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The super fast Korean chicken and rice bowl that tastes just like your favorite Korean spot in town but made at home! Quick-cooking chicken tossed in a sweet, tangy, and spicy Korean style Bulgogi BBQ sauce with spicy garlic butter corn. Serve this chicken over steamed white or brown rice with homemade yum yum sauce on the side. Every bite is saucy, sweet, spicy, and hinted with ginger and garlic, it’s delicious. Major bonus? This comes together in no time at all (under 30 minutes). Perfect for busy weeknights when you’re looking for something a little more exciting, but still quick and DELICIOUS.
Thursday night Korean takeout…made quickly at home?
Yes, yes, yes, it’s my favorite kind of night. You all know how much I love cooking Asian inspired recipes at home. Ever since our family’s trip to South Korea for the Olympics, Korean style cooking will always be my weakness. It’s always so good. Sure, this is not your traditional bowl of Korean style bulgogi, but bulgogi is really all about the sauce…or hot sauce. The actual translation means fire meat. Trust me, this bulgogi (plus homemade yum yum sauce) are spot on and so delicious.
So while the chicken itself is pretty classic, the spicy garlic butter corn is the “wild card” vegetable. As you can probably imagine, it’s a pretty delicious addition. And very seasonal for the time of year we are entering. As we change seasons, I love incorporating seasonal produce into everything I’m cooking. Since I recently stocked up on fresh ears of sweet corn, it was my go-to vegetable of choice for this recipe.
The process…
First up, toss the chicken with a little cornstarch and a touch of oil. Tossing the chicken with cornstarch allows it to get extra crispy and caramelize while cooking. This is KEY.
Now make the sauce. This is a pretty simple mix of Gochujang (Korean chili paste), soy sauce, and lots of fresh ginger and garlic. The Gochujang adds all the flavor, so you really don’t need much else. Gochujang makes everything good, it’s sweet, tangy, spicy, and salty.
Pan-fry the chicken in a little oil until it is crisp. Then pour over the sauce and let it simmer down. As the sauce cooks, it slowly thickens and caramelizes the chicken.
As the chicken is cooking, cook up the corn in a little butter and garlic. Yes, corn, butter, and garlic, so delicious. Oh, and add a jalapeño for a spicy kick. As I said, this is not traditional by any means, but it sure is good! Remember, it can be fun to switch things up!
By this time the chicken should be done as well.
Let’s finish this Korean bulgogi up.
First, make a quick homemade version of Asian style yum yum sauce. With my oldest brother in town, the rule is to always double the sauce. So while the chicken is perfectly saucy on its own, the yum yum sauce just adds that extra special touch. Is it needed?
No probably not. But is it good? Yes, definitely.
It’s a simple mix of yogurt (sour cream, or mayo, whichever you prefer, we like yogurt), more Gochujang, and a small squeeze of ketchup. Kind of an odd match-up of flavors, but trust me, this sauce is very delicious and the perfect creamy element to this crispy chicken.
Now, add steamed brown or white rice to a bowl. Then add that buttery corn and spoon the Korean chicken over it all. Finish with fresh green onions, cilantro, and toasty sesame seeds.
Enjoy…immediately.
Yes, this is that simple and that quick-cooking of a meal. Honestly, this will take you no more than thirty minutes to make. And aside from the corn, this uses a good amount of pantry staples too.
A couple of helpful notes…
What is Gochujang? If you’re not familiar with Gochujang it’s Korean chili paste. It’s spicy with a little sweetness, and it’s extremely flavorful. It’s traditional in a lot of Korean based sauces and is often used in Korean fried chicken or simply as a dipping sauce. Over here, we love Gochujang. I use it for so much more than just Korean food. It’s good when paired with pretty much anything that you’d enjoy with a touch of hot sauce.
You can buy Gochujang in most grocery stores. I know Whole Foods and Trader Joes carry it. I highly recommend this brand Gochujang. It certainly makes for the best truly Korean food.
Tip? If you love a lot of sauce (we do!), then I would recommend doubling the Gochujang sauce so that you can have extra for serving…yes, in addition to the creamy yum yum sauce. Never enough sauce, you know?
Lastly, while I love the corn with this dish, you can really use whatever vegetable you have on hand. Bell peppers would be my top pick, then broccoli, but you could also use asparagus, cauliflower, bok choy. Really, use whatever you’ve got.
And you guys…that’s it. This takes less than 30 minutes to make and it’s not only delicious but fun too. I know we’re not doing much eating out these days, so this is a fun way to do a “dinner out”, at home!
Looking for other homemade takeout style recipes? Some favorites of mine include…
Better Than Takeout Kung Pao Cauliflower
Weeknight Sticky Ginger Sesame Chicken Meatballs
Better Than Takeout Sesame Ginger Chicken Fried Rice
Lastly, if you make this 25 minute Korean Bulgogi BBQ chicken, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
25 Minute Korean Bulgogi BBQ Chicken with Spicy Garlic Butter Corn
Servings: 4
Calories Per Serving: 811 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs or breasts, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons corn starch or flour
- 3 tablespoons sesame oil or extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 3-4 tablespoons Gochujang (Korean chili paste)
- 1 tablespoon ketchup
- 1 inch fresh ginger, grated
- 4-5 cloves garlic, minced or grated
- 3 green onions, chopped, plus more for serving
- 3 tablespoons salted butter
- 4 ears corn, kernels, removed from cob
- 2 medium shallots, sliced or chopped
- 1 jalapeño, seeded (if desired) and chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
- 3 cups steamed white or brown rice
- yum yum sauce and sesame seeds, for serving
Instructions
- 1. In a medium bowl, toss together the chicken, cornstarch, and 1 tablespoon oil.2. In a glass jar, combine the soy sauce, 3 tablespoons Gochujang, ketchup, ginger, 2 cloves garlic, and 1/4 cup water.3. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When the oil shimmers, add the chicken and brown all over until it becomes crispy, about 5 minutes. Pour in the Gochujang sauce mix. Bring the sauce to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until the sauce coats the chicken, about 5 minutes. Stir in the green onions, then remove from the heat.4. Meanwhile, make the corn. Heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the butter, corn, shallots, remaining 2-3 cloves garlic, the jalapeño, and season with salt and pepper. Cook 5 minutes or until the corn is golden. Stir in the cilantro. Remove from the heat.5. To serve, divide the rice among bowls and top with chicken and corn. Serve with additional green onions, cilantro, and yum yum sauce (recipe below). Enjoy!
Notes
Yum Yum Sauce: Combine 2 tablespoons of Gochujang, 1 tablespoon ketchup, and either 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt, sour cream, or olive oil mayo. Season with salt. Sauce keeps for 1 week in the fridge.
This post was originally published on May 28, 2020
This has became an absolute must in our household. We make it once a week. We love the flavour, and the garlic butter with corn?! To die for. For sure make extra yumm yumm sauce as it goes fast. So good.
I am so glad you are loving this one, Abbey!! Thank you so much for trying it! xTieghan
This has become a family favorite! My kid ask for it every week! I’ve also made the blueberry lavender scones and key lime pie and both were excellent! Can’t wait to try more of your recipes!
Thank you so much Jessica!! That is so amazing to hear! xTieghan
I wonder if different types of gochujang sauce can be saltier? I used low sodium soy sauce, regular ketchup and a gochujang with 150 mg sodium per teaspoon and did not find this salty – and I hate salty food and am sensitive to it. The one I used is chung jung one from Hyvee. Might help some people who had bad results if that is a factor?
Hey Stefanie,
Thanks so much for the recommendation!! Hopefully it is helpful to others:) xTieghan
This is literally the BEST thing I made all summer so far. WOW. The chicken came out perfect – literally. All the spice is so complex – which I love. The corn was insanely good.
It was devoured.
I will be making this again this summer (I don’t usually repeat things so soon.) And I need to figure out a non-summer vegetable version so will experiment.
It was quick to make. Easy. Corn is in season right now – run and make this everyone. You will be so glad. I’m over the top happy.
That is so amazing to hear! Thank you so much for trying this one, Stefanie! xTieghan
The taste of everything was very delicious… but are we sure it’s 1/2 CUP of low sodium soy sauce? We made the sauce twice since the first tasted WAY too salty. But after the second sauce was made we added it to 1lb of chicken but the end result was a burst of delicious flavor, but incredibly salty. It must be from the soy sauce. Suggestions? Thanks for the great recipe other than that! ( we used mother in law for the gochujang if that matters, but that had salt in it as well).
Hey Jesse,
So sorry about the saltiness, I would reduce the amount of soy sauce that you are using or try using coconut aminos! I hope this helps! xTieghan
The family said, “save that one”. I always listen when they say that! Really great flavors.
Aw that is amazing! Thank you Stacey! xTieghan
My husband usually never cooks unless he’s grilling, which is fine because i genuinely love cooking! Im in my senior year of college and have been super busy these past few weeks, and today I was sooo stressed. My husband excitedly tells me that he found a recipe and was going to go to the store and get the ingredients and make dinner by himself so I could get my lab reports done. I thought it was super sweet! He starts making dinner and it smells INCREDIBLE. I honestly thought he was going to make something simple like tacos or spaghetti! Anyway, this is the recipe he picked out and made. I was shocked he even knew about your website, even though i make almost all our meals from here! It turned out to be one of the best dinners we have ever had, and he told me that he realized he likes cooking and wants to do it more. Seriously, this recipe is to die for. Just thought i’d share my little story because it made me smile. Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Aw wow!! That is so sweet of him! I am really glad you both loved this one, Hannah! Also, I hope you are having an amazing senior year! xTieghan
Made it last night. So good and so easy!! I even “cheated” and used dried minced garlic and frozen corn and it was still amazing. Only thing different was I added a little honey to the gochujang sauce that the chicken cooks in. Delicious! And the yum yum sauce was the perfect final touch. Thanks for another great weeknight recipe!
Thank you so much Andrea!! I am really glad this recipe turned out so well for you! xTieghan
This was absolutely delicious! All the flavors go so well together. I wasn’t going to make the yum yum sauce at first, but I’m glad I did. The creaminess really balances everything out. I did make cilantro lime rice for the rice and I didn’t have fresh corn on hand, so I improvised with canned. It was still awesome. I can only imagine how much better it would be with fresh corn.
Thank you so much for trying this one, Jennifer!! I am really glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
This chicken was so yummy and so easy to make; however, I wouldn’t call it Bulgogi. Maybe just Korean chicken. Regardless, make it. It was a perfect blend of sweet, salty, and spicy. The corn was incredibly easy to make and SO delicious – a perfect way to use up leftover summer corn. I’ll be making this again for sure!
Yes!! That is really amazing to hear, Natalie! Thank you so much for trying this one! xTieghan
Omg just made this and it was SO GOOD. This was last in a long day of meal prep cooking and I sleepily forgot the yum yum sauce but it was still the BEST without it. That coooorrrrnnn. Your recipes have been my go-to during the covid times and they’re always killer!
YES!! I am so glad this turned out so well for you, Bee! Thank you so much! xTieghan
10/10. Perfect amount of sauce, spicy, and sweet!!! Doubled the recipe and it turned out perfect. Will definitely be using the butter corn recipe to add as a side to other dishes!
Thank you so much Macy! I am really glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
We made this a couple weeks ago and absolutely loved it. I didn’t have fresh corn so used frozen, still delicious. We will make this meal again and again. Thank you.
Thank you so much Vicki! xTieghan
Pretty presentation. My husband loved it. The corn was wonderful. Way to spicy for me!
I am glad your husband loved this one, Donna! Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help! xTieghan
This was absolutely delicious – highly recommend.
Thank you so much Peggy! xTieghan