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Gochujang chicken with cabbage with lemon and herbs
youryum.com/recipes/gochujang-chicken-with-cabbage-with-lemon-and-herbs · serves 4

A sticky chicken dinner with a clean finish

Gochujang brings heat and sweetness to chicken thighs, while lemon and herbs keep the cabbage from tasting heavy.

  • High protein
Maren Ashby in her kitchen, in a dark apron, looking away from the camera
By Maren Ashby · Writes and tests everything here
Published 11 July 2026
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Gochujang chicken with cabbage and lemon and herbs
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Prep
15 min
Cook
35 min
Total
50 min
Serves
4
Per serving
468kcal
Effort
Easy

Gochujang is powerful enough to make a dinner taste slow-cooked, but it needs something fresh beside it. Here, chicken thighs are coated in a sticky paste, cabbage catches the juices in the pan, and lemon plus herbs arrive after the heat is off.

Cut the cabbage into thick wedges rather than shreds. The outside gets dark and sweet while the middle stays juicy enough to take the sauce.

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings

Chicken

Cabbage

To finish

Equipment

  • Wide frying pan with lid
  • Roasting tin
  • Small bowl

Method

  1. Mix the gochujang paste

    Stir the gochujang, soy sauce, rice vinegar, garlic and ginger in a bowl. Add the chicken and turn until every piece is coated. Leave it while you cut the cabbage; that short rest is enough for the paste to cling.

  2. Brown the cabbage

    Heat one tablespoon of oil in a wide lidded frying pan over medium-high heat. Lay in the cabbage wedges, cut side down, and cook for four minutes on each cut side. They should take on dark patches without collapsing.

    Watch the surface here rather than the clock. The cabbage should pick up dark edges, the chicken should look lacquered, and the liquid should move slowly when you tilt the pan. If the paste looks dry before those signs appear, add a spoonful of stock. If it looks loose after the chicken is done, lift the food out and reduce the liquid alone for a minute. The lemon and herbs finish works best when the base is concentrated but still easy to spoon.

    Hands stirring gochujang chicken and cabbage in a wide pan during cooking

  3. Cook the chicken

    Push the cabbage to the edges and add the remaining oil. Tip in the chicken and cook for three minutes, turning once, until the outside loses its raw colour. Keep the gochujang paste in the pan; it becomes the sauce.

  4. Steam and glaze

    Pour in the stock and sprinkle over the sugar. Cover and cook for eight minutes, turning the cabbage once, until the chicken is cooked through and the thickest wedge can be pierced with a knife.

    Watch the surface here rather than the clock. The cabbage should pick up dark edges, the chicken should look lacquered, and the liquid should move slowly when you tilt the pan. If the paste looks dry before those signs appear, add a spoonful of stock. If it looks loose after the chicken is done, lift the food out and reduce the liquid alone for a minute. The lemon and herbs finish works best when the base is concentrated but still easy to spoon.

  5. Brighten the pan

    Remove the lid and simmer for two minutes so the liquid turns glossy. Turn off the heat, add the lemon zest and juice, and taste before adding salt — the gochujang and soy sauce may already have done it.

  6. Serve with herbs

    Scatter over the coriander and spring onions. Spoon the sauce over the cabbage and serve with rice. The lemon should be noticeable, but not so sharp that it erases the fermented chilli flavour.

Gochujang chicken cabbage ingredients and lemon and herbs arranged ready to cook
The ingredients for the lemon and herbs version, ready before the pan gets hot.

The cabbage is not an afterthought

The cabbage needs contact with the pan before the stock goes in. Once it is steaming, it will soften, but it will not develop the dark, sweet edges that make the gochujang taste less one-dimensional.

Lemon is added after cooking because heat flattens its aroma. The zest gives perfume while the juice cuts through the sticky glaze. The order matters more than the exact shape of the pan. Gochujang contains sugar, so it needs contact with the chicken but it should not sit on dry metal for the whole cooking time. Stock or water gives the paste a little room to move, then the final uncovered minutes concentrate it again. If the chicken browns before the cabbage is tender, lower the heat and add a splash of stock rather than turning the burner higher. A fierce heat will darken the outside while leaving the centre tough. If the cabbage is pale, give it a few extra minutes after the chicken comes out; it can take colour on its own. For the lemon and herbs finish, taste at the end, not the beginning. The pan sauce becomes saltier as it reduces, and toppings such as pickles, tahini or yogurt change how much seasoning the whole plate needs. Serve the first portion, then adjust the remaining pan with lime, vinegar or a spoonful of water. That small pause keeps the glaze lively and means leftovers reheat without becoming sticky or harsh.

Nutrition

Per serving, for 4 servings. Estimated from ingredient weights — it moves with the brands and cuts you actually use.

NutrientPer serving
Calories 468 kcal
Protein 38 g
Carbohydrate 35 g
Fibre 6 g
Fat 22 g

Source: Estimated from ingredient weights, USDA FoodData Central

Questions

Can I use chicken breast?
Yes, but cut it into larger pieces and cook it for less time. Add it after the cabbage has steamed for five minutes so the breast does not dry out.
What can I use instead of gochujang?
There is no exact substitute. Use one tablespoon of miso, one tablespoon of sriracha and a teaspoon of brown sugar for a similar sweet, savoury heat.
Can I make this less spicy?
Use one tablespoon of gochujang and add the second tablespoon at the end only if you want more heat. The sugar and lemon will still give the sauce shape.

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