Warm, spicy and hearty. These gochujang chicken, rice and broth bowls are ideal for colder weather. Packed with flavour and nutrition, they’re so easy to make! This recipe is inspired by other similar ones I’ve seen online, but the principle is so good! You can experiment with all different types of flavourings for the chicken. I’d recommend trying a version with a char sui marinade similar to the one I make for my pork recipe!

What is Gochujang?

Gochujang is a fermented paste of chilli, soy bean and glutinous rice from Korea and it is delicious! I first came across it years ago at a hot food market near a place I used to work. I was not familiar with Korean food then, but there was a stall a colleague said was a must try. Their menu was mostly typs of korean fried chicken and rice, and one option was gochujang chicken.I tried it and was immediately won over! This sauce was sweet, spicy, tangy and deeply savoury. I found this flavour similar to other things I’ve tried, yet distinctly unique.

Gochujang can be spicy, but isn’t necessarily. It’s worth having a look for some and reading reviews or asking in specialist shops. I tend to get mine from Asian supermarkets near me. They don’t specifically have to be Korean shops! This condiment is cheap and stores well in the fridge for a while, so worth having on hand!

Since then, there has been a big rise in the popularity of Korean culture in the Western world. K-Pop, K-Drama, Squid Games ect. have brought a lot of the culture to the forefront. Korean food is also now much more common, with Korean fried chicken and Korean BBQ being some of the most popular. Gochujang chicken recipes have grown in popularity too! This one is definitely worth a try.

My Gochujang Chicken Recipe

I have made this recipe by following my heart (and stomach), not by basing it off any traditional Korean recipes. I have based it around gochujang, but otherwise made use of common and easily accessible Asian ingredients to build depth and flavour. These ingredients include light and dark soy sauce, rice vinegar and sesame oil!

The most important element is the chicken. This is the focus piece of the dish and has to shine! I think it is best to use chicken thighs for these types of dishes. These cuts do not dry out, so can remain juicy while allowing the marinade to caramelise. I also like to cook them in the oven. This reduces the pans to clean, but also helps to stop the arinade from burning. With honey in it, this is a distinct possibility!

The broth is simple but effective. This starts with chicken stock of course! I flavour this with soy sauce and a bit more gochujang, but also aromatics. For these I prefer to use fresh garlic and ginger, spring onions and lemongrass. These all give a wonderfully deep and distinctly Asian flavouor to the broth!

Finally, there comes the rice. I like to use jasmine rice, as it has a lovely flavour of it’s own. You are free to use any rice you want though! Brown rice is a good option for something like this, as it will hold it’s grain structure and give a lovely nutty flavour.

Gochujang Chicken Broth Bowls. tasty & Hearty!

Warm, spicy and hearty. These gochujang chicken, rice and broth bowls are ideal for colder weather. Packed with flavour and nutrition, they're so easy to make!

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Marinating Time 6 hours hrs

Total Time 6 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Servings: 2 people

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Asian, Korean

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

Whole Ingredients

• 600 g Boneless, Skinless Chicken Thighs
• 1 head Pak Choi
• 4 Spring Onion Greens To Garnish
• 1 Red Chilli To Garnish
• 150 g Jasmine Rice

For the Marinade

• 2 tbsp Gochujang
• 1.5 tbsp Honey
• 2 tbsp Light Soy Sauce
• 2 tsp Dark Soy Sauce
• 1 tbsp Rice Vinegar
• 0.5 tsp Sesame Oil
• 2 cloves Garlic
• 1 piece Ginger Thumb sized

For the Broth

• 500 ml Chicken Stock
• 3 tbsp Light Soy Sauce
• 1 tbsp Gochujang
• 4 Spring Onion Whites
• 3 cloves Garlic
• 5 slices Ginger 2-3mm thick
• 1 stalk Lemongrass
• 0.25 tsp White Pepper

Method

 

Marinade the Chicken

1. Mix all the wet ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.
2. Grate or mince your garlic and ginger and add them to the bowl, along with the white pepper. Mix well.
3. Add your chicken thighs to the bowl and mix well by hand. Make sure to massage the marinade into every part of the thigh.
4. Cover and let sit for at least 30 minutes, but ideally 6 hours.

Cook the Chicken

1. Heat an oven to 200°C.
2. Cover a baking sheet fully with tin foil and spread your chicken out evenly.
3. Brush over any remaining marinade from the bowl and place into the oven for 20 minutes.

Boiling the Rice

1. Wash your rice thoroughly until the water runs clear. Set aside to drain.
2. Heat a small pot over high heat. Add in the rice and 200ml of hot water.
3. Once the water comes toa boil, cover and reduce the heat to a minimum. Let it cook for 15 minutes and steam for another 5.

Making the Broth.

1. Add your chicken stock to a pan over medium high heat.
2. Add in the soy sauce and gochujang and mix well to ensure the gochujang mixes in well.
3. Roughly chop your spring onion whites, crush your garlic cloves and bruise your lemongrass stalk and add them to the pot with the ginger slices.
4. Cook for 15 minutes at a rolling simmer.
5. Remove the whole aromatics with a slotted spoon and add in your pak choi leaves. Let cook for another 3 to 4 minutes.

Assembling the bowl

1. Put the rice in the middle of a large bowl. I use a smaller bowl to mould it into a dome.
2. Remove the pak choi leaves from the broth and arrange along one side of the rice.
3. Slice your chicken thighs up and place around the other side.
4. Spoon broth into the bowl until it comes up to just under the level of the rice.
5. Garnish with thinly sliced red chilli and spring onion greens and serve!