Description
Always in the search of light, feel-good dinner for the summer months, these Grilled Chicken Bulgogi Lettuce Wraps just might be my favorite warm weather dinner we’ve ever shared here on PWWB. They’re savory, sticky-sweet, & spicy – an utter delight!
It all starts with my go-to bulgogi marinade, a recipe I inherited from my grandma. While it’s a little more Hawaiian in style than traditionally Korean, it comes together quickly thanks to a blender or food processor & it packs a big punch of flavor thanks to bold aromatic ingredients like onion, garlic, ginger, sesame oil & gochujang. A generous amount of dark brown sugar provides sweetness for irresistibly charred grill marks, which is balanced by a little soy sauce & rice wine for savory flavor.
Let the marinade soak into the bulgogi chicken, then simply grill it up & wrap it in crisp lettuce with rice, pickled veggies, & a drizzle of creamy gochujang aioli. If lettuce wraps aren’t your thing, you’re still in good hands here – refer to the blog post, above, for other serving ideas (everything from rice bowls to tacos!).
A light dinner with deliciously bold Korean-inspired flavor…this grilled chicken bulgogi was an instant favorite here at the PWWB House, & we think you’ll love it too. ♡ Happy cooking!
Ingredients
Scale
- chicken bulgogi (below)
- 10–12 leaves leafy lettuce (butter lettuce, leaf lettuce, etc.)
- 2 cups cooked white rice
- kimchi or pickled vegetables
- gochujang aioli (below)
for the chicken bulgogi:
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (see Recipe Notes)
- 2 green onions, finely sliced
- 1 small yellow onion, peeled & roughly chopped
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled (about 2 tablespoons grated)
- 1/3 cup lightly packed dark brown sugar (can sub regular brown sugar)
- 1/4 cup soy sauce (can sub tamari if gluten-free)
- 2 tablespoons mirin (see Recipe Notes)
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- optional: 1 tablespoon gochujang (see Recipe Notes)
for the gochujang aioli:
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
- 1 tablespoon gochujang
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- kosher salt & ground black pepper, to season
Instructions
- Prep the bulgogi marinade & marinate the chicken: Add the yellow onion, garlic, ginger, dark brown sugar, soy sauce, mirin, sesame oil, & gochujang (if using) to a blender or food processor. Blend or pulse to combine well. (Alternately, you can use a box grater to grate the yellow onion, finely chop or grate the garlic & ginger, & whisk all bulgogi marinade ingredients together in a large bowl.) Place the chicken thighs in a large bowl or resealable bag with the sliced green onions. Pour the prepared bulgogi marinade over top, tossing well to combine. Cover & marinate in the refrigerator at least 12 hours or up to 3 days.
- Prepare the grill & prep the lettuce wraps: About 30 minutes before you’d like to begin grilling, pull the bulgogi marinated chicken from the refrigerator, letting it warm slightly as the grill preheats. This is also a great time to cook a pot of rice, prep the lettuce & any other lettuce wrap toppings you like. Prepare the grill for medium-high direct heat grilling, about 450-500 degrees F. Once preheated, clean the cooking surface by firmly brushing a wire brush over the grates. (If you do not have access to an outdoor grill, you can also preheat a grill pan over medium-high heat.)
- Prepare the gochujang aioli: As the grill preheats, prep the aioli. Add the mayonnaise, garlic, gochujang, & pure maple syrup to a small bowl. Season with 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt & ground black pepper as desired. Whisk to combine well. Set aside for serving or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
- Grill the chicken bulgogi: Place the bulgogi chicken on the preheated grill, draining & discarding any excess marinade. Grill the chicken for 5-6 minutes per side, or until cooked through with beautifully charred grill marks. Transfer the grilled bulgogi chicken to a plate or small baking sheet. Once cool enough to handle, chop into bite-sized pieces.
- Assemble grilled chicken bulgogi lettuce wraps & serve: Spoon a little cooked rice into the center of a lettuce leaf, then top with the sliced grilled bulgogi chicken, a little kimchi or pickled veggies of choice, a drizzle of gochujang aioli, &/or whatever else you love. Enjoy!
Notes
- Ingredient Notes:
- Chicken breasts vs thighs: You can use either boneless, skinless chicken thighs or chicken breasts for this grilled bulgogi chicken. I always find thighs to be more flavorful & juicier, so that’s what I typically use. If you prefer to use breasts, be sure to either pound the chicken breasts out flat or butterfly them by slicing them in half lengthwise. This will help them grill more quickly & more evenly, keeping your grilled bulgogi chicken totally juicy.
- Mirin is a sweet Japanese rice wine. It’s similar to more well-known sake, though it tends to have a higher naturally-occurring sugar content (from fermentation) & lower alcohol content. You can find mirin in the “international” aisle of most conventional grocery stores these days, though it’s also readily available at Asian grocery stores. Imperfect-yet-quick substitutes for mirin in this recipe include dry sherry or dry vermouth.
- Gochujang is a fermented Korean chili paste made from red chili flakes (gochucharu), fermented soy beans, & glutinous rice with distinctive spicy-sweet-funky umami flavor. Gochujang is a ubiquitous ingredient in Korean cooking, & it’s grown increasingly popular here in the U.S. It’s readily available at Asian grocery stores (it’s often sold in a red plastic tub), though you can often find gochujang in the “international” aisle of a conventional grocery stores or online. I typically use Chung Jung One Gochujang or Mother in Law’s Gochujang.
- Storage & Reheating: Store leftover grilled bulgogi chicken & other lettuce wraps components in separate airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat in the chicken & rice in the microwave until warmed through, then assemble bulgogi chicken lettuce wraps as desired.
- 15-Minute Meal Prep: Nearly all of the active prep work for these lettuce wraps comes from prepping the bulgogi marinade & gochujang aioli. Prep in advance to cut down on active prep at dinnertime – it takes 15 minutes, tops:
- Marinate the chicken according to Step 1 of Recipe Directions, above (10 minutes active prep). If you’d like to prep beyond the suggested marinade times above, simply prep the bulgogi marinade in advance. Prepare according to Step 1, storing the bulgogi marinade in a jar or an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days – the flavors meld together even more as the marinade sits. When you’re ready to start marinating (12 hours – 3 days before grilling), simply give the kalbi marinade a shake & pour it over the chicken as described in Step 1. Easy!
- Prepare the gochujang aioli according to Step 3 of Recipe Directions, above. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. (5 minutes active prep)