Sweet and Spicy Gochujang Chicken Bowls

Sweet and Spicy Gochujang Chicken Bowls

Sweet and spicy gochujang chicken bowls made with a flavorful sauce, beautiful veggies, and plenty of protein from lean ground chicken. These easy basil chicken bowls take just 30 minutes to make for the perfect weeknight meal! Options to serve with fresh garnishes over rice or noodles.

Course Dairy Free, Dinner, Gluten Free, Lunch, Paleo Friendly

Cuisine American, Asian

Keyword basil chicken bowls, gochujang chicken bowls

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 15

Total Time 30

Servings servings

Calories 294cal

Author Monique Volz of AmbitiousKitchen.com

Ingredients

For the sauce:
½ cup filtered water
¼ cup low sodium soy sauce
2 to 3 tablespoons gochujang
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons brown sugar (or coconut sugar)
1 tablespoon grated ginger
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons arrowroot starch or cornstarch
For the chicken:
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
6 scallions, thinly sliced (white and green parts divided)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 large red bell pepper, chopped
½ teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 pound lean ground chicken (or turkey)
⅓ cup roasted or toasted cashews
½ cup fresh Thai basil or sweet basil, torn
To garnish:
Toasted sesame seeds
Reserved scallions (green part only)
Extra fresh torn basil
For serving:
Cooked white or brown rice

Instructions

Prepare the sauce: In a medium bowl, whisk together the water, soy sauce, gochujang, sesame oil, rice vinegar, brown sugar, ginger, garlic and arrowroot starch (or cornstarch). Set aside.
Cook the chicken and vegetables: Add 1 tablespoon sesame oil to a large skillet and place over medium heat. Once oil is hot, add in scallion (white part only), peppers and garlic and season with ½ teaspoon kosher salt and a few grinds of freshly ground black pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 to 3 minutes, then move peppers to the sides of the pan and add in the ground chicken. Quickly begin to break up the meat and cook, until it is no longer pink, stirring occasionally, about 5 to 6 minutes.
Stir in sauce: Once meat is cooked, turn heat to low and add in the roasted cashews and the sauce. Cook, stirring occasionally, 2 to 4 minutes more to allow flavors to develop and sauce to thicken up. Remove from heat and stir in basil, or reserve the basil for garnishing (up to you!)
Garnish and serve: Serve warm in shallow bowls over rice of choice and garnish with sesame seeds, sliced green onion (green part only) and a little extra torn basil.

Notes

To make these bowls vegetarian: swap the ground chicken for a can of rinsed, drained chickpeas, or crumble extra firm tofu and cook it the same way you do with the ground chicken.

To use chicken breast: cube your chicken, then cook in sesame oil over medium heat and season with salt and pepper. Transfer the cooked chicken to a bowl and keep the heat in the skillet to cook your veggies. Add the chicken back to your skillet with the cooked veggies before you add the sauce!

See the full post for tips, tricks, and ways to customize this dish!

Nutrition