This Korean BBQ Grilled Chicken Sandwich will spice up your sandwich game and quickly become a favorite. We learned about it from The Yankee Cowboy, and man is it delicious!
This yummy sandwich features tender chicken thighs, grilled to perfection, basted with a homemade Korean BBQ sauce, and topped with a lightly pickled cucumber and cabbage. Perfect for lunch or dinner, this sandwich combines the savory, spicy, and sweet flavors of Korean BBQ with the satisfying crunch of fresh veggies.
Helpful Tips
- Use a hot grill: Preheat your grill to medium-high heat before cooking. This helps to sear the chicken quickly, locking in moisture and creating a beautiful char.
- Prepare cucumbers in advance: A large part of this sandwich is the quick pickled cucumbers. Be sure to make this far enough in advance that it has time to get flavorful. I always give it at least 2 hours.
- Use a high-quality sandwich bun: I always say that a good sandwich or burger is mostly in the bun. Be sure to source a high-quality, firm but chewy bun that will hold up to the ingredients.
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Korean BBQ Grilled Chicken Sandwich
Ingredients
For the cucumbers:
- 1/2 cup (118 ml) rice vinegar
- 1/2 tablespoon (9 g) salt
- 1/2 tablespoon (6 g) sugar
- 1/2 seedless cucumber sliced thinly
- 2 slices cabbage sliced very thinly
- Handful of ice
For the BBQ sauce:
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon (8 g) garlic grated
- 1 tablespoon (7 g) ginger grated
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) low sodium soy sauce
- 1-2 tablespoons (15 ml) gochujang depends on your heat tolerance
- 1 tablespoon (12 g) brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) honey
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon (5 g) cornstarch + 1 teaspoon cold water
For the sriracha mayo:
- 1/4 cup (56 g) mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoons (15 ml) sriracha
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) low sodium soy sauce
For the sandwiches:
- 4 boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) cooking oil
- Salt and pepper for seasoning
- 4 sandwich buns
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, heat the rice vinegar, salt and sugar just until everything dissolves. Pour the liquid into a small bowl and add a handful of ice. Add the cucumbers and cabbage to the bowl and put them in the fridge for a couple hours to marinate.
- In the same saucepan, combine the sesame oil, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, and gochujang, brown sugar, and rice vinegar. Cook on medium heat until simmering. Mix the cornstarch and water. Add to the sauce and whisk until smooth. Remove from heat.
- Combine the mayo, sriracha, sesame oil, and soy sauce. Mix well. Set aside.
- Preheat the grill to 450℉.
- Rub the chicken with oil, then season with salt and pepper.
- When the grill is ready, place the chicken on the grates and cook for 4 minutes per side. Then lower the heat to 375℉ and continue cooking, basting with the bbq sauce regularly on both sides, until the chicken reaches 165℉.
- In the last few minutes of cooking, you can also heat the sandwich buns on the grill.
- To assemble, coat both sides of the bun with sriracha mayo. Place a piece of chicken on and top with cucumbers and cabbage.
Notes
- Preheat your grill to medium-high heat before cooking. This helps to sear the chicken quickly, locking in moisture and creating a beautiful char.
- A large part of this sandwich is the quick pickled cucumbers. Be sure to make this far enough in advance that it has time to get flavorful. I always give it at least 2 hours.
- I always say that a good sandwich or burger is mostly in the bun. Be sure to source a high-quality, firm but chewy bun that will hold up to the ingredients.
Nutrition
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Angie is a dedicated grilling aficionado who has experimented with a wide variety of techniques, equipment, and ingredients, to discover the endless possibilities of flavors and textures that grilling can achieve.
Made this tonight and it was absolutely amazing! We tripled the BBQ portion to have extra as we like it saucy. A new favorite of ours!
Thanks for letting us know! We love to hear when our recipes are a hit.
I made this for dinner last night. It might be the perfect sandwich ever made!! Creamy, vinegary, and a little spicy! I’m so happy that I made extra. I’ve been thinking about my leftovers all day. Thanks!