Spicy Korean Chicken Bao Buns

Amazingly tasty Spicy Korean Chicken Bao Buns that taste even better than what you’d get at a fancy Asian restaurant. This recipe showcases the intense flavors of Korean cooking, with a delicious Spicy Chicken that has been marinated in Gochujang and grilled until charred and caramelized. The Chicken is then stuffed into fluffy Bao Buns and filled with Scallions, Cilantro, and a Spicy Sambal Sauce. The flavors are immense, making for a fantastic appetizer or hearty dinner you can easily cook at home!

How to make our Spicy Korean Chicken Bao Buns

The star of the show is the Chicken, which is marinated overnight in a delicious mixture of classic Asian ingredients. Soy Sauce, Ginger, Garlic Sesame Oil, Honey, and Brown Sugar are mainstays in a great Asian-style marinade. What sets this marinade over the top, however, is a generous helping of Gochujang. This famous Korean Chili and Soybean paste is packed full of rich spicy sweet flavors. It tastes amazing when used to grill Chicken

Once the Chicken has marinated overnight in the wonderful marinade, it’s then packed tightly onto large wooden skewers ready to be grilled. Leave a little room at each end of the skewer so you can easily turn them while they’re cooking. Then, into the oven they go!

The Spicy Chicken is charred and caramelized to perfection in this delicious dish

Cooking the Chicken

For our recipe you can simply use your ovens broiler to cook the Chicken. Crank the broiler on high and set the oven rack so it’s close (but not too close!) to the broiler. Lay your Chicken Skewers out on a sheet pan lined with foil and broil them for about 6 minutes on each side

At this point the Chicken is pretty much cooked (the internal temperature you need for completely cooked Chicken is 160F) however we’ve got one final step in the Chicken cooking to make it even more charred and delicious

Pull the Chicken out from under the broiler and hit it with a generous final brushing of Gochujang. This is easiest done if you have a kitchen brush, otherwise you can use a spoon. Coat the Chicken well then broil it for 2 more minutes to char and caramelize the coating

You can also cook the Chicken on your outdoor grill or frying pan

If the weather suits and you have the means, we highly recommend grilling your Chicken over a medium high heat on the outdoor grill. Nothing beats the flavor of char-grilled Chicken, and this method is the absolute best way to prepare the Chicken for our Spicy Korean Chicken Bao Buns

Alternatively, you can cook them in the frying pan. The Chicken will cook perfectly; however, you will not achieve that delicious caramelization and char that is a hallmark characteristic of this dish. Try the broiler method for the best result

While the Chicken is cooking you can prepare the filling

What’s great about Bao Buns is you can really add whatever fillings you like. For our recipe we’re keeping things traditional with a combination of Scallions, Cilantro, and Spicy Sauce. The Scallions are finely sliced to allow them to fit snuggly in the Buns. Cilantro can be kept a little rougher, just break off the leaves and they’ll be good to go

We recommend adding a beautiful Spicy Sauce to the Bao Buns. We’ve opted for Sambal, which is an Indonesian Spicy Sauce that just works great with our Spicy Korean Chicken Bao Buns. Another great sauce you can use is Hoisin which is typically used in Peking Duck and adds a great sweetness to the dish

To serve, we recommend plating everything family style with each ingredient in its own bowl. This way, everyone can make their own Bao Buns and mix and match the fillings. For our recipe we’re recommending that you simply opt for store bought frozen Bao Buns. This is purely out of convenience, as making Bao Buns from scratch is very labor intensive. The store-bought stuff is great, and can be heated up 90 seconds in the Microwave

This dish makes for the perfect appetizer or main course for dinner

Preparing the Chicken requires a little bit of work, especially since it requires an overnight marinade. Therefore, we recommend you make this dish as a great family dinner to enjoy. You can fill out the meal by also preparing some delicious Rice (try this amazing Scallion Rice Recipe) for a fuller meal

Alternatively, these Spicy Korean Chicken Bao Buns are a fantastic lunch, or appetizer that you can serve before a main course. It’s a great dish to show off your prowess in the kitchen, while secretly knowing the dish itself is so easy to make! It’ll be great to kick off a tasty Asian-inspired home cooked feast!

Spicy Korean Chicken Bao Buns Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 ½ lbs. Chicken Thighs
• 4 Garlic Cloves, finely diced
• 1 tsp. Ginger, grated
• 4 tbsp. Soy Sauce
• 1 tsp. Sesame Oil
• 3 tbsp. Gochujang
• 1 tbsp. Brown Sugar
• 1 tbsp. Honey
• 4 Scallion Stalks, finely sliced
• ¼ cup Cilantro, roughly chopped
• 2 tbsp. Spicy Sauce (eg Sambal)
• 8 Frozen Bao Buns
  
  

Equipment needed: Wooden Cooking Skewers

Instructions

1. Dice the Chicken into bite sized pieces and then place into a large Ziploc bag or bowl with the Garlic, Ginger, Soy Sauce, Sesame Oil, 3 tbsp. Gochujang, Sugar, and Honey. Mix well and massage marinade into Chicken. Seal and refrigerate overnight
2. When you are ready to cook, thread the Chicken pieces tightly onto Wooden Skewers, leaving at least 1 inch of space at each end
3. Place the Skewers onto a wire rack or sheet pan lined with aluminum foil and place under the broiler set on high heat in the oven
4. Cook for 6 minutes, then flip and cook for a further 6 minutes. Brush the Chicken with 1 tbsp. of Gochujang and broil for 2 more minutes until caramelized and completely cooked
5. Remove the Chicken pieces from the skewers using a fork and set aside
6. Place the Frozen Bao Buns on a large plate. Spritz each with a splash of Water, cover with Cling Film and Microwave for 90 seconds
7. Serve the Cilantro, Scallions, and Spicy Sauce into individual bowls along with the Bao Buns and Chicken and enjoy
   
   

Recipe Notes

• You can grill the Chicken Skewers using your outdoor grill for a wonderful, charred finish
• Try elevating the Skewers in the oven by placing them over a high-sided sheet pan for an even cook and delicious charred flavor
  
  

Our Spicy Korean Chicken Bao Buns taste so good, you just must try them! When cooking the Chicken this way you’ll achieve an amazing char and caramelization that just elevates this entire dish. Feel free to add whatever toppings and fillings you like in your Bao Buns

For more tasty Asian-inspired recipes, check out these favorites of ours:

• Easy Tom Yum Soup
• Kimchi Fried Rice
• Teriyaki Shrimp Skewers
• Crispy Pork Belly Bao Buns
  
  

Happy Cooking!