Korean BBQ Chicken is a fast and fabulous dinner recipe packed with big flavors of garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sriracha and more! It’s lightly spicy and cooks in less than 15 minutes!!
This is a fantastic take-out recipe you can make at home.
It’s fast, easy and the sweet sticky bbq sauce is deep with exciting flavors.
It’s a wonderful way to use boneless chicken breasts in a fun new way.
Pair is with some Cashew Chicken or Spicy Pineapple Shrimp Fried Rice for a full ‘take out at home’ meal!
Easy Korean BBQ Chicken
Korean BBQ chicken is a classic Korean dish also known as Dak Bulgogi recipe or Chicken Bulgogi.
‘Bulgogi’ means ‘fire meat’ and refers to thinly sliced meat that is grilled on a barbecue or stove top grill.
Korean BBQ Chicken can also be cooked as a stir fry recipe as we are doing today.
This makes it a fast, easy meal any time regardless of time of day or weather.
The thing that makes it special and distinct is the marinade!
Korean BBQ Marinade
The marinade has a set of classic ingredients that define the flavor as most people know it: soy sauce, garlic, ginger, sesame oil and brown sugar.
We’ve added a few others to make an easy, delicious sauce for this fast dinner recipe.
Because this Korean food recipe is made as a stir fry, the marinade ingredients actually create a thick sauce!
Recipe Ingredients
Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts – the size of the individual chicken breasts do not matter in this recipe since they will be cubed into bite size pieces. A total of 2 pounds will be needed.
Sesame Oil – adds delicious classic flavor in the cooking.
Soy Sauce – regular or gluten-free soy sauce can be used. Also low-sodium soy sauce may be used if desired.
Ketchup – is is NOT a classic ingredient but one we love to build delicious flavor.
Spices: Cumin, Garlic Powder, Paprika and Ground Ginger. All add wonderful complex flavors.
Sriracha – adds some light spiciness and earthy flavors.
Rice Wine Vinegar – adds some tanginess.
Brown Sugar and Honey – creates the sweetness to compliment the salty and spicy flavors.
Low Sodium Chicken Broth – intensifies the chicken flavor and adds savory flavors to the sauce.
Cornstarch – helps thicken the sauce for a wonderful coating on the chicken.
Salt and Pepper to taste
Variations
Boneless Chicken Thighs are also great in this recipe.
Due to the type of meat and higher fat content thighs tend to have more flavor and easily stay moist when cooking.
If You Have More Time
Use fresh diced ginger and garlic. It will have a bolder flavor.
How to Make it- Step-by-Step
STEP 1: Combine the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl and whisk to combine.
STEP 2: In a separate bowl, combine the chicken broth and cornstarch; whisk to combine.
STEP 3: Heat the sesame oil in a large pan or skillet (non-stick preferred) over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook 4 minutes until white on the outside (photos 1-2). The chicken should not be fully cooked.
STEP 4: Add the sauce to the chicken (photo 3). Stir to coat and cook 3 minutes.
STEP 5: Pour in the chicken broth mixture. Cook 4-6 minutes until the chicken is done and the sauce has thickened (photo 4). Serve hot over rice.
Pro Tips
Have everything ready before starting to cook. Stir fry recipes are great because they are fast to make.
That also means they are fast cooking so there’s no time to prep while cooking.
What to Serve with Korean BBQ Chicken
The chicken can be simply served with rice or noodles. A sprinkle of sesame seeds on top is delicious!
Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Rice
Storing Leftovers
Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
More Recipes You’ll Love!
- Instant Pot BBQ Pulled Pork
- Oven Baked BBQ Chicken
- Triple Citrus Chicken Marinade Recipe
- Peanut-Encrusted Asian Pork Tenderloin
- Roasted Chicken Breasts with Apple Cider
- Moroccan Chicken
Recipe
Korean BBQ Chicken
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup low sodium Soy sauce regular or gluten-free
- 2 tablespoons Ketchup
- ½ teaspoon Cumin
- ½ teaspoon Garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon Paprika
- ½ teaspoon Ginger powder
- 1 tablespoon Rice Wine Vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Honey
- 2 tablespoons Light Brown Sugar
- 2 teaspoons Sriracha
- ⅓ cup Chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon Cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons Sesame oil
- 2 pounds boneless skinless Chicken Breasts cut into 1-inch pieces
- sesame seeds optional garnish
- sliced green onion/scallions optional garnish
Instructions
- Combine the sauce ingredients in a small bowl: soy sauce, ketchup, cumin, garlic powder, paprika, ginger powder, rice vinegar, honey, brown sugar and sriracha. Whisk to mix together.
- Combine the chicken broth and cornstarch; whisk to fully combine and dissolve the cornstarch.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet (preferably non-stick) over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook 4 minutes, until white on the outside. The chicken should not be fully cooked at this point.TIP: allow the chicken to sit for about 20 seconds before stirring to cook on another side (vs stirring constantly).
- Add the sauce to the skillet. Stir to coat the chicken. Cook for 3 minutes.
- Pour the broth and cornstarch mixture over the chicken. Continue cooking for 4-6 minutes or until the chicken is cooked thoroughly and the sauce has thickened.
- Serve over rice with a sprinkle of sesame seeds and sliced scallions!
Video
Notes
● You can serve it over rice or with noodles on the side.
● The sauce is sweet and savory and slightly sticky. A total crowd favorite!
Maddy says
Delicious! I had a bottle of Korean BBQ sauce at home, which made this even easier! If you want to sub the homemade sauce for store bought, use 190g of Korean BBQ sauce 🙂 It thickened up nicely and tasted delicious with rice. I’ll be making this again!
Toni Dash says
Great tip! We love easy around here ❤️
Elizabeth says
Could you do this with chicken tenderloins? Sounds delicious!
Toni Dash says
You should be able to though they will cook faster assuming you’ll cut them into pieces so you would need to adjust the cooking time.
Elizabeth says
Great, thank you!!!
LRad says
As usual, I needed a quick recipe for my young kids, one being super picky and typically doesn’t eat chicken. I didn’t have a couple of the seasonings, and I used two drops of ginger essential oil instead. I used flour instead of corn starch and also added diced zucchini as the broth was thickening. Instead of rice, I mixed with rotini pasta and it was delicious. My picky child that doesn’t eat much chicken devoured her meal and even knew it was chicken!
You can’t go wrong with this recipe! I can only imagine how amazing it tastes over jasmine rice. Love this easy and delicious recipe!
Toni Dash says
So glad you liked it! Thanks for sharing your creative modifications to make it work!
LRad says
As usual, I needed a quick recipe for my young kids, one being super picky and typically doesn’t eat chicken. I didn’t have a couple of the seasonings, and I used two drops of ginger essential oil instead. I used flour instead of corn starch and also added diced zucchini as the broth was thickening. Instead of rice, I mixed with rotini pasta and it was delicious.
You can’t go wrong with this recipe! I can only imagine how amazing it tastes over jasmine rice. Love this easy and delicious recipe!