Korean Gochujang Chicken with Sesame Greens and Pickled Cucumber

Properly Korean — sweet-savoury-spicy gochujang glaze on chicken with wilted sesame spinach and quick pickled cucumber — DASH-friendly, serves 1, 25 minutes

Ingredients

Fresh

1-2 boneless skinless chicken thighs (~150g)
½ baby cucumber, thinly sliced
Small handful fresh baby spinach (or defrosted and squeezed frozen spinach)
1 clove fresh garlic, finely grated
Small piece fresh ginger root (~1 tsp grated)
Small handful fresh chives, finely chopped
Squeeze of fresh lime

Storecupboard

1 tbsp gochujang
1 tbsp reduced-salt dark soy
1 tsp honey (for marinade)
½ tsp honey (for cucumber)
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp olive oil (or toasted sesame oil if available)
Pinch of crushed dried chilli
Optional: pinch of sesame seeds
½ pouch microwave wholegrain rice (or basmati and wild rice)

Method

Pickled cucumber first. Slice cucumber thinly. Mix 1 tsp apple cider vinegar with ½ tsp honey, pinch of crushed chilli, and chopped chives. Add cucumber slices and toss. Let sit while you cook everything else (10-15 min minimum).
Marinate the chicken. Mix gochujang, dark soy, 1 tsp honey, grated garlic and ginger in a bowl. Slice chicken thighs into bite-sized pieces and stir into the marinade. Let sit 5-10 minutes (longer is fine if you have time).
Wilt the spinach. Heat olive oil in a small pan over medium heat. Add baby spinach and stir 30-60 seconds until just wilted. Remove from pan, sprinkle with sesame seeds if using. Set aside.
Cook the chicken. In the same pan over medium-high heat, add the chicken with all its marinade. Cook 6-8 minutes, stirring frequently, until chicken is cooked through and the sauce has reduced and caramelised onto the chicken. The gochujang will darken and become glossy and sticky.
Heat the rice. Microwave per pack instructions.
Plate. Bed of rice, sticky chicken on top, wilted spinach alongside, drained pickled cucumber on the other side. Squeeze of fresh lime over the chicken. Optional: small drizzle of sesame oil over everything to finish.

Variations

With beef: thinly sliced beef or 5% mince crumbled in works equally well
Vegetarian: swap chicken for sweet chilli tempeh, reduce honey since the tempeh is already sweet
More vegetable: add sliced bell pepper to the chicken in the last 2 minutes of cooking
Spicier: extra gochujang in the marinade or a dash of cayenne
With egg: top the rice with a fried egg, runny yolk to mix into the chicken — elevates this to bibimbap-adjacent territory

DASH Notes

Gochujang is fermented chilli paste — high in flavour relative to sodium load when used at this dose
Reduced-salt dark soy keeps the sodium moderate; don’t substitute regular soy
Spinach contributes potassium and magnesium (both DASH priorities)
Honey is the sweetener; if you reduce it, the glaze will be less caramelised but lower-sugar
Apple cider vinegar in the pickle adds brightness and modest blood sugar regulation evidence

Notes

Gochujang is the keystone — nothing else in the kitchen does what it does. Sweet, savoury, gently spicy, with fermented depth.
The marinade caramelises — honey + soy + gochujang reduces into a glossy coating as the chicken cooks. Don’t lift the lid; let it reduce on the chicken.
Pickled cucumber cuts the richness — the bright tart cooler is essential against the sweet sticky chicken
Korean spinach side (sigeumchi-namul) — wilting then dressing with sesame is the traditional Korean banchan technique
Fresh ginger and garlic make the difference — the jar versions work for cooked Indian, but Korean cooking benefits from the brighter freshness

Dinner — approximately 540 calories, ~32g protein, ~5g fibre