This spicy Korean chicken bulgogi (bo͝olˈɡōɡē) only requires an hour to marinate and 5 minutes to cook! The marinated chicken thighs are broiled in the oven for 5 minutes and have a spicy, garlicky, and mildly sweet flavor. Serve this chicken bulgogi recipe with white rice, in lettuce wraps, or with a Japanese Spicy Kani Salad.
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Bulgogi refers to barbecued meat. This Korean dish features thinly sliced meat, marinated in a delicious savory marinade, and grilled on an open flame. Dak-Bulgogi is the chicken version of this popular dish.
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🥢 What Is Chicken Bulgogi?
Chicken bulgogi, also known as dak bulgogi ("dak" means chicken in Korean), is a variation of the popular Korean barbecue dish traditionally made with thinly sliced beef. Instead of beef, this version uses boneless chicken thighs marinated in a sweet, savory, and spicy sauce made with gochujang, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, sesame oil, and a touch of honey.
The word bulgogi translates to "fire meat," referring to meat that's grilled over an open flame. While it's often cooked on tabletop grills in Korean restaurants, you can easily make delicious chicken bulgogi at home using your broiler, outdoor grill, air fryer, or even a cast-iron skillet.
🍗 What Does Chicken Bulgogi Taste Like?
Chicken bulgogi is packed with bold Korean flavors. The marinade is savory from soy sauce, slightly sweet from honey, nutty from sesame oil, and spicy from gochujang. Garlic and fresh ginger add plenty of depth, while broiling or grilling caramelizes the marinade, creating lightly charred edges and juicy, flavorful chicken.
If you're worried about the spice level, don't be! Gochujang adds more flavor than heat. If you prefer a milder version, simply reduce the amount of gochujang or stir in a little extra honey.
😍 Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Chicken Bulgogi is ready in about 30 minutes.
- Uses simple, easy to find ingredients.
- Better than takeout.
- The spice level of the recipe can be adjusted based on your own personal preference.
- Perfect for grilling, broiling, or air-frying!
🔖 Ingredients and Substitutions
- Chicken: Boneless, skinless chicken thighs are used in this recipe, but can be substituted with chicken breasts instead.
- Gochujang Paste: Gochujang Korean Chili Paste is available at most Asian markets or on Amazon.
- Soy Sauce: Either light or regular soy sauce may be used in this recipe.
- Honey: If you don't have honey, you can use brown sugar (or light brown sugar). Corn syrup is another option.
- Rice Wine Vinegar: White wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar can be substituted.
- Sesame Oil: Sesame seed oil adds a terrific flavor, so I don't recommend replacing it with vegetable oil unless you absolutely have to.
- Fresh Garlic: If you don't have fresh garlic, you can substitute 1 teaspoon garlic powder.
- Fresh Ginger: Fresh ginger can be replaced with 1 teaspoon powdered ginger.
- Crushed Red Pepper Flakes: The crushed red pepper can be adjusted based on your heat tolerance.
- Sesame Seeds: Sesame seeds are used in the marinade and as a garnish. You can use white or black sesame seeds or a combination of the two. Be sure to toast them in a pan for a minute or two to bring out their flavor.
- Pear: Sometimes a pear or an apple is shredded into the marinade. This helps to further tenderize the chicken. I didn't add it to the marinade this time, but I encourage you to try it.
- Cooking Spray: If you don't have any cooking spray to spray the rack, you can brush it with vegetable oil instead.
🥣 How to Make Chicken Bulgogi
Step 1: Prepare chicken bulgogi marinade by mixing Gochujang paste, soy sauce, honey, rice wine vinegar, sesame seed oil, garlic, ginger, crushed red pepper flakes, and half the sesame seeds in a bowl or a measuring cup.
Step 2: Add chicken thighs to the marinade and mix to coat all the pieces with the marinade. Refrigerate for a minimum of one hour.
How to Cook Bulgogi Chicken
Step 3: Place a rack on a foil-covered sheet pan and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Add marinated chicken thighs and broil on high for 2½ minutes per side. Slice into bite-sized pieces before serving.
Pro Tip: You can also stir-fry, air-fry, or barbecue the chicken on the grill. There's no wrong way to cook chicken bulgogi; just don't boil it! 😉
Looking for more chicken recipes? If so, check out this sticky sesame chicken (with spicy option) and my easy chicken scallopini recipe!
🍽 Serving Suggestions
Serve this bulgogi chicken recipe with white rice, grilled or fresh veggies, and sprinkle with the remaining toasted sesame seeds before serving. I like to drizzle the sliced chicken with spicy Korean bibimbap sauce, but you can let your guests decide if they want the additional heat.
Or serve with a light salad, for example, this Bok Choy Salad from Gina at Running to the Kitchen. Roasted sugar snap peas would be another great option!
🤷🏻♀️ Recipe FAQs
Bulgogi is a very flavorful Korean marinated beef or chicken. The taste is savory, slightly spicy, with a hint of sweetness.
Korean Chicken Bulgogi is typically served over white rice. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds and sliced green onions or perilla leaves before serving. Sliced veggies can also be arranged around the plate. Try cucumbers sliced into rounds, matchstick-cut carrots, and sliced Serranos.
If you prefer, serve bulgogi chicken in a lettuce wrap for a healthier option. Top the chicken with cabbage, broccoli, or kimchi. Drizzle with Ssamjang (soybean paste) or, for a spicy kick, try spicy korean bibimbap sauce instead.
One boneless and skinless chicken thigh marinated in bulgogi sauce and broiled or grilled has 280 calories per serving.
You may be wondering, what exactly does Bulgogi mean? In Korean, "bul" means fire, and "gogi" means "meat," so Bulgogi translates to "fire meat." However, a better definition would be "meat cooked over a fire" or "barbecued meat."
👩🏼🍳 Pro Tips
- Make a double batch of the marinade to make some beef bulgogi too.
- Although this recipe is great for a last-minute dinner idea, marinating the chicken longer is even better!
- Korean BBQ chicken makes for great leftovers and freezes well too.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days, or freeze in a freezer bag for up to a few months.
- Perilla leaves are consumed in many Asian cultures. Their flavor profile is somewhere between mint and basil.
🥡 More Asian Recipes
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Ingredients
Method
- Prepare chicken bulgogi marinade by mixing Gochujang paste, soy sauce, honey, rice wine vinegar, sesame seed oil, garlic, ginger, crushed red pepper flakes, and half the sesame seeds in a bowl or a measuring cup.
- Add chicken thighs to the marinade and mix to coat all the pieces with the marinade. Refrigerate for a minimum of one hour.
- Place a rack on a foil-covered sheet pan and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Add marinated chicken thighs and broil on high for 2½ minutes per side. Slice into bite-sized pieces before serving.
Nutrition
Notes
- This Korean Bulgogi Chicken recipe can also be stir-fried in a wok, air-fried, or grilled on a barbecue grill. There's no wrong way of cooking the chicken; just don't boil it! 😉
- Make a double batch of the marinade to make some beef bulgogi too.
- Although this recipe is great for a last-minute dinner idea, marinating the chicken longer is even better!
- Korean BBQ chicken makes for great leftovers and freezes well too.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days, or freeze in a freezer bag for up to a few months.
- Perilla leaves are consumed in many Asian cultures. Their flavor profile is somewhere between mint and basil.
Rbar says
excellent recipe and very easy. made exactly as recipe stated except for the pepper flakes (we have kids eating this too, so needed it mild). i wasn't sure what rice wine vinegar to use (saw the link to mirin too late), so I used chinese chinkiang vinegar and a mix of soy sauces. marinated overnight and broiled about 8-10 minutes in total. it was really good and tasty but still mild enough for the entire family. easy and recipe that will go into the rotation next time.
Hilda Sterner says
Hi Rhonda, I'm glad you were able to adjust the recipe to your family's preference! Thank you for coming back and reviewing the recipe!
Kelly Methey says
Sounds totally delicious! Can’t wait to try it! I love all the new interesting cuisines you introduce us to!
Hilda Sterner says
Thank you!