Korean BBQ chicken at home. No tabletop grill, no smoky hair, no $80 bill. Just juicy boneless chicken thighs, a nine ingredient gochujang marinade, and a hot grill, skillet or oven. I love batching this recipe to set me up for the week. It is so easy and it tastes like you're in the restaurant!
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Korean BBQ chicken is boneless chicken thighs marinated in gochujang, soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, garlic, ginger and sliced onion, then grilled over medium-high heat for 5 to 6 minutes per side until the edges char and the sugar caramelizes. Ten minutes of prep, four hours in the fridge, twelve minutes on the grill and you're golden.
After testing this, the version with only regular soy sauce tasted flat and looked pale. Adding one tablespoon of dark soy fixed both problems at once, deeper color, rounder flavor, and the chicken actually looks like it came off a KBBQ grill instead of a weeknight pan.
I was born in Manila and moved to Vancouver when I was 11, so Asian flavors have always been home base for me. My family and I are always at Korean restaurants, and the marinated meats are my weakness. So I recreate them at home, where I can tailor every recipe to exactly how my family loves it. This is the one I make all the time, without the restaurant bill.
Jump to:
- How to make (VIDEO)
- What I recommend to use for this recipe
- How to make (PICTURES)
- How to make Korean BBQ chicken without a grill
- What to serve
- How to meal prep Korean BBQ chicken
- Similar recipes
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- Korean BBQ Chicken
- Hi, I'm Carmen!
- Frequently Asked Questions for Korean BBQ Chicken
How to make (VIDEO)
What I recommend to use for this recipe
- Gochujang - the Korean chili paste doing all the sweet and savory heavy lifting. One tub lasts months. You can add more if you want it more spicy.
- Dark soy sauce: this is for color and depth, not saltiness. It is the difference between grilled chicken and KBBQ chicken.
How to make (PICTURES)
GRILL - I love using my griddle for recipes like this. It's like having a massive frying pan.
NO GRILL? No problem. Pan fry in a cast iron skillet for 6 minutes per side, or bake at 375°F for 30 minutes, then broil for 3 to 5 minutes until golden and caramelized. Either way, pull it at 165°F.
How to make Korean BBQ chicken without a grill
Grilling season ends. Korean BBQ chicken cravings don't. Here's how I make it indoors:
- Skillet: Heat a cast iron skillet over medium-high with a little oil. Cook the chicken 6 minutes on each side, until the internal temperature reaches 165°F.
- Oven: Bake on a lined sheet pan at 375°F for 30 minutes. Then broil for 3 to 5 minutes, until golden and caramelized and the internal temperature reaches 165°F.
Thighs over breasts, every time. Breasts work, but they're less forgiving and dry out fast. Thighs stay juicy, which is why they're my go-to when I make this for my family.
What to serve
- Asian Coleslaw for something cold and crunchy against the sticky chicken
- Garlic Fried Rice, non authentic but is soooo good.
- Butter lettuce leaves and steamed short grain rice for build your own ssam wraps
- A quick cucumber salad with rice vinegar and sesame oil, 5 minutes and it cuts the sweetness perfectly
How to meal prep Korean BBQ chicken
Double it. Seriously. Four pounds of thighs takes the same effort as two, and you're set for the week. Store the thighs whole and slice them right before eating. Whole pieces hold onto their juice better in the fridge.
- Korean BBQ rice bowls: chicken, garlic fried rice, cucumber salad and a fried egg.
- Lettuce wraps: butter lettuce, rice, kimchi and a dab of gochujang.
- Salad topper: slice it over my Asian chicken salad for lunch.
- Wraps: warm tortilla, slaw and a little gochujang mayo.
Storage: Keep cooked chicken in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. Reheat in the air fryer at 350°F for 3 to 5 minutes for crispy edges, or in a covered skillet with a splash of water. You can also freeze the raw chicken right in the marinade for up to 3 months, then thaw it overnight in the fridge and cook as usual.
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Korean BBQ Chicken
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- In a large bowl or a zip top bag, whisk together the gochujang, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, garlic and ginger until the gochujang is fully broken up and no lumps remain.3 cloves garlic, 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, 1 tablespoon gochujang, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- Add the chicken thighs and sliced onion to the marinade. Toss with your hands until every piece is coated, then seal or cover.2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, 1 onion
- Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight for the best flavor.
- Heat your grill to medium-high, around 400°F to 450°F. Clean the grates and oil them well, this marinade has sugar in it and it will stick if you skip this.
- Lay the chicken on the grill. Grill 5 to 6 minutes per side, until the edges are charred and the internal temperature reaches 165°F.
- Rest the chicken for 5 minutes, then slice against the grain. Top with the grilled onions, toasted sesame seeds and sliced scallions.toasted sesame seeds, 2 scallions
Notes
- Do not skip the dark soy sauce. Without it the chicken tastes fine but looks washed out.
- Four hours is the real minimum for marinating, overnight is better.
- No grill? Cook it in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat for 6 minutes per side, or bake at 375°F for 30 minutes, then broil for 3 to 5 minutes until golden and caramelized. Either way, pull it at 165°F.
- Chicken breasts work too, but they are less forgiving. Pound them to an even thickness and pull them at 165°F.
- Perfect for meal prep. I love to batch this on the weekend for the week.
Video
Nutrition
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Hi, I'm Carmen!
I'm the creator of Eat With Carmen, where I share Filipino and other Asian recipes I love and grew up eating, made simple for everyday cooking.
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Frequently Asked Questions for Korean BBQ Chicken
Korean BBQ chicken is Korean barbecue style chicken, marinated in a sweet and savory sauce built on gochujang, soy sauce, sesame oil and sugar, then grilled over high heat until charred. It is the chicken version of what you would order at a Korean BBQ restaurant, usually served with rice, lettuce wraps and banchan.
Marinate Korean BBQ chicken for at least 4 hours, and overnight if you can. Anything under 4 hours only flavors the surface. Do not go past 24 hours, the salt and sugar start to break down the texture of the meat.
Yes, boneless skinless chicken breasts work, but pound them to an even thickness first and grill 4 to 5 minutes per side. Breasts are less forgiving than thighs and go from juicy to dry fast. Pull them the second the internal temperature hits 165°F.
Yes, a cast iron skillet works great. Cook it over medium-high heat for 6 minutes per side, until the internal temperature reaches 165°F.
Mildly. One tablespoon of gochujang across two pounds of chicken gives warmth, not heat, and the brown sugar softens it further. Add a second tablespoon if you want it to actually bite.
Yes, bake it at 375°F for 30 minutes, then broil for 3 to 5 minutes until golden and caramelized and the internal temperature reaches 165°F. Line the pan first, since the sugar in the marinade sticks.
The brown sugar in the marinade caramelizes fast, so burning usually means the heat is too high or there is too much marinade clinging to the chicken. Shake each piece off before it hits the grates and keep the grill at medium-high, around 400°F to 450°F, not screaming hot.
Chicken bulgogi is traditionally built on a sweet soy and garlic marinade, while this Korean BBQ chicken adds gochujang for color and gentle heat. Love both? Try my chicken bulgogi or my honey gochujang chicken next.
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