Gochujang

A thick Korean paste of chili, glutinous rice, fermented soybeans and salt. It tastes sweet, salty and spicy at once, with a deep fermented savor.

Flavor

How to use it

Thin It First. The paste is too thick to coat food evenly. Whisk it with soy sauce, sesame oil or a little water before brushing it on.

Glaze Late. Gochujang has plenty of sugar. Brush it on near the end of roasting or grilling so it caramelizes instead of scorching.

Common mistakes

• Adding it to a screaming hot pan from the start, which burns the sugars and turns the paste bitter.
• Treating it like plain chili sauce. It is salty and sweet, so cut back on added salt and sugar.

What goes with gochujang

• Pork Belly. Gochujang's sweet heat caramelizes on fatty pork belly and cuts through its richness.
• Pork Shoulder. Gochujang's sweet heat clings to slow-cooked pork shoulder and stands up to its richness.
• Chicken thigh. Gochujang's sugars brown on chicken thigh skin, giving sticky, spicy-sweet roasts and wings.
• Sesame Oil. Toasted sesame oil's nutty aroma rounds out gochujang's heat in bibimbap sauce and marinades.
• Garlic. Garlic's sharp bite and gochujang's fermented sweetness are the base of many Korean marinades.
• Rice. Plain rice calms gochujang's heat and carries its sauce, as in bibimbap.
• Kimchi. Both are fermented and chili-red, and together they make deep, sour-spicy stews and fried rice.
• Beef Chuck. Gochujang's fermented depth suits braised beef, matching the meat's savory flavor.

Try tonight

• Gochujang chicken thighs roasted until sticky
• Bibimbap with a spoonful of gochujang sauce
• Spicy gochujang pork stir-fry over rice

Storage

Refrigerate after opening with the surface pressed flat. It keeps for months.