Korean BBQ Chicken Rice Bowl Recipe

There's something so refreshing about this Korean barbecue chicken rice bowl recipe. With its julienned fresh vegetables, perfectly cooked grains of jasmine rice, expertly seasoned pungent and spicy chicken, and creamy but fiery sauce, it's the perfect representation of how moreish Korean food can be.

According to Ksenia Prints from At the Immigrant's Table, Korean barbecue has a long and illustrious history that dates back thousands of years. While much of its renown has to do with the communal nature of the serving of the food, there are some Korean barbecue elements that can be replicated at home, and the easiest among them is Korean barbecue chicken.

The chicken is marinated in flavors like funky gochujang, soy sauce, sugar, and mirin, along with a healthy dose of fresh aromatics. We then sear the chicken on a hot cast iron pan for a char effect — just like it would get in a restaurant. Accompanied by some fresh toppings, it's perfect for a make-ahead lunch or light dinner. And one of the best things about this recipe is that it tastes good hot or cold. So next time you feel like you want something fresh and satisfying with well-balanced flavors and textures, give this Korean barbecue chicken bowl a try.

For the chicken marinade, you'll need some familiar Korean staples like gochujang paste, soy sauce, light brown sugar, sesame oil, minced garlic, grated ginger, rice vinegar, mirin, and red pepper flakes. For the chicken itself, we recommend boneless, skinless chicken thighs (though you can of course use another cut like breast), and vegetable oil for cooking.

For the spicy sauce that'll accompany the bowl, you'll need more gochujang, mayonnaise, sesame oil, lime juice, garlic cloves, and honey. And for assembling the bowls, you'll need jasmine rice, shredded carrots and Lebanese cucumbers, scallions, and a mix of white and black sesame seeds.

Whisk together the gochujang, soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, rice vinegar, mirin, and red pepper flakes in a bowl.

Add the chicken pieces and toss to coat them evenly. Marinate for at least 30 minutes (or up to 4 hours refrigerated).

Make the spicy sauce by whisking together gochujang, mayonnaise, sesame oil, lime juice, garlic, and honey. Add water 1 tablespoon at a time until you reach a pourable consistency. Set aside.

Heat the vegetable oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat.

Working in batches, cook the chicken pieces 5-6 minutes per side until caramelized and cooked through, maintaining the heat for grill marks. Don't crowd the pan.

Chop the chicken into 1-inch slices.

To assemble, divide the cooked rice among four bowls. Arrange the chicken pieces on top. Add carrots, cucumber, and scallions in sections around the bowl. Drizzle with spicy sauce and top with sesame seeds.

Serve assembled Korean barbecue chicken rice bowls.

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The best part of Korean barbecue is that it's truly a self-designed feast, and these bowls embody that perfectly. While we gave you a great, simple, and filling chicken recipe, there are many other Korean-inspired directions you can go with this protein.

One very appropriate swap is to use Korean fried chicken as the center of the dish. While it will be a bit more of an elaborate process, and should be assembled and served hot, a bowl topped with sizzling, crunchy, and juicy Korean fried chicken is truly a feast worth the effort. Just make sure you set enough time aside for the long marinating and the double-coating process.

Another beloved Korean chicken preparation is buldak chicken, or fire chicken. In this recipe, chicken is marinated and cooked in an assortment of fiery spices and flavorings, then topped with copious amounts of molten cheese and scallions. The end result is unimaginably good, and it would turn this bowl into a decadent celebration of Korean bar flavors.

The inspiration for this bowl was the Korean communal dining philosophy that underpins experiences like the increasingly popular Korean barbecue, Korean restaurant culture, and even regular everyday family dinners. At the heart of Korean eating is the idea that everyone shares in a couple of large-batch proteins, accompanied by a myriad of "banchan" — small side dishes that accompany nearly every meal. Banchan are meant to provide textural and flavor contrast and complexity to the meal, which is almost always accompanied and eaten with rice.

With this in mind, we can draw inspiration from some typical Korean banchan when coming up with additional toppings for our dish. Kimchi would be the most obvious choice, with its tangy fermented flavor forming a good contrast to the umami-rich chicken at the heart of this dish. Keep in mind that it is very strong and might overshadow the sauce slightly, so you may want to start with a small amount and increase it.

Other good toppings for this dish are some sauteed or marinated mushrooms, seasoned spinach, and pickled radish, all of which would also be found as part of a typical banchan spread. But our favorite topping here would likely be cheese Korean corn, which can be poured warm onto the rice and chicken. If going with corn, skip the cucumber and carrots, as they'll get drowned out by the rest of the flavors.

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