Gochujang
Gochujang is a thick, fermented Korean chile paste made from gochugaru, glutinous rice, and fermented soybeans, delivering complex sweet, spicy, and savory depth to Korean cooking.
How to buy
Check the ingredient list for traditional fermentation using rice, soybean, and gochugaru, versus shortcut versions with added sugar or corn syrup. Look for a deep red-brown color; tubs are the most common format.
How to store
Refrigerate after opening. It keeps well for many months to a year thanks to its fermented, salty, sugary nature, which naturally resists spoilage.
Culinary profile
- Flavor
- A complex blend of spicy heat, savory fermented depth, and underlying sweetness -- rounder and less sharp than a straight chile paste.
- Texture
- A thick, sticky, jam-like paste.
- Aroma
- A pungent, fermented, slightly sweet aroma with a noticeable chile kick.
How to prepare
- Stirred into marinade — Mixed with soy, garlic, and sugar as a base for marinating meat.
- Mixed into dipping sauce — Thinned with sesame oil and vinegar for a bold dipping condiment.
- Thinned into stew base — Dissolved into broth to build heat and depth in Korean stews.
- Rubbed on meat — Applied directly before grilling for a spicy, caramelized crust.
Classic dishes
American
- Gochujang BBQ sauce — A fusion barbecue sauce built on gochujang for sweet heat and depth.
- Gochujang mayo — A spicy, creamy sandwich spread made by blending gochujang into mayonnaise.
- Gochujang glazed salmon — A fusion dish where salmon is glazed with a sweet-spicy gochujang sauce.
Korean
- Bibimbap — A rice bowl of vegetables and meat finished with a spoonful of gochujang.
- Tteokbokki — Chewy rice cakes simmered in a spicy, sweet gochujang-based sauce.
- Korean fried chicken sauce — Crispy fried chicken tossed in a sticky, spicy gochujang glaze.
- Jeyuk bokkeum — Spicy stir-fried pork marinated in a gochujang-based sauce.
- Sundubu jjigae — A soft tofu stew often spiced with gochujang or gochugaru.
- Ssamjang — A dipping sauce blending gochujang and doenjang for wrapped lettuce dishes.
- Bibim guksu — Cold noodles tossed in a spicy, tangy gochujang dressing.
- Gochujang-marinated short ribs — Beef short ribs marinated in a spicy-sweet gochujang blend before grilling.
- Kimchi fried rice — Fried rice often finished with a drizzle of gochujang for extra heat.
- Odeng tteokbokki — Fish cakes and rice cakes simmered together in a spicy gochujang sauce.
- Korean corn dogs — Fried corn dogs often served with a gochujang-spiked ketchup.
- Kimchi jjigae — A spicy kimchi stew sometimes deepened with a spoonful of gochujang.
Substitutions
- Harissa — Harissa can add heat in a pinch, but it lacks gochujang's fermented sweetness and body, so the result will taste sharper and less rounded.