Korean Chicken Stew (Slow Cooker)
on Dec 04, 2017, Updated Mar 21, 2022
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Throw chicken and a few Asian flavours into your slow cooker, turn it on, and go about your day. When you get back home, sprinkle bowls of chicken with scallions and sesame seeds… and you’ve got a delicious Korean chicken stew that looks like you spent hours making it!
Aren’t slow cookers just the business? Even if you prepare and chop the ingredients in the morning, it still feels like the meal cooked itself when you open the door that night and smell the loveliness pervading your home.
So why don’t I use my slow cooker more? I use it for this yummy Olive Garden copycat crockpot chicken gnocchi soup and that’s about it some years.
What you’ll love about Korean chicken stew
- Apart from the lovely sounding Asian flavours, what attracted me to this recipe is the fact that you dump everything in the slow cooker, switch it on and leave it. So… dump and go!
- No pre-cooking of anything required.
- It’s packed full of vegetables. I actually added in more vegetables for a really balanced and nutritious meal.
- Add chilies for a bit of spicy pizzazz, or skip them. Up to you!
- The flavours are quite subtle, because they’ve been mixing with the chicken juices all day.
About the ingredients
- lots of veggies! Potatoes, onions, carrots, mushrooms
- garlic and ginger
- chicken thighs
- optional chilies!
- plus the simple sauce: soy sauce, brown sugar (or honey), oyster sauce, rice wine, pepper
- to finish (makes all the difference): sesame oil, chopped spring onions/scallions, sesame seeds
What does the sauce taste like?
I think the sauce is very much like a mildly flavoured homemade teriyaki sauce. The ingredients are similar – soy sauce, oyster sauce, garlic, rice wine, and brown sugar.
How to serve it
I like to keep things simple and serve this delicious Korean chicken with some plain rice.
Before serving, sprinkle over chopped spring onions/scallions and sesame seeds to brighten up the dish.
Pro tip: Stir through some sesame oil at the last minute. It makes a huge difference to the taste of the dish. Then sprinkle over some spring onions and sesame seeds to serve. Delicious!
Then suddenly this isn’t just another average brown casserole cooked in the slow cooker.
This Korean chicken is a dump and go dinner, but you end up with a delicious oriental delicacy that looks like you slaved away over it for hours!
Recipe FAQ
Like all good casseroles, this meal will freeze perfectly. Simply freeze in airtight containers for up to 6 months. Defrost and reheat either in the microwave at 80% power or in a saucepan.
Yes you can. Simply put everything into the pot except the cornflour. Then cook on high for 10 minutes, letting the pressure release naturally for another 10 minutes. Add the cornflour mixed with a little water and put on the saute or reduce setting for a few minutes until slightly thickened, as with the slow cooker version.
More easy slow cooked meals
- easy crockpot chicken gnocchi soup (Olive Garden copycat – slow cooker or pressure cooker!)
- perfect Thai chicken and butternut squash curry (stove top, slow cooker or pressure cooker!)
- easy slow cooked Greek lamb with lemon garlic potatoes (oven or slow cooker!)
- Thai pumpkin and red lentil soup (vegetarian and delicious!)
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Korean Chicken Stew (Slow Cooker)
Equipment
Ingredients
for the chicken
- 2 potatoes, peeled and cubed (roughly an inch square)
- 2 carrots, peeled and chopped into chunks
- 1 onion, (large), chopped
- 2 pounds chicken thighs, chopped into large pieces
- 6 mushrooms, quartered
- 5 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
- 1 piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
- 2 chilies, dried & whole (purely optional)
for the sauce
- 1/3 cup soy sauce
- 4 tablespoons dark brown sugar, or replace 2 with honey
- 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 3 tablespoons rice wine, or mirin
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
to serve
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 5 spring onions, (US scallions)
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted
- rice or noodles*
for thickening
- 2 tablespoons cornflour , mixed with a little water from the tap
Instructions
- Place the chicken, vegetables, garlic, ginger, and chilies (if using) into the slow cooker.
- Combine all of the sauce ingredients and pour over the ingredients in the pot.
- Cook for 6 hours (low) or 4 hours (high). About half an hour before the end of the cooking time, slowly stir in the cornflour and water to thicken the sauce.
- Just before serving, stir in the sesame oil.
- Sprinkle a chopped spring onion / scallion or two and some toasted sesame seedsh over every serving of chicken.
Can this be made with chicken breasts? Absolutely delicious.
Hello Katherine! Yes, that should be absolutely fine. Since it’s slow cooked it won’t dry out. Enjoy!
I’ve just made this and it was delicious! I love chillies so added 3 dried birdseye chillies and that was just right in terms of heat. I didn’t add the potatoes as I wanted to serve it with rice. I’m always on the lookout for great slow cooker recipes, I will definitely make this again, thank you.
Oh, you’re so welcome, Jenny! I’m so happy you enjoyed this, and thank you for letting me know. You’ve made my day!
I have just demolished a bowl of your Korean Chicken (mine really!). I erred on the side of caution with the sugar as not a sweet tooth so cut it by half and pleased that I did. The other thing I noticed is that there was no onion in the ingredients list but I chucked one in anyway.
It shows onion in the uncooked photo above. All in all I thoroughly enjoyed it so thank you again Helen for another great recipe.
Oh Ann, you are right, I forgot the onion in my ingredients list! Thank you so much for pointing that out!
So glad to hear you gave this a go. Good to hear that it tasted fine with less sugar too!
I love simple homemade Asian recipes and this one sounds amazing! Love that it is made in the slow cooker! Can’t wait to try it, perfect for the cold weather that we are starting to get 🙂
Hope you do give it a try, Mira!
My mouth is literally watering, Helen! And I’m with you on loving slow cooker recipes, especially for those days when you only have one hand available! 😉 Put this one on next week’s menu – thank you my friend!
You’re so welcome, Marissa. Hope you enjoy it!
Dishes like this are just like magic aren’t they? I’m saving this for one of those crazy weeks coming up. Thanks Helen!
You’re welcome, Lorraine. Merry Christmas!
This is SO genius- such a great recipe to have back pocket for those crazy days that leave you with the least time and the biggest appetite!
Hi Karly! Most of my days are like that these days 🙂
I love your non-spicy variation! This looks absolutely delicious and so tender!
Aw, thanks so much for the recipe, Sue. I really enjoyed sharing this delicious recipe from a fabulous food blogger like you!
This looks like really good takeaway but from the slow cooker. This is a great idea and I’m all about adding more veggies.
Yes, I thought I might as well up those veggies a bit!
I really look forward to your recipe e mail posts and I only seem to use my slo cooker in winter . My traditional stews always look the same shade of brown what ever the meat. Good fresh recipes are hard to find so I am impatient to try your fresh vibrant Korean recipe. Thank you for reviving my interest in slo cookers again.
Regards. B. Myatt
Hi Barbara! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave this lovely encouraging comment. Sometimes I forget there are real people reading (and appreciating – yay!) the blog, so it’s really great to hear it from time to time!
I really hope you enjoy this slow cooker meal. I must confess that the chicken does end up looking the same brown shade that slow cooker meals always do, as you say, but the splash of green does cheer things up a little 😉
Sorry the recipes have been coming a bit slowly lately. We’ve had an incredibly busy year with the birth of our son and yet another move abroad, but I’m hoping that things will pick up again in time! Take care!