaspoon will go a long way in adding a nutty and sweet component to the sauce.
- Ginger & garlic: Time to add a fresh zing to the chicken by incorporating 2 finely minced cloves of fresh garlic and a teaspoon of minced fresh ginger.
- Skinless chicken thighs: Chicken thighs are a great cut to use for this recipe as they stay tender and juicy as the sauce caramelizes in the oven.
- Optional garnishes: To finish off the dish, you can optionally toss some sesame seeds and sliced green onions over top.
What to serve with Korean chicken
Let’s make it a whole meal! Alongside your Korean gochujang chicken, here’s some other tasty sides sure to please the entire table:
- Ginger Rice or Cauliflower Rice
- Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Miso Tahini Butter
- Crispy Eggplant Fries
- Spicy Long Beans
- Asian Salad with sesame ginger dressing
- Avocado Cucumber Salad
Recipe FAQs
Can I use another cut of chicken other than chicken thighs?
You can definitely make this recipe using other cuts of chicken, like drumsticks or breasts. That said, since the thighs are a tender cut they will perform better in the oven as the gochujang sauce has time to caramelize and crisp up.
What can I use instead of gochujang?
You can use miso paste (made from fermented soybeans, so some of the flavors will be replicated) or sriracha, in a pinch!
How to store leftover Korean chicken thighs
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in your fridge for 3-4 days.
Can I freeze Korean gochujang chicken?
Absolutely! You can follow the recipe to step number 2 and then pop the chicken in the freezer. Thaw the chicken before baking when you’re ready to eat it.
Korean Chicken Thighs Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 3 tablespoons gochujang – Korean chili paste (see notes)
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce (use coco aminos for paleo)
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon finely minced ginger
- 2 cloves garlic (finely minced)
- 1 ½ lb boneless skinless chicken thighs
- Sesame seeds and sliced green onions (to serve)
Instructions
- In a medium-sized baking dish, mix the honey, gochujang, coco aminos, sesame oil, ginger, and garlic.3 tablespoons honey, 3 tablespoons gochujang – Korean chili paste, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, 1 teaspoon finely minced ginger, 2 cloves garlic, 1 ½ lb boneless skinless chicken thighs
- Add the chicken thighs and mix them around in the marinade. Let the chicken marinate for 1-24 hours in your fridge.
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove the chicken from your fridge and let it come to room temperature while your oven preheats. Bake the chicken for 20 minutes. Turn your oven to broil and broil the chicken for another 5-10 minutes, until the chicken starts to darken.
- OPTIONAL STEP: For a thicker sauce, pour the sauce from the baking dish into a small frying pan and boil it rapidly for 3-4 minutes, until it thickens. Baste the chicken with the thickened sauce and broil it for a few minutes, until it turns dark red.
- Serve the chicken with sesame seeds and sliced green onions on top.Sesame seeds and sliced green onions
Video
Notes
Nutrition
We have thoroughly tested this recipe for accuracy. However, individual results may vary. See our full recipe disclosure here.
Korean paleo chicken thighs:
- To make this paleo-friendly, start by using paleo-friendly gochujang paste. Gochujang contains glutinous rice (and sometimes wheat) that ferments over time to enhance the paste’s sweetness, so you will want to find a paleo-specific chili paste for these Korean chicken thighs or consider making your own.
- Consider whether you want to serve your chicken as is or with a side. A perfect vehicle or accompaniment to your paleo chicken thighs is this cauliflower rice.
Gluten-free Korean chicken thighs:
- For the same reason, traditional gochujang isn’t an option for those who follow the paleo diet; the wheat in the paste means a gluten-free gochujang is what you’ll need instead.
- For a gluten-friendly marinade, replace the soy sauce with tamari.
- Consider serving your Korean chicken thighs with a salad, roasted broccoli, cauliflower rice, or sweet potato fries.
More chicken thigh recipes
For more inspiration, check out all of our chicken recipes!
I have made this over 5x now. My husband loves it!
I’m so happy to hear that!!
Love! Love! Love! But believe me when I suggest using a disposable aluminum pan. And double the recipe. The sauce is yum. I make this almost weekly.
Great tip! So happy that you love this recipe!
I have made this several times with thighs and now started to make it with salmon. It’s delicious
Great idea to use the flavor on salmon – I bet it’s delicious!
I have found that Trader Joe’s Gochujang is not as spicy and it does have sugar so I only add 1 tablespoon of honey
Made this recipe and it was awesome! The gochuchang I have is a bit on the spicy side so I only used 1 Tbsp for the serving size of 3 size. Came out great! Will definitely make this again as it was so easy and so tasty.
It sounds awesome but it is not paleo.
It’s paleo if you use the coco aminos option and the homemade gochujang we linked to in the notes. 🙂
I’ve made this several times and it’s excellent.
Today, I any going with pork loins. The only addition I made was adding Korean chili flakes (Gochugaru) to kick it up. Mmmm.
This was a little too spicy for me, but the flavor was delicious. Is there a way to mail ain’t he flavor but reduce the heat? I was worried reducing the amount of gochujang paste would affect flavor.
I’ve found that some gochujang paste is more spicy than others. If you reduce it, you could add a little more coco aminos and sesame oil to boost up the flavor.
I just whipped this up and it was DELICIOUS! I used Thai red curry because it’s what I had on hand. Still turned out so yummy.
Could Kimchi paste be substituted?
We haven’t tried it but it sounds delicious!