Turn up the heat with these beautifully glazed roasted chicken thighs. Spice up your weeknight dinner with all of the flavor, and none of the mess.
Miso and gochujang are two things I always have in my fridge. Miso is a Japanese seasoning made from fermented soy beans and koji (cultured rice) that is used in a lot of sauces, soups, marinades etc. Gochujang, a spicy Korean fermented chili paste. It’s made from chili powder, sticky rice, and fermented soybean powder. You know, that spicy sauce used in bibimbap and tteokbokki. Both are fermented, meaning they last a long time & provide many health benefits!
How spicy is it?
I would say this recipe has a little kick to it but it’s nothing that you would cry over. I have a moderate tolerance for spice (live for chili oil, would cry if I ate a whole Thai chili) and these are perfect for me.
This recipe is super easy and puts dinner on the table in less than an hour. It’s one of those dishes where you can do anything you want. No gochujang? Just use the miso! No miso? Just use gochujang! Want it saltier? Add some more soy sauce! Want it sweeter? Add some maple syrup or your sweetener of preference! Chicken breast, chicken thighs, skin on, skin off, another meat entirely, go for it. Serve them with rice and some greens, or however you want it! Now go and make something yummy!
Gochujang Miso Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
- 6 chicken thighs boneless skin optional
- 2~3 tbsp gochujang
- 2 tbsp miso paste red preferred
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp maple syrup or sweetener of choice (optional)
- 3 tbsp dashi stock or water/any stock you have
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar optional
- 1 tsp grated ginger
- 2 tsp grated garlic
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- In a large bowl, whisk all the ingredients except for the chicken together. Taste to see if you need more soy sauce/gochujang/sweetener to your preference.
- Marinate chicken thighs in the sauce for a minimum of 20min. (If you choose to marinade for longer, probably a good idea to preheat your oven at a later time).
- Line a baking tray with foil and bake the chicken for 20min. Reserve the residue marinade and brush it on top of the chicken halfway. If you are using skin-on chicken, place the chicken skin side up.
- Broil the chicken for 4~6min or until the top is lightly charred. Brush marinade on the top every minute or so (do not let it dry out).
- Enjoy!
Hey thanks for reading if you make this and tell me I’ll name my big toe after you :)
Hi Izzy!
I marinated the chicken a few days ago and it’s been too hot to fire up the oven but I baked these off tonight! Didn’t run them past the broiler, just baked at 400.
I used 3 heaping tablespoons of gochujang (the regular one isn’t hot enough for me and the hot one is too hot)…..Maybe a little more water to thin it all down, a little more rice wine vinegar.
I should have backed off or skipped the soy, it was too salty for us low salt types, but I liked it and will do this again.
I’d rather be the little toe than your big toe!
Thanks so much for commenting! You actually caught my attention with the part about the soy sauce, I realized I usually like to balance out the saltiness by adding a bit of maple syrup (or any sweetener). I mentioned it in the post but didn’t write it into the recipe, though I’ve added that now. It’s definitely more of a guideline than a strict recipe since the consistency and heat level will depend on your preference. Really appreciate the feedback and hope you try out other recipes <3
I made this and it turned out pretty great! The little burnt bits of sauce are the best part. I modified this and added 1 tbsp of mirin since I thought it fit the flavour profile. Perhaps that was a mistake as it came out sweeter than I would like. Next time I make this I’ll add 1.5 tbsp of maple syrup instead.
Hey Rashik, thanks for trying it out! Glad you liked it :D Since there’s already a sweetener in the marinade I agree it’d be a good idea to cut back on it if you want to add mirin. Depending on the maple syrup you buy it could also be sweeter than the one I used to make this, so it’s always good to taste the marinade before you add the chicken to make sure you like it!