Korean Spicy Stir-Fried Chicken and Vegetables is a flavorful, mildly spicy stir-fry loaded with vegetables, tender chicken, and a richly seasoned sauce.
Korean Spicy Stir-Fried Chicken and Vegetables
This recipe is one of those comfort-meets-excitement dishes. When we lived in Saint Paul, my husband and I had a favorite Korean restaurant that served a version of this chicken. It left a lasting impression and inspired me to recreate a home version that captures the same balance of savory, sweet, and gently warming heat.
I adapted this recipe from Sue at My Korean Kitchen, who was generous with guidance while I worked through unfamiliar ingredients like rice cakes. The result is an easy-to-make stir-fry that tastes restaurant-worthy but comes together at home.
A quick note about rice cakes: the recipe calls for a short soak in cold water. They may still feel firm at first, but once cooked in the stir-fry they soften beautifully and add a satisfying chew that complements the chicken and vegetables.
More dinner ideas
Baked Tortellini, Chicken Alfredo Lasagna with Spinach, Pressure Cooker Mexican Rice, and Easy Garlic Beef and Broccoli are all great options when you want variety during the week. These dishes share the same goal: big flavor without excessive fuss.
Some of the ingredients for this recipe — especially the Korean pantry staples — are easiest to find at an international grocery store. If that’s not available near you, many of these items can be ordered online. I recommend buying larger jars of gochujang and gochugaru if you plan to cook more Korean dishes; they keep well and unlock many recipes.
The chicken is cut into bite-sized pieces and is briefly seasoned with mirin, ground ginger, and pepper. The sauce is the star: it acts as both a marinade and the cooking sauce, packing a deep, layered flavor.
Gochujang is the primary component of the sauce. It’s a Korean fermented red chili paste made from red chili, glutinous rice, soybeans, and salt. Its texture and fermented depth give the sauce a sweet, salty, and slightly smoky backbone.
Combine the gochujang with minced garlic, dark brown sugar, grated onion, Korean soy sauce (or a regular soy sauce if needed), Korean chili powder or gochugaru, and a touch of yellow curry powder for warmth. These ingredients create a sauce that’s complex, slightly sweet, and warmly spiced.
Gochugaru, a dried red pepper flake, adds a bright, sun-dried chili flavor and a gentle heat. It’s more nuanced than many chili flakes and contributes to the overall authenticity of the dish.
Slice the vegetables: sweet potato, carrots, and cabbage work especially well here. Prepare the rice cakes by soaking them briefly in cold water, then drain. Combine the sauce with the seasoned chicken and let it marinate for an hour in the refrigerator to allow the flavors to meld.
For best results, preheat a large wok or a heavy skillet until it’s very hot before stir-frying. High heat helps to sear the chicken and slightly caramelize the sauce. If your cookware can’t hold very high heat, the dish will still be tasty, but a properly hot wok offers a superior texture and slightly smoky flavor.
Start by stir-frying the vegetables and soaked rice cakes for a couple of minutes, then add the chicken and sauce. Stir constantly until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce coats everything beautifully. Serve over steamed rice for a complete meal.
The finished dish is pleasantly different from familiar stir-fries: it offers a mellow warmth that builds without overwhelming, with a satisfying mix of textures from tender chicken, soft rice cakes, and crisp-tender vegetables.
I kept the recipe very close to Sue’s version. I did omit perilla leaves when I couldn’t find them locally, and while perilla adds a distinctive herbal note, the dish remained rich and complete without it.
Korean Spicy Stir-Fried Chicken and Vegetables
Big, bold Korean flavors shine in this stir-fry — a great home-friendly version of dak bok eum (spicy stir-fried chicken) you might find at many Korean restaurants.
1 hour 15 minutes
20 minutes
1 hour 35 minutes
Ingredients
Chicken and seasoning
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 2 tablespoons mirin
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ⅛ teaspoon ground pepper
Sauce
- 3 tablespoons gochujang (Korean red chili paste)
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon Korean chili powder or gochugaru
- 1 tablespoon Korean soy sauce (or regular soy sauce)
- 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon Korean yellow curry powder
- ½ onion, grated or finely minced
Vegetables
- 1 medium white-fleshed sweet potato, thinly sliced
- ½ cup sliced carrot
- 2 cups sliced cabbage
- 1 pound rice cakes (soaked for 20 minutes in cold water)
- Oil for stir-frying
Instructions
- Combine the chicken with mirin, ground ginger, and pepper. Let sit for 15 minutes. While it rests, mix the sauce ingredients, slice the vegetables, and soak the rice cakes.
- Mix the sauce with the chicken, cover, and refrigerate for one hour to marinate.
- Preheat a large, well-seasoned or non-stick skillet or wok over high heat with a small amount of oil. Add the vegetables and rice cakes first, then add the chicken and sauce mixture on top. Let the vegetables cook briefly, then stir and continue to cook until the chicken is fully done and the sauce coats everything.
- Serve immediately with steamed rice.
Nutrition Information
Yield: 8 • Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 407 • Total Fat: 6g • Saturated Fat: 1g • Unsaturated Fat: 4g • Cholesterol: 50mg • Sodium: 957mg • Carbohydrates: 63g • Fiber: 5g • Sugar: 10g • Protein: 24g
Nutrition data provided here is an estimate. If you need precise information for medical reasons, please consult a trusted source.