These Korean-inspired chicken burgers are packed with bold, punchy flavours in every bite. Crispy, golden chicken is coated in a sticky gochujang glaze, then layered with melty cheese and a crunchy homemade kimchi-style slaw for the perfect balance of sweet, spicy and tangy. They’re guaranteed to be a hit at your next barbecue or fakeaway night.
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Yields:
4 serving(s)
Prep Time:
35 mins
Cook Time:
12 mins
Total Time:
47 mins
Cal/Serv:
925
Ingredients
4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
4 Tbsp. sesame oil
4 Tbsp. soy sauce (we used GH Pantry Partner* Kikkoman)
4 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. ginger and garlic paste (we used KTC Ginger & Garlic Paste)
3 Tbsp. vegetable oil
150 g cornflour
4 sesame burger buns
8 American cheese slices
Kewpie mayo, to serve
For the pickles
6 Chinese cabbage leaves
6 spring onions
160 ml rice wine vinegar
50 g sugar
2 tsp. gochugaru red pepper flakes or 1 tsp chilli flakes
For the gochujang sauce
4 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 heaped tbsp gochujang paste
2 tsp. honey
2 Tbsp. tomato ketchup
2 tsp. rice wine vinegar
2 tsp. sesame oil
1 tsp. fish sauce
Directions
Step 1Remove any fat from chicken thighs and slice each thigh in half so you have two thin fillets per burger. Place chicken between two sheets of parchment and bash with a rolling pin until half the original thickness. Put chicken in a bowl with the sesame oil, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar and garlic and ginger paste.
Step 2For the pickles, slice the cabbage leaves into 5 mm-wide strips. Split your spring onions lengthways and slice diagonally. Transfer to a bowl, add a pinch of salt and let sit. Gently heat the vinegar and sugar with 160 ml water in a saucepan until the sugar has dissolved. Pour the pickling liquid over the veggies, add the gochugaru flakes and mix well. Leave in the fridge to cool. Add all your sauce ingredients to the same pan, along with 20 ml water. Heat over a medium heat and simmer until thick. Set aside.
Step 3Heat the vegetable oil in a large frying pan over a high heat. Combine the cornflour with a pinch of salt and use to coat the chicken thigh fillets, shaking off any excess flour. Put in the frying pan, cooking for 3½ min on each side, turning down the heat slightly if needed. Meanwhile, toast the burger buns. Once cooked through, golden and crispy, remove chicken from pan to a plate lined with kitchen towel and brush with the sauce. Place a cheese slice over each of the fillets and leave to melt. Spread the base and lid of each bun with mayo. Add two cheesy chicken gochujang fillets to each base, followed by some drained pickles. Top with the bun lid and serve.
GH TIPS:
Make a big batch of pickles – they last up to a week in the fridge.
No Kewpie mayo? Just use normal mayonnaise instead (although we promise you'll love Japanese Kewpie mayo once you try it).
The GH Kitchen Team are Good Housekeeping’s resident recipe developers and all-round food obsessives. GH Kitchen Director Sarah Akhurst is our resident hosting pro and loves nothing more than putting on a foodie feast for friends. Our GH Kitchen Manager Linzi Pucino is our very own Italian food expert (originally hailing from the North East of Scotland!) and can be found working her way through midweek recipes that cover all bases, from haggis to ragu! Our Kitchen Editor Nadine Brown loves digging into the stories behind her favourite foods and enjoys applying her eclectic tastes to more modern, flavour-forward recipes - just don't give her too much chilli! Our Junior Food Content Produce Frankie Prichard combines a love of beautiful presentation and flavour-led, seasonal cooking in her recipe development, along with a passion for bringing people together through food. With a wealth of professional kitchen experience between them, they’re dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work every single time
Frankie is the Junior Food Content Producer, developing, testing and refining recipes, as well as creating fun, educational content across the GH Kitchen’s print and digital platforms. While studying Communications and Media, her passion for bringing people together through food quickly found its place in the kitchen, leading to a career shaped by hands-on experience in the hospitality industry. Now, she brings that same energy and creativity into the world of food publishing. Previously, Frankie trained as both a baker and chef at Landrace Bakery and Upstairs restaurant in Bath, Somerset. She has also worked as a freelance assistant food stylist and private chef in London, combining a love of beautiful presentation with flavour-led, seasonal cooking.
