Gochujang Chicken is an easy and delicious Asian Roast Chicken for dinner. This savory and popular Korean chicken recipe is the perfect whole chicken dish for Sunday lunches, Lunar New Year, Thanksgiving or even Christmas!
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What is Gochujang?
It's a red, fermented Korean chili paste which has a deep flavor. It's not meant to be eaten on its own but is usually mixed with other ingredients to make stews or sauces in Korean cuisine.
In fact, it's the building block of many Korean recipes as the fermentation process gives it a unique flavor which is a little sweet, a little tangy, a little spicy and full of umami.
Koreans traditionally made their own, but had to wait ages for the fermentation process. Here's a quick and easy gochujang paste recipe hack if you want to DIY but don't have the time. (Note I've not tested the DIY gochujang with this chicken, but I will.)
You can also use this Korean paste in fusion dishes. For example, you can:
- bake it with butternut squash
- serve it with pan-fried salmon and even spaghetti noodles!
🥘 Ingredients
Some of the key ingredients you will need for this gochujang chicken recipe are:
- chicken: I use 1 It's a perfect chicken dinner recipe for Date Night! as it's more economical but you can use other chicken parts as well. The cooking time will change though. (See substitutes below on how to use chicken thighs instead. I don't recommend using chicken breasts as they're rather flavorless and dry out easily if you bake for even a few minutes too long.)
- gochujang paste: get the 1 in the tub which is unseasoned and not the one in the squeeze bottle! If you like Korean cooking, this condiment is a must-have in your pantry. (It's pretty mainstream now so you can find it in regular large supermarkets. If not, head over to the Asian grocery store or online.) If you can't get it, try 1 of these gochujang alternatives. The ingredients should go well with sambal oelek too but the final dish would taste totally different.
- Oyster Sauce: My original recipe didn't have oyster sauce and it tasted good, but not so good my Mom asked for it often. So back to the kitchen I went, and adding the oyster sauce makes it more umamilicious!
- Mirin: you can substitute with soju and sake but add extra sugar as mirin is sweeter.
- Sugar: some recipes go for honey but heat destroys honey's benefits so I find it a waste and use white sugar instead. (I have not tested the recipe with maple syrup yet.)
- Rice Vinegar: do not omit the vinegar! The acidity lifts the flavors in the sauce. You can use white wine or apple cider vinegar instead but not lemon juice. I've done that substitution and it tastes flat!
- Sesame Oil
- Neutral Vegetable Oil: do not substitute with 100% sesame oil as sesame oil burns easily!
- Garlic Cloves and Fresh ginger
- Green onions and sesame seeds for optional garnishes.
It's a perfect chicken dinner recipe for Date Night!
Substitutes & Variations
- For more flavor: You can stuff the chicken, just before roasting. I have tried with ⅓-1/2 cup of aged, sour kimchi mixed with 1.5 garlic bulbs. Alternatively, rub some kimchi aioli in the chicken cavity!
- For a whole meal: I sometimes add ½ garlic bulb and 5 carrots, cut into rounds, under the marinated chicken to maximise my use of the oven. Feel free to use white potatoes, sweet potatoes, squash or even parsnips instead of carrots!
- Alternative stuffings: use a kimchi rice stuffing to make it a one-pot meal! (Carrots (veg/ fibre) + chicken (protein) + rice (carb)!)
- For a quicker cook: you can roast gochujang chicken thighs instead of a whole bird. (Place them skin side up.) This will bake at 425°F (218°C) for 25-35 minutes, or till the juices run clear when cut at the thickest part. (If you have a food thermometer, the internal temperature of the thickest part of the meat should be 165F/ 75C (or 175 F for dark meat.)
🔪 Step-by-Step Instructions
- Mix the marinade ingredients in a small bowl till well-combined:
- ¼ Cup gochujang paste
- 2 Tablespoons oyster sauce
- 2 Tablespoons neutral oil
- 1.5 Tablespoons white sugar
- 1.5 Tablespoons light soy sauce
- 1 Tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 Tablespoon white vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon mirin
- ½ Tablespoon seems oil
- Place the chicken in a large bowl and rub well with the spicy sauce then refrigerate for 8-16 hours. (Make sure to rub the inside of the chicken cavity too even if not stuffing it! See above for stuffing suggestions.)
Tip: you can place chicken on top of vegetables to roast at the same time. The chicken juices will drip onto the vegetables and make it more flavourful!
Note: Do not put the vegetables next to or above the chicken as they will release water and steam the chicken. You won't get a nice crisp skin!
4. Pre-heat the oven to 356F/ 180C /160C fan.
Remove the chicken from the fridge around 30 minutes before baking (or long enough for it to come to room temperature.)
Bake for 30 minutes then cover with aluminium foil- if not the top of the chicken will blacken- and roast for another 1 hour or till the juices run clear when a knife is inserted into the thickest part.
5. Rest the cooked whole chicken for 15-20 minutes before carving.
Optional: Boil the marinade over medium heat or medium-high heat for several minutes to kill any bacteria. You can use it as a spicy glaze or salad dressing.
Tip: To get crispier chicken skin, broil the chicken for 1-2 minutes after applying extra boiled-down marinade. (Make sure not to leave it in for too long as the sauce has a lot of oil which could catch fire!)
🥡 How to Store
Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
I turn leftovers into Korean lettuce wraps or Japchae Noodles or shred them and wrap in perilla leaves and bao buns. The bones can be made into chicken stock for soondubu jjigae or kimchi jjigae.
👩🏻🍳 Expert Tips
Tip #1: If you don't have the fermented Korean paste, you can try using 1 of these gochujang paste substitutes or DIY your own by mixing 2 tablespoons red pepper flakes with 2 tablespoons white miso paste (or doenjang), 2 tablespoons brown sugar and 1 tablespoon light soy sauce.
Tip #2: If you like spicy food, you can adjust the spice level by using more Korean red pepper paste or add gochugaru (Korean chili flakes) in the gochujang marinade. (Be careful, as different batches of gochugaru have different spice levels- some can be really hot.
Tip #3: Serve with steamed white rice, kimchi fried rice, stir-fried bok-choy, roasted sweet potatoes, cucumber salad, Korean jjiggaes, gochujang squash fries and kimchi all go well with this dish.
🥗 Other Korean Recipes
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Korean Gochujang Chicken
Equipment
- Knife and chopping board Substitute: grater
- Dutch oven Substitute: Baking tray
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken 2-3 pounds. Cooking time will vary with the size of the chicken ! You can use other chicken parts as well. The cooking time will change though (See substitutes below on how to use chicken thighs instead.)
Marinade
- ¼ Cup Korean Gochujang Paste (4 Tablespoons)
- 2 Tablespoons Neutral Vegetable Oil I used sunflower oil but you can substitute with olive oil.
- 2 Tablespoons Oyster Sauce
- 1.5 Tablespoons Light Soy Sauce Substitute: fish sauce.
- 1.5 Tablespoons White Granulated Sugar Substitute: honey
- 1 Tablespoon White Rice Vinegar Do not substitute with lemon juice- it doesn't taste as good! (I've tried.) Use white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar instead.
- 1 Tablespoon Mirin Substitute: the same amount of sake or soju but increase the sugar used to 2- 2.5 tablespoons.
- ½ Tablespoon Sesame Oil
- 3 cloves garlic peeled and grated
- 1½ inch ginger grated. Substitute: ½-1 teaspoon ginger powder but it won't have the same zing.
Garnish
- Sliced spring onions
- ½ Tablespoon White sesame seeds Lightly toasted
Instructions
Marinating
- Whisk the marinade ingredients till well-mixed.
- Coat the chicken well and marinade for 8-16 hours/ overnight (but not longer or the chicken flesh will break down due to the acid in the sauce.)Tip: Make sure to rub the inside of the chicken cavity too even if not stuffing it! See above for stuffing suggestions.
Roasting
- Remove the chicken from the fridge around 30 minutes before baking (or long enough for it to come to room temperature.)
- Pre-heat the oven at 356F/ 180C /160C fan.
- Bake for 30 minutes then cover with aluminium foil, and roast for another 1 hour or till the juices run clear when a knife is inserted into the thickest part.Note: there will be a lot of liquid in the container you marinated the chicken in. I don't recommend pouring all the liquid into the Dutch Oven as it won't thicken. Optional: Boil the marinade over medium-high heat for several minutes to kill any bacteria. You can use it as a spicy glaze or salad dressing.
- Rest the cooked whole chicken for 15-20 minutes before carving.
- Optional:To get crispier chicken skin, broil the chicken for 1-2 minutes after applying extra boiled-down marinade. (Make sure not to leave it in for too long as the sauce has a lot of oil which could catch fire!)
- Optional for a well-balanced meal and to maximise the baking: you can place vegetables under the chicken to roast at the same time. The chicken juices will drip onto the vegetables and make it more flavourful! Do not put the vegetables next to or above the chicken as they will release water and steam the chicken. You won't get a nice crisp skin!
Notes
Note: the nutritional information is an estimate automatically calculated using the WPRM recipe maker and I am not responsible for its veracity.
Nutrition
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Cherry says
Definitely adding to rotation! Easy korean roast right at home? Shoot, idk why it had to be a special occasion food when it was this easy🤧
Zen says
Thank you Cherry, I hope you like it! 🙂