Korean Chicken Skewers - Amazing slightly spicy, flavor-packed Korean style grilled chicken skewers/kabobs marinated with bold Korean flavors and grilled to perfection!
If you are looking for a fun and delicious addition to your grilling recipe rotation, this is it! These chicken skewers have become one of my absolute favorite things to grill. They are marinated with gochujang giving them such a delicious flavor you are going to love!
We served our skewers with a fresh Asian style salad and steamed rice. You can pair these skewers with your favorite barbecue side dishes. I'll link a few of my favorite sides to pair with this recipe for you below.
This recipe makes about eight skewers giving each person two if you are serving four people. If you are cooking for a large crowd, simply double this recipe! If you are cooking for a smaller crowd, grilled chicken makes amazing leftovers!
Ingredients you need to make Korean Chicken Skewers:
Chicken Thighs - Boneless skinless chicken thighs are best in this recipe but you can also use boneless skinless chicken breasts.
Fresh Ginger - I HIGHLY recommend using fresh ginger in this recipe! If you have to substitute for ground ginger - use 1 tsp.
Garlic - Fresh garlic is best in this recipe! If you have to substitute for garlic powder - use 1 tsp.
Soy Sauce - I recommend using low sodium soy sauce in this recipe.
Brown Sugar - You can use light or dark brown sugar. If you don't have brown sugar, you can also use granulated white sugar.
Sesame Oil - Pure sesame oil adds a delicious flavor to this recipe!
Rice Vinegar - You can also use white wine vinegar.
Gochujang - This is a Korean hot pepper chile paste. You can find gochujang at your local Asian supermarket or online (linked here). If you can't find any you can use a substitute shown below.
Skewers - Wooden or metal skewers to skewer the chicken prior to grilling.
Green Onions - optional garnish.
**FULL MEASUREMENTS AND INSTRUCTIONS LISTED BELOW.
Substitute for gochujang:
For every one tablespoon of gochujang use one tablespoon of tomato paste with ½ teaspoon sriracha or other asian hot chili sauce.
Tools to have on hand for this recipe:
- small mixing bowl - Mixing the sauce/marinade.
- whisk - Whisking the sauce/marinade.
- measuring spoons + cups – To properly measure all of your ingredients.
- mincer – To mince the garlic. You can also just very finely chop the garlic.
- grater - For grating the fresh ginger.
- skewers – To skewer the Korean chicken.
- grill/barbecue – For grilling the chicken skewers.
How to make the Best Ever Korean Chicken Skewers:
Cut chicken into 1 ½" cubes and toss in a bowl. In another small bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients (except chopped green onions if using) to make the marinade.
Pour half of the marinade over the chicken and mix to fully coat chicken. Cover and place in the fridge to marinade for at least 4 hours up to overnight.
Cover remaining sauce and place in the fridge for basting the chicken later.
When the chicken is done marinating, place your chicken on skewers and heat the grill to medium heat.
Once the grill is hot, place skewers on lightly oiled grill. Turn the skewers every 3-4 minutes until the chicken is cooked through (internal temp 165 degrees), about 20-30 minutes. During the last few turns baste with remaining sauce.
Remove skewers from grill and serve with chopped green onions (optional) and your favorite side dishes!
My favorite side dish recipes to pair with Asian style main courses:
Grilled Zucchini - The most delicious zucchini seasoned with lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper makes the perfect BBQ side dish. Serve this amazing flavorful zucchini with your favorite grilled meats!
Fried Rice - Super simple take out style homemade fried rice with carrots and peas. Serve this delicious side dish with your favorite Asian main courses.
Creamy Asian Cucumber Salad - Thinly sliced cucumber and red onion tossed in a delicious creamy peanut dressing. This is one of my all time favorite salads!
Hawaiian Macaroni Salad - Creamy and delicious Hawaiian macaroni salad is an excellent side dish to serve with grilled huli huli chicken, pork and more!
Steamed white/brown rice.
If you enjoyed this recipe, here are a few more grilling recipes I think you'll love:
Teriyaki Chicken Skewers - The most delicious marinated teriyaki chicken grilled to perfection and finished with a delicious teriyaki sauce.
BBQ Bacon Wrapped Chicken Thighs - Seasoned chicken thighs wrapped in thick cut bacon, basted in a sweet sauce and then grilled to crisp perfection.
Steakhouse Burger - Made with a juicy quarter pound ground beef patty, sharp cheddar cheese, grilled onions and mushrooms with mayonnaise and mustard.
Grilled Spicy BBQ Chicken Thighs - Juicy grilled chicken thighs basted in a spicy homemade barbecue sauce. The low and slow method for cooking these thighs on the grill make for a super tender and juicy end result!
Korean Chicken Skewers
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lbs. chicken thighs boneless, skinless
- 2 teaspoon fresh ginger finely grated
- 2 teaspoon minced garlic
- 3 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
- 3 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoon gochujang
- chopped green onions optional garnish
Instructions
- Cut chicken into 1 ½" cubes and toss in a bowl. In another small bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients (except chopped green onions if using) to make the marinade.
- Pour half of the marinade over the chicken and mix to fully coat chicken. Cover and place in the fridge to marinade for at least 4 hours up to overnight.
- Cover remaining sauce and place in the fridge for basting the chicken later.
- When the chicken is done marinating, place your chicken on skewers and heat the grill to medium heat.
- Once the grill is hot, place skewers on lightly oiled grill. Turn the skewers every 3-4 minutes until the chicken is cooked through (internal temp 165 degrees), about 20-30 minutes. During the last few turns baste with remaining sauce.
- Remove skewers from grill and serve with chopped green onions (optional) and your favorite side dishes!
Spence
These were a massive hit with our Korean guests. We hosted a New Years Eve appy-night and out of 5 different appys, these were by far the favorite. I forgot to keep half the marinade for basting and put all of it in the chicken. I remembered about 2 hours later and strained 1/3 of a cup of the marinade off of the chicken with a fine mesh strainer and brought it to a boil and simmered it for 3 minutes. It made for the perfect shiny baste at the end!
Amanda Cooks & Styles
Hi Spence! Wow, that's so cool! Thank you for sharing and for your kind review. :)Amanda
Mary
Made these as appetizer sized skewers alternating with red and green capsicum and onion. Used my oven grill to cook. Very tasty and tender. They were a hit with everyone.
Will
This is a delicious recipe. I have made it several times. Even my teenagers love it!
Amanda Cooks & Styles
Hi Will! Thanks for your review! I'm so happy you and your family enjoy the skewers :)Amanda
Susan Reinbold
My chicken is marinating. The marinade is delicious!! I am making this for a church dinner tomorrow. What is the best way to reheat the chicken?
Katie
Just tried this out and it is soooo good! Will definitely be using this recipe often as it’s simple but really delicious. I had to order the gochujang from Amazon, but it was 100% worth it (also substituted minced ginger since I don’t know how to pick fresh ginger). I grilled some veggies alongside that also got marinated, I can’t wait to try this marinade for other things as well, like Salmon or whole chicken breasts.
Pat D
Made these this evening. I used chicken breast because that was what I had and I cooked them in the air fryer with a little rack that holds metal skewers. 15 minutes at 380°F worked great. Tender and juicy on the inside and a teeny bit charred on the edges. They didn't need turning because the rack held them 1/3 of the way up the air fryer. I put slices of onion between each piece of chicken and that turned out to be a nice addition. Served with Jasmine rice and and Asian inspired coleslaw.
Amanda Cooks & Styles
Hi Pat! Sounds delicious, thank you so much for your kind review. :)Amanda
Cookingcutie
These were really good! I marinated them for about 7 hours and kept a little sauce aside to use for basting and finishing after cooking. I roasted them in the oven on 400 for 10 minutes flipping once and then turned the broiler up to high and glazed/cooked another three minutes per side. They were perfect. Everyone enjoyed them especially my six year old.