This Sauce, This Crunch… There’s No Way This Isn’t Good.
Guess what’s for dinner tonight?
It starts with crispy chicken and ends with gochujang butter sauce. Wait, no, it ends with yum yum sauce, after the other sauce, because two sauces is better than one.
This was a huge win in our house this last month. My daughters have a real appreciation of crispy chicken (dipped in ketchup). And my husband and I closed our eyes in joy eating our own double-sauced, crispy-spicy bites.
Our friends down the hall at our office were popping their heads in all day: Is that chicken ready yet? Can we have another plate of it? When will you publish that recipe?
I am tempted to offer an explanation for why this isn’t a “full meal” recipe – but that’s kind of the point. It’s Japanese chicken katsu meets Korean flavor meets finger-licking wings at Applebees, all in a snacky, basic dinner type way.
I sauce it, slice it, plop onto a plate, and go to town.
But it would also be great as a rice bowl, sandwich, or salad topper!
Important: if the thought of breading the chicken is making your head spin, do the same thing but with a frozen, store-bought crispy chicken filet. It’s hard to go wrong here.
Hope you love this!
Crispy Gochujang Chicken
Total Time: 35 minutes
Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
Crispy crunchy chicken with a gochujang butter sauce! This is just so good. Dipped in sauce, served with a salad, or eaten straight on its own!
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Crispy Chicken
- 1 lb. chicken breasts
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup flour
- 2 eggs + 1/2 tablespoon gochujang sauce
- 2 cups panko
- avocado oil spray
Gochujang Butter
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1 clove grated garlic
- 1 1/2 tablespoons gochujang sauce (I use Bibigo brand)
- salt to taste
Extras
- storebought Yum Yum sauce for dipping (I will never complain about double sauce)
Instructions
- Chicken: Cut each chicken breast into thinner pieces. Start by cutting the tenderloin piece off the back. Then slice the breast in half horizontally, or into thirds if it’s a very thick piece. Season the chicken with salt and pepper.
- Bowls: Prep three bowls for your breading. 1: the flour. 2: the eggs and gochujang. 3: the panko. Season the panko and flour bowls with an extra 1/2 teaspoon salt.
- Breading: Dip the chicken in the flour; shake off excess. Dip into the egg mixture; let excess drip off. Press into the panko on both sides until coated.
- Cook: Spray each chicken piece with avocado oil to coat the top surface. Air fry at 375 degrees for 5 minutes, and then at 400 degrees for another 2-3 minutes to get it golden. (Alternate cooking methods in the notes.)
- Sauce: Whisk the melted butter, gochujang, and grated garlic in a small bowl. Use a brush to coat each piece of crispy chicken with sauce.
- Finish: Slice the chicken up and bring it out to the table on a platter or just directly on the cutting board. Serve it with whatever veggies you have in the fridge. I LOVE this dipped in yum yum sauce!
Equipment
Notes
Alternate cooking methods: Bake in the oven at 400 degrees for 14-18 minutes, flipping halfway (broiling towards the end for extra golden color). Or fry in a shallow layer of neutral cooking oil, at medium heat, until crispy and cooked through. Internal temp of the chicken should be 165 degrees.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Air Fryer
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: crispy chicken cutlets, chicken katsu, crispy chicken, air fryer chicken
Frequently Asked Questions For This Recipe
Bake at 400 degrees for 18 minutes (9 minutes per side).
Yep! Heat an inch of avocado oil in a cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Add a drop of water; if it sizzles, it’s ready to add the chicken. Place the chicken in the oil and fry for 3-4 minutes per side, until golden brown and you get an internal temp of 160 degrees.
If you don’t have avocado oil spray for the air fryer, a little drizzle of oil oil over the top will also work! But I like a spritz best for this because you can evenly coat the panko for the most even browning.
I haven’t tried it personally, but I would imagine you coud use GF flour and GF breadcrumbs and it should still work!
The chicken should be cooked to a temperature of 165 degrees. I like to use a meat thermometer to cook these perfectly! Here’s the one I use. (affiliate link)
