These Korean noodles bowls are one of my family’s favorites! Chicken made in the crockpot layered with stir-fried noodles, lettuce and sauces.

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Okay, so I hinted way back on my post about my daughter’s Hello Kitty party post HERE that we had these delicious Korean noodles, and then I realized I never shared the recipe. I was a little hesitant because it’s a little different than recipes I usually post on here. I try to share recipes that have ingredients you can find at any grocery store, but this recipe is the exception. You will have to make a special trip to your local speciality food store to buy the most authentic ingredients, but you can also probably find some good substitutions at your regular grocery store.

First off, if you aren’t from Utah, you are probably wondering what Cupbop is. They are a Korean food truck that started around here a few years ago and now have built some stores because they are so popular! I have always loved Korean food, and I love trying to make it at home (see my Korean Beef Bulgogi  recipe HERE). Cup bop bowls are bowls layered with rice,  stir fried sweet potato noodles, iceberg lettuce and then topped with your choice of meat and then sauces. They are really delicious but a bit too pricey to buy every time the craving hits, so I developed my own recipe. I think it tastes really close to the real thing. I also love it because you make the chicken in your crockpot! #Winning!

Some notes:  I’m lucky to live close to a great grocery store, Ocean Market, and I am able to pick up the most authentic ingredients here (Ocean Market is located off 90th South in Sandy for my readers who are also in Utah). One of the most important ingredients that you cannot leave out is gochuchang. I had never heard of this before I started researching Korean recipes, but it is pretty much key to almost all Korean dishes. You need this for the recipe! Gochuchang is a fermented red pepper paste, and what makes this dish so delicious.

The next important ingredient is the noodles. They are called dangmyeon or sweet potato noodles. Again, I had never cooked with these before but they are a pretty typical Korean ingredient and should not be too hard to locate. I have taken a picture of the kind I use so you can see what to look for at your store.  The noodles can be substituted for rice noodles that are more readily available, but I would look for these when you are shopping for the other ingredients. Another key to this recipe is fresh ginger and garlic. I use a small cheese grater to grate both of these ingredients. A great tip is to freeze your peeled ginger to make grating and storage of it a breeze.

The other important part of the Cupbop bowl is the sauces.  One is made using Siracha and mayonnaise. This might sound a little strange when you think about putting it all over your noodles, but trust me, it makes it creamy and delicious and balances out the heat of the other ingredients. The other sauce I have found is easiest to buy. It’s called Unagi sushi sauce, and it’s made by Kikkoman so I think you can find it at your regular grocery store. If not, Amazon carries some too. I would describe the taste as a thick, sweet teriyaki sauce.

So again, you could substitute a teriyaki sauce or make your own to put on top. I have included below the recipe for the chicken in the crockpot, the recipe for the noodles, and then the other ingredients you will need for your bowl along with assembly instructions. I hope you enjoy these as much as we do!

Crockpot Korean Chicken (Cupbop Copycat)

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2 pounds)
1/4 cup water
1 jar pureed pear baby food or 1 pear pureed in blender
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
1/4 cup gochujang
1/4 cup soy sauce
4 cloves garlic grated
1 tablespoon fresh ginger grated
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Mix all the ingredients together in the bottom of your slow cooker. Add chicken on top and spoon the sauce over to cover. Cook on low for 4-6 hours or high for 2-4.  If chicken appears to be drying out spoon sauce from bottom of slow cooker over the top. Shred chicken and leave in sauce.

Stir Fry Noodles

1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 serving dangmyeon noodles
1 red bell pepper, chopped into 1 inch pieces
1 yellow onion sliced thinly
1 head of broccoli chopped
1 carrot peeled and diced

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add sweet potato noodles and cook for 8-10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large frying pan, heat oil over medium heat, add onion and saute for 3-4 minutes till soft. Add the bell pepper, broccoli and carrot cooking until crisp-tender (or desired tenderness). Drain noodles in a colander and add to the frying pan. Add the all the chicken and sauce from the crockpot to your noodles and stir to combine.

Sriracha Mayo Sauce

1/2 cup mayo
2 tablespoons Sriracha

Mix together well. I like to put it into a squeeze bottle to put on the noodles.

Other ingredients for the bowls-

1 head iceberg lettuce, chopped
Calrose rice, 2 cups cooked according to package directions
Toasted sesame seeds
Sriracha
Unagi sauce

To assemble the bowls-

Add a scoop of rice to the bottom of the bowl, then cover with iceberg lettuce. Add a large helping of the stir fried noodles on top with the chicken. Put on desired sauces (Unagi, Sriracha, & Sriracha mayo). Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve!