Glazed & Braised Korean Chicken

Here are a couple things you might notice about this Glazed & Braised Korean Chicken recipe if you’ve been around here for a while:

1. Yes, this is the second post in January that involves a red food in a white Dutch oven. (Looking at you, Chipotle Beef Chili.) I can’t help it. I’m obsessed with my Dutch oven—even more so after making Julia Child’s boeuf bourguignon in it last week. [Insert at least 5 heart eye emojis here.]

2. “Glazed & Braised Korean Chicken” is a much more cutesy name than I’d typically give to one of my recipes. I can’t say I love the sing-songy title, which is likely affiliated with my mild annoyance with overly rhyme-y poems. In this instance, the cute, rhyming title happens to be a pretty straightforward description of the dish, so we’ll use solely for the sake of practicality.

I’ve recently discovered the magic of braising, and I only wish I’d tried it out sooner. We’ll start this recipe on the stove to get a little bit of texture and golden color on the chicken, then we’ll glaze it, add liquid, and transfer it to the oven to simmer for a while.

The result is a chicken thigh that falls right off the bone, and I don’t think you’ll be sorry you tried it.

Ready to give it a shot? Let’s do this thing.

If you try this Glazed & Braised Korean Chicken at home, I’d love to hear what you think! Share pictures with me on social media by tagging @thesavvyplate on Instagram or Twitter or by mentioning my page The Savvy Plate on Facebook!

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Glazed & Braised Korean Chicken

Tender braised chicken thighs glazed with Korean gochujang and honey.

Course Dinner

Cuisine American, Asian, Korean

Cook Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Servings 6 thighs

Author Savannah

Ingredients

• 6 chicken thighs (skin on, bone in)
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tbsp coconut oil
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 1 1/2 cups unsalted chicken broth
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp gochujang
• 1 1/2 tbsp honey
• 1/4 cup minced shallots or red onion
• 5 cloves garlic (minced)
• 1 tbsp minced ginger

Instructions

1. If possible, salt the chicken 3 hours in advance. (Peel back the skin and salt underneath.) Remove from fridge 30 minutes before cooking.

2. Heat Dutch oven on medium and add coconut oil and sesame oil. Add chicken thighs, skin side down. Cook 5-6 minutes, until golden. Flip, and cook another 5 minutes. You may wish to do this in two batches to avoid crowding the pot and to get better browning. Remove chicken thighs to a plate. Drain fat from the Dutch oven.

3. While the chicken is cooking, combine chicken broth, rice vinegar, and soy sauce in a bowl or measuring glass. In a separate bowl, combine gochujang and honey, adding up to 1 tbsp of the broth mixture to thin it out. Preheat oven to 325.

4. Add garlic, ginger, and shallot or red onion to the pot. Cook until soft and golden.

5. Splash some of the broth in the pot to deglaze, scraping up all the browned bits with a wooden spoon. (Don't remove the scrapings from the pot though!) Add all of the chicken thighs back into the pot in a single even layer on top of the onion, garlic, and ginger. Pour in enough liquid to cover 1/3 to 1/2 of the way up the meat. 

6. Brush the gochujang & honey glaze on the tops of the chicken thighs. Cover the dutch oven, and transfer to the oven to bake at 325 for 45 minutes. You'll know the chicken is done when it's tender enough to fall off the bone.

Recipe Notes

I prefer to serve this dish with jasmine rice, steamed vegetables, and kimchi!