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Fire up those grills, because this Korean-inspired Chicken Skewers recipe is so simple and oh-so flavorful!
Frankly, this Korean BBQ-inspired marinade is going to blow you away, and it all comes together by simply combining delicious layers of flavor. One of the most important ingredients being gochujang, which is a savory, sweet, and spicy fermented red chili paste that is very common in Korean cooking. I love the layers of flavor it easily adds to any dish so I try to always keep it on hand in my pantry (this is the brand I use).
The other thing about these skewers that I love is the use of boneless, skinless chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts. In my opinion, the thighs stand up better to the high heat of the grill to ensure a juicy chicken skewer. You can, of course, swap for chicken breast, but the thigh really does keep these skewers super moist and prevents them from drying out. The other thing to note is that you can really use any protein with this Korean-inspired BBQ sauce. Try cubed steak or shrimp to shake things up!
You can also shake things up by serving these Korean-inspired Chicken Skewers in a variety of ways. Here are a few pairing ideas!
- Variety of grilled vegetables
- Ginger Scallion Rice
- Alternatively, you could make Ginger Scallion Cauliflower Rice
I can’t wait to see how you all serve these up!
Korean-Inspired Chicken Skewers
Ingredients
For the Chicken:
- 4 tbsp gochujang, I use Mother In Law’s brand
- 3 tbsp coconut sugar
- ¼ cup rice vinegar
- ½ cup coconut aminos
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 2.5 pounds boneless skinless chicken thigh
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp white pepper
- 6 [12-inch] wooden skewers
For the Grilled Scallions:
- 1 bunch scallions, root ends trimmed
- 1 tbsp avocado or olive oil
Instructions
Marinate the Chicken:
- In a large bowl, whisk together the gochujang, coconut sugar, rice vinegar, coconut aminos, toasted sesame oil until well combined and smooth. Transfer â…“ cup of the marinade to a small bowl, cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Trim excess fat off of the chicken, and cut into 1 inch cubes. Add the cubed chicken, salt, and pepper to the remaining marinade and toss until well coated. Cover and refrigerate to marinate for at least 2 hours (can marinate overnight if you’d prefer).
Cook the Skewers and Scallions:
- About 10-20 minutes prior to grilling, soak your skewers in hot water. This helps prevent them from catching fire. When the chicken has marinated and the skewers have soaked, thread the chicken onto the skewers.
- Heat grill over medium-high heat (350-400 degrees F) and oil the grill grates (to do to this, dip a wadded paper towel in a little oil and, using tongs, wipe the oil evenly over the grate. Be careful not to use too much oil, because that's a sure fire way to start a good flare-up—a little goes a long way here.)
- When hot, place the skewers on the grill and cook on the first side for 3 to 4 minutes , or until nice grill marks have formed. Flip the skewers and then baste the grilled side generously with the reserved marinade, Continue to cook until chicken is cooked through and nice grill marks have formed on both sides, 3-4 more minutes. The grill should be closed as much as possible as you are cooking the chicken.
- Transfer the cooked chicken skewers to a tray and brush once more with remaining sauce, if you have any. Set aside to rest while you prepare the grilled scallions.
- Drizzle the scallions with the oil. Lay the scallions on the medium-high heat grill and grill until you see girl marks, about 2 minutes. Flip the scallions and continue to cook on the other side, until you see grill marks, 1 to 2 more minutes.
- To serve, slice the scallions and sprinkle over the grilled chicken skewers. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds, if desired. Serve as desired and enjoy! I served mine with grilled zucchini and steamed jasmine rice.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Can I use regular sugar instead of coconut sugar? Or would that make it too sweet with using 3 Tbsp?
brown sugar would be a better sub here, and i’d just use 2 tbsp.
This recipe is a winner! Husband rated it 10/10 😊
This is my second time making it in a week…it’s that good! Thank you for always coming up with delicious recipes my WHOLE family loves!
Made it with shrimp and paired with the Broccoli Ramen Salad. Perfect summer dinner! Definitely making again this week!
Made this for dinner last night! My family ate every single morsel and wanted more! SO GOOD!
This was soooooooooo delicious! I bought extra spicy Gochujang sauce and it was just enough heat for me. However, it was too much heat for my husband. But he ate it and liked it. I added zucchini, red onions, bell peppers (green, yellow, & orange), and mushrooms to my skewers. The flavor of the sauce mixed with the veggies and chicken was indescribable! I’m going to use this sauce with salmon and veggies tonight. I am already thinking of what other meats to drench in it. Thank you so much for sharing!
So glad you love it!
Made this tonight and it was insane! My entire family loved! So easy, too! Made them with sautéed spicy Asian zucchini and onions. 🤯
Didn’t have coconut sugar so I used honey.. but was impressed!!! It was delicious!!
Any suggestions for a replacement on the gochujang? My family cannot do heat and I want to make these family friendly.
You can opt to use Ketchup (I like primal kitchen brand). It’ll change the flavor to be a little more sweet, but will still be great!
INCREDIBLE! Definitely one of our new favorite recipes. Perfect amount of heat. Paired ours with Ginger Scallion Rice and daaaaaaang!
Wow, just made this for dinner! SO delicious! 🤩 Thank you!