Next Post
Ricotta Naan with Fried Eggs and Sweet Potato Fries.
This post may contain affiliate links, please see our privacy policy for details.
Instant Pot Sticky Korean Chicken…the best Monday dinner.
FOR REAL.
Sorry, I don’t mean to shout at you, especially on a Monday, but it’s true what I said up there, this is the best Monday dinner. It’s an under thirty minute meal, super simple, and extra delicious.
Ok, all the dramatics aside, I do truly love this recipe and am very excited to share it with you guys for so many reasons.
I wanted to start the week off with yet another Korean inspired recipe, because you guys…we are just two days away from boarding an airplane and flying off to South Korea. Craziness! It’s still unbelievable to me that we are headed there to watch my brother compete in the Olympics. I know I’ve been talking about this for weeks, but this is for sure the coolest thing to ever happen within my family. I have been following along with my brother Red’s Instagram stories (it is so fun having social media so we can all be a part of his experience). He spent Saturday in Soul, South Korea getting fitted for his Team USA Opening and Closing Ceremony outfit. Yup, just another normal Saturday…
Right, right.
One of my favorite Korean inspired recipes is Bulgogi, which is Korean gilled beef in a sweet and spicy sauce. It’s truly just so good. I have a recipe for Korean Bulgogi BBQ Steak Bowls that you guys all seem to love, but I wanted to create a lighter, simpler chicken version using the Instant Pot (don’t worry, I included slow cooker directions too).
The key to this recipe is all in the sauce, it’s sweet, sticky, and a little bit spicy. It takes normally boring chicken to a whole new level.
Most traditional Bulgogi marinades use pears and a lot of brown sugar, but I wanted to keep this chicken on the healthier side, so I swapped honey for brown sugar and reduced the sweetness a bit by omitting the pear (which I am really not a fan of anyway). The rest of the sauce consists of Gochujang (Korean chili paste) sesame oil, ginger and garlic.
And then? Everything gets mixed and cooked up in the Instant Pot (or slow cooker). It could not be easier.
I like to serve this Korean chicken over a bed of rice with some kimchi, toasted sesame seeds, and green onions. I also added in some thinly sliced mango…because I am obsessed and I can’t help myself. Mango is for sure not Korean, but it’s delicious. Just go with me on this one.
Here’s the thing, as I said, I’m sure this is not traditional. But that’s kind of the idea of these Korean inspired recipes I’m sharing, they’re only Korean inspired. I can’t wait to see how the recipes I’m sharing now, differ from the real deal Korean food that we will be enjoying in South Korea. My goal is to find some new inspiration while there and be able to come home and share new, more traditional, Korean recipes with you guys.
But until then, you should probably make this chicken, because traditional or not, it’s really stinkin’ good.
Also? I think if there’s one thing I would cook in the Instant Pot, it would be chicken. I’m not going to lie, I have a love/hate relationship with my Instant Pot. I’m still trying to figure certain things out. But if there’s one thing the Instant Pot seems to cook amazingly well, it’s chicken. No matter what, it always turns out tender, moist, and never dry.
That said, this can easily be cooked in the slow cooker or even in the oven.
And with that, I’m off to keep working away in preparation for my week away. Happiest Monday!
PS. I have only ever been out of the country once, and that was to Mexico, so this will be a whole new kind of experience for me. It should be fun…and very interesting, considering no one in my family knows even a little Korean. Ahh, yikes!
Instant Pot Sticky Korean Chicken
Servings: 6 servings
Calories Per Serving: 358 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce or tamari
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1-2 tablespoons Gochujang (Korean chili paste)
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
- 1 inch fresh ginger, grated
- 2 cloves garlic, grated
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
- steamed white rice, for serving
- 1 cup kimchi
- 1 mango, sliced
- toasted sesame seeds and green onions, for serving
Instructions
- 1. In the bowl of your instant pot the soy sauce, honey, Gochujang, sesame oil, ginger, and garlic. Add the chicken, tossing to coat. Cover and cook on high pressure/manual for 8 minutes. Once done cooking, use the quick release valve and release the steam. If needed to thicken the sauce, set the instant post to sauté and cook 10 minutes or until the sauce thickens and coats the chicken. If the sauce seems thin, just continue to cook on sauté, checking often until the sauce is your desired consistency.2. To serve, spoon the chicken and sauce over bowls of rice. Toss the kimchi with the mangos and serve alongside the chicken. Sprinkle toasted sesame seeds and green onions. Enjoy!
SLOW COOKER DIRECTIONS
- 1. In the bowl of your crockpot, combine 2 tablespoons water, the soy sauce, honey, Gochujang, sesame oil, ginger, and garlic. Add the chicken, tossing to coat. Cover and cook on LOW for 3-4 hours or on HIGH for 2-3 hours. If the sauce needs thickening, turn the heat to high and cook uncovered for 30 minutes. Finish as directed above.
NOPE….definitely not your average chicken.
Def use thick whole chicken breast and def skip the water
Thanks Ria!
Where is the water in the recipe that people are referring to
HI! I have removed the water from the recipe after further testing. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂
How many calories is this per serving?
Hi Lou,
I do not provide the nutritional information for my recipes because I truly try to use whole ingredients as much as possible. I am so sorry for this. There are many calorie counting apps and websites where you can put in the information and divid by the serving size to find out the calories, fat etc. If you have any other questions please let me know! I hope you love this recipe!
I made this last night in my Instant Pot and the whole family loved it. I used the Saute function at the end and it thickened up just like your pictures. This will definitely go in our favorite recipes.
Yum!! Thanks so much Lori!
I made this for dinner tonight and it was amazing! Thanks!
Thanks Kelly!
This recipe was very good! I read some of the comments and for the watery sauce (this happened to me too even after omitting the water and I had it on sauté for 10 min). I added arrowroot starch! Only about 1 1/2 tablespoons and the sauce thickened right up. Hope that helps because it is a great recipe!
Thank you so much Bethany! I am so glad you loved this!
I NEVER return to a blog and leave feedback on a recipe but I had to for this one and I must say, authentic or not, this was one of the BEST chicken recipes I have ever made. I am not a big fan of chicken and I’ve had my InstaPot in the cupboard for months, never used, but decided to give this a try and again, so glad I did! The only change I made was omitting the 1/4 c of water to ensure that the sauce would cook down and get thick knowing that the chicken would give off juice. My husband told me to put this in the rotation and it definitely will be! Looking forward to the leftovers for lunch today! 🙂
I am SO happy to hear that! Thank you so much Amber. I am really glad you loved this recipe and hope you enjoy others as well!
This was the maiden recipe for my new InstantPot. Turned out sooo great, and so fast! I made with chicken thighs, and thickened the sauce with a little arrowroot flour and water at the end, Served with cauliflower rice and garnished with raw broccoli slaw, sliced green onions and sesame seeds. Hubby loved it, one bite and he pronounced it “out of the park!”…. no left-overs (dang it!)
That is so amazing! I am so glad you enjoyed this Anne, thank you!!
I will have to invest in an instant pot, I did make this in a slow cooker, Great flavor combinations.
will make again. Thank you.
note: also, I did have to take some sauce out & cook down a little in saucepan to get a thicker glaze consistency, but no biggy. was great!
I am really glad you enjoyed this, Karen! Thank you!!
So sad…mine also came out super watery and not sticky at all ?. Sautéed but didn’t really help. Any other recommendations to make this stickier next time in the instant pot?
HI! I am so sorry for the trouble. How long did you sautee for? Did you add any extra water?
Hi! This looks amazing! I’m going to be trying it out for dinner tonight. I had one question though – did you cut your chicken into pieces before or after they were cooked in the instant pot? I’m not sure if it matters or not.
Thanks!!
I like to leave the chicken pieces whole while cooking. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂
For some reason, my sauce came out really thin and didn’t coat the chicken at all and wasn’t sticky. I’m wondering what I did wrong? I cut the recipe in half, but other than that, didn’t alter it at all. That being said, it still tasted delicious!
HI! You can just cook the sauce longer on saute until it thickens and coats the chicken. Should take about 3-5 minutes, just stir it often. Hope this helps! Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂
I tried this tonight and the sauce was delicious, but it didn’t “stick” to the chicken the way yours did. I had a lot of liquid still in the Instant Pot after the time was up and it didn’t thicken too much even after sauteeing for a further five minutes. Any ideas on what might have gone wrong? I followed your recipe to the T so I’m not sure where I messed up.
HI!! I would just cook the sauce on sautée longer until it thickens and coats the chicken. Sometimes it just needs a little more time. Please let me know if you have other questions. Glad you love this recipe! Thanks! ?
I followed all your directions in an instant pot. Sautéed for 5 minutes but the sauce is very watery and after sitting the oils and other ingredients separated. Any help on how to get it to look like yours?
HI!! I would just cook the sauce on Sautée longer until it thickens and coats the chicken. Sometimes it just needs a little more time. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂
Make your recipes all the time and love them! This is the first time I have used my Instant Pot so was anxious to try a tried and true recipe. Mine DOES NOT look like yours. I sautéed the sauce to make it thicker and I did not get that beautiful coating in your picture. Tastes great (and not too spicy following exact recipe!) but doesn’t look nearly as appetizing. Thoughts??
And, OMG, reading your other comments…is Red your brother? The Red that just won GOLD?! How exciting and big congrats to your fam!!
HI!! So I would just cook the sauce longer until it thickens and coats the chicken. Sometimes it just needs a little more time.
And yes, Red’s my brother!! THANK YOU! 🙂