Gochujang Glazed Chicken Thighs

Gochujang is a Korean condiment and ingredient made by fermenting chilis, rice, and soybeans.  The end product is a rich, sticky, sweet, and spicy paste that adds heat and tremendous depth of flavor to soups, stews, BBQ, and any number of preparations.    I love it, and I’m happy that it’s become a popular enough ingredient in the last few years that you can now find it in many grocery stores.

Advertisements

This recipe uses gochujang as a base for both a marinade for brining the chicken, and in a glaze that creases a sweet, spicy, slightly charred crust that nicely contrasts the tender meat. 

We’ll brine the meat for a couple days in a mixture of the pepper paste, additional salt, sugar, a touch of vinegar, and ginger.   Then roast it in a hot oven – or even grill it – basting with a sweet and spicy glaze. You can control the spiciness of the dish by choosing mild, medium, or hot Gochujang, or by adding additional gochugaru – Korean chili powder or even simply adding a little cayenne pepper to the final glaze. This recipe calls for bone-in, skin on thighs.  It Is possible to use boneless thighs, but you’ll want to adjust the final cooking – use lower temps and shorter cook time –  to account for the loss of fat and the protection the skin affords.  Without shorter gentler cooking, skinless thighs will dry out.

Gochujang Glazed Chicken Thighs

Recipe by DrewCourse: MainDifficulty: Easy
Servings

4

servings
Prep time

15

minutes
Cooking time

30

minutes
Marinade

12

Hour

Sticky, spicy gochujang glazed roasted chicken thighs.

Ingredients

  • Marinade
  • 4 bone-in, skin on chicken thighs

  • 1 tbsp gochujang

  • 1 tbsp white sugar

  • 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar

  • 1 tsp kosher salt

  • 1 tsp minced or microplaned ginger

  • 1 tsp minced or microplaned garlic

  • Gochujang Glaze
  • 1 cup hot water

  • 2 tbsp gochujang

  • 2 tbsp white sugar

  • 1 tbsp honey

  • ½ tsp toasted sesame oil

  • Garnish
  • Thinly sliced green onion

  • Black sesame seeds

Directions

  • Marinade the Chicken
  • Combine gochujang, sugar, salt, vinegar, garlic, and ginger in a non-reactive bowl and whisk to combine well.
  • Transfer the marinade to a zip-top plastic bag and add the chicken. Press as much air out of the bag before sealing and move the bag about to completely coat the chicken with marinade.
  • Place the chicken in the refrigerator and allow to bine for at least 24 hours and up to 72.
  • Prepare the glaze
  • Combine all ingredients in a pan over medium heat and mix well. Allow to reduce by 1/3-1/2 until a smooth glaze forms that coats the back of a spoon. Allow to cool slightly before using.
  • Cook the chicken
  • Preheat your oven (or grill) to 400° F.
  • Remove the chicken from the brine, and brush generously with the glaze.
  • Bake or grill for 20-30 minutes, frequently basting with glaze, until the chicken is cooked through to the bone or the internal temperature reached 165° F.
  • Garnish with thinly sliced green onion and black sesame seeds.
  • Serve with steamed short grained rice and Korean style pickles such as napa kimchi or quick cured cucumbers.
Advertisements

Be sure to check out my other food project, The Weekly Menu!

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.