Enjoy a little heat and lots of flavour with this Korean spicy chicken that is paleo, gluten-free and low in sugar. Serve with cauliflower rice, steamed Asian greens or a salad. Use regular rice or rice noodles for non-paleo sides.
Ingredients
- 600 g boneless skinless chicken thighs 1.3 lbs. cut into medium pieces
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons coconut oil
For Spicy Korean Sauce
- 1/2 small red onion roughly diced
- 2 cm long fresh ginger root peeled and roughly diced (about 1 tablespoon grated)
- 2 cloves garlic peeled and roughly diced
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 3 tablespoons Tamari or coconut aminos
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon mirin or rice wine vinegar (optional)
- 3 teaspoons Korean red powder
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 4 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Garnishes
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
- Chopped spring onions/scallions
Instructions
- Season the chicken with a little sea salt and set aside.
- Add the sauce ingredients to a blender or a food processor. Blend together until fairly smooth, then scrape into a small saucepan. If you don't have a blender, grate the onion, ginger and garlic and mix well with the rest of the ingredients.
- Add the sesame seeds to a clean frying pan. Heat over medium heat. Toast for a minute or two, stirring frequently until the seeds brown slightly. Remove to a bowl.
- Heat a dollop of coconut oil in a large skillet. Add the chicken pieces and cook over medium-high heat for 5 minutes on each side.
- In the meantime, place the pot with the sauce over medium heat. Bring to simmer and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring frequently. This will thicken the sauce and cook some of the ingredients such as onion, garlic and ginger, making those flavours more subtle.
- Once the chicken has cooked on each side, add the sauce over the top and stir through. Cook together for 2-3 minutes, stirring a few times. The sauce will caramelise and get even more sticky. Finally, sprinkle with some of the sesame seeds and stir through. Then top with green onion and the rest of the sesame seeds.
- Serve with cauliflower rice or white rice if you wish and some greens.
Notes
The spicy sauce in this recipe uses Korean red pepper but you can use another type of mild red chilli powder. Make sure it's mild! Otherwise, reduce the amount to 1-2 teaspoons.
Nutrition
Calories: 416kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 43g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.04g | Cholesterol: 190mg | Sodium: 1972mg | Potassium: 732mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 731IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 56mg | Iron: 3mg
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