Gochujang Honey Mustard Fried Chicken Sandwich
I wish I could put into words how epicly good this gochujang honey mustard chicken sandwich was. I was basically drooling the whole time I was making it and taking pictures of it, and when the time finally came to eat it, It felt like it was over too fast! The spicy sweet and tangy gochujang honey mustard is incredible and I will be pouring it on everything from now on. The fried chicken thighs were so crispy on the outside and juicy tender in the center. The spicy pickles were refreshing and hot and crunchy all at the same time. The brioche bun was the perfect vehicle for this sandwich and soaked up all the juicy goodness!
Where did the idea come from?
I made some Korean style chicken wings on a TV show last week but I only got to eat a few of them – I had to be good since I was on TV after all! Not only was I craving the flavors again the next day, but I wanted to explore them in a different way. I made the sauce for this sandwich by starting with the same base I made for the wings – gochujang, soy sauce, and sesame oil, but then I added a ton of honey and mustard to give it more of the mash-up feel my recipes are known for. I went with a sandwich instead of wings so there would be no bones in the way of me scarfing this thing down. I made it for lunch the day after the show with all the leftovers and it was so good!
Making the chicken
To marinate the chicken, just pour the liquids from your kimchi or pickle jar over the chicken and let it sit in the fridge for a few hours. I will always suggest chicken thighs for a fried chicken sandwich because they come out way more juicy!
After marinating, mix some flour, cornstarch, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and paprika in a shallow dish. Then drip some marinade into the flour mixture and stir it around. This part helps it get more craggy nooks and crannies when you fry it. The more craggy he surface is, the better the gochujang honey mustard will stick to the fried chicken and taste great on the sandwich!
Frying the chicken
Dredge the chicken through the flour, then gently drop it into the oil.
So crispy! So good!
After it comes out of the fryer lightly salt it.
Making the gochujang honey mustard
Just mix the ingredients in a bowl. That’s it! If you can’t find gochujang near you, grab it online.
Ingredients in the gochujang honey mustard
- gochujang
- honey
- yellow mustard
- dijon mustard
- soy sauce
- sesame oil
Building the gochujang honey mustard fried chicken sandwich
The cucumbers are sliced super thin and tossed in some soy sauce, rice vinegar, and chili crisp
Toast the brioche and top with some mayo. Then the chicken, then top with lots of sauce! Then add on the pickles and top bun and serve!
I like a lot of sauce
The gochujang honey mustard fried chicken sandwich is a perfect mashup of flavors and a spicy sweet treat that dreams are made of!
Indulgent and amazing.
Twists on the gochujang honey mustard fried chicken sandwich
You could make this with just regular pickles if you didn’t feel like making the pickle mixture. If you wanted to use frozen chicken tenders for this, I am not going to judge you. The sauce is really easy to make and you could put this whole thing together pretty quick if you used a frozen tender. You might just like it enough to make i from scratch the next time!
If you are looking for more sandwiches with Korean flavors, check out my KoReuben, This Lamb Burger, or the Korean Cubano!
Gochujang Honey Mustard Chicken Sandwich
Ingredients
Marinate the chicken
- 2 boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 3/4 cup pickle juice or kimchi juice
- pinch of salt
Cucumbers
- 1 english cucumber sliced super thin
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons chili crisp
- pinch of salt
Sauce
- 1/4 cup gochujang
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons yellow mustard
- 1/2 cup honey
Fry and serve
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- pinch of salt
- oil for frying
- 2 brioche buns
- 3 tablespoons kewpie mayo (or regular mayo)
Instructions
- Marinate the chicken a few hours or overnight in the pickle or kimchi liquid. (or both)
- Mix all the cucumber ingredients together in a bowl. Set aside in the fridge until ready to use.
- Mix the sauce ingredients. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed to balance sauce.
- Add the oil to a fryer or heavy pot. Bring the oil to 350.
- Stir the flour together in a dish with the cornstarch, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika. Use a spoon to drip a few spoonfuls of the chicken marinade throughout the flour mixture and stir it to combine. It should from little balls in the flour.
- Remove chicken from the remiaining marinade and allow excess liquid to drip off. Dredge in the flour to coat. Make sure to cover all surfaces and get the chicken well floured.
- Fry the chicken about 10 minutes to brown, crisp, and cook though. Remove from oil and place on a wire rack. Season with salt.
- Toast the buns, then spread with mayo. Top with the chicken, sauce, pickles and top bun. Serve.