PrintSunchang gochujang...korean red pepper paste.
i bought this paste at my local asian grocery store, but i have no idea how to use it. any information would be helpful.
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16 Comments:
The paste is generally used in small doses (I guess that depends on your taste, though). The first things that come to mind is using it as a condiment for kalbi - marinated beef wrapped in lettuce leaves with rice dabbed with a bit of gochujang. Or in bibimbap, a dish of assorted vegetables mixed with rice. If you want to try it without all this fuss, sometimes my family will just eat cucumbers strips dipped in it. It doesn't require any cooking so you can really experiment and do as you wish.
prettytastycakes at 11:52AM on 03/24/08
We almost went through one of those small tubs in one cooking session of jeyuk bokkeum from a recipe (link below). It's a really yummy dish...
http://mykoreankitchen.com/2006/09/18/marinatied-pork-stir-fry-with-gochujang-sauce-cheyuk-bokkeum/
Other than quadrupling the recipe, we modified it a little because we didn't have everything. :P Our modifications: http://cassaendra.blogspot.com/2008/01/squeal-like-pig.html
I listed the original recipe verbatim and commented on changes.
I've used it with fried vegetables, served with rice, as well as with fried noodles. I think it's one of those things you can stick anywhere you have a hankering for that flavor. =)
Cucumber with gochujang. Sounds good. I'll give that a try! Thanks!
Cassaendra at 12:48PM on 03/24/08
thanks, i'll try some tonight with rice and veggies. i guess i thought you had to cook with it...sorta like curry paste. i never would have known it was a condiment.
mrsmugger at 3:44PM on 03/24/08
mrsmugger--I took a look at the original recipe and I have a few suggestions. Use fresh ginger, finely minced or grated, in place of the powdered stuff. Add a clove of minced fresh garlic. Add a TBSP of sesame seed oil to the sauce/marinade. Use a fatty cut of pork, sliced thin (or pounded, if you must), and cut into generous bite sized pieces, the reaction of fat caramelizing the sugar and gochujang adds to final product. If you do not have rice wine, use the same amount of sake, or dry vermouth or dry sherry. Use plain veg or peanut oil to cook. I recommend using a non-stick skillet, well seasoned cast iron skillet or well seasoned wok. Because one of the ingredients in traditional gochojang is millet flour, there is a likely hood of scorching if there is too much dry heat. Cook on medium high heat, have a TBSP or two of water or broth handy to add in case it starts to burn before its done cooking.
Some gochujang is sold preseasoned as a condiment. Make sure you have plain gochujang (just peppers, millet flour or glutenous rice, salt, some include corn syrup--what you don't want to see is sesame oil, garlic, sesame seeds, etc. already added.)
Gochujang is used for marinating, cooking and as a condiment.
Plain gochujang can be served as a condiment, but more often it is served mixed.
Bibimbap is served with a side of gochujang thinned with a touch of sesame oil.
There is one sauce using gochujang, a splash or two of rice wine vinegar, toasted sesame seeds, chopped scallions (white & light green parts), sugar. It is used as a dipping sauce for blanched fresh vegetables & sashimi (raw) fish, steamed squid or octopus. Another one (Ssam jahng) mixes gochujang with fermented soybean paste (basically Korean miso, a little more rustic texture than Japanese miso), garlic, chopped scallions (white & light green parts only), sesame oil. This is great and traditional for ssam (lettuce wraps with Koreaqn bbq'd meats and rice), dipping raw vegs. like long, hot green Korean peppers or roasted/boiled pork shoulder and steamed cabbage (bo ssam--see Ed Levine's momofuku references).
Incidently, Sunchang is a very good brand for gochujang. Only my grandmother used to make better.
Happy eating!
wookie at 2:16PM on 03/25/08
I use it to make kimchi noodles. It's my new lazy go-to dish when I don't really feel like cooking.
For one portion of Asian wheat noodles (udon type) I make a sauce with gochuchang, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar and sesame oil. I throw it in a hot pan with the noodles and about 2/3 cup of chopped kimchi. It is often topped off with a halved hard-boiled egg and sliced cucumber.
That's the basic recipe to which I'll often add bean sprouts and whatever vegetables and leftover meat happen to be in the fridge. Pan-fried pork belly works great.
I had that for lunch today and writing this makes me want to have it again.
SqueezeBottle at 5:44PM on 03/25/08
I use gochuchang for all my korean dishes of course, but I throw it in anywhere else I can. It's good in chili to give it a deeper more robust taste. I really like to rub it on chicken or pork and grill. Or sometimes I'll thin it out with either water or oil and use it as a marinade for chicken and fish. Can be used as a sauce for dumplings, just add rice wine vinegar and sesame oil. I've even added it to tomato juice, I have been wondering how a bloody mary with gochuchang would be. Very good in meatloaf, speghetti sauce, stews and of course my most favorite way is plain on bulgogi with rice and lettuce.
Vlntchr at 2:14AM on 03/26/08
i looked at the packaging to see what were listed as ingredients, but it's all in korean. and thank you wookie, i didn't know sunchang was a brand, i thought it was part of the name of gochujang. i'll try using it a couple of different ways suggested here. thank you!
mrsmugger at 11:39AM on 03/26/08
@mrsmugger--I should clarify, SunChang is the brand name taken from the name of the county (?), I'm not sure if it's a county or prefecture or what, where the flavor of their chillies and the resulting gochujang is prized. So, you are correct, it is a type of gochujang, too.
wookie at 11:51AM on 03/26/08
Wow, I thought I was versed in Korean recipes, but these people know their stuff!! I like.
mrsmugger, you'll have to buy some tenjang paste next!
jbeach at 3:42PM on 03/27/08
i'll bite...what's tenjang paste?
mrsmugger at 5:31PM on 03/27/08
I feel like the kid in class with her hand in the air all the time.
tenjang (or dwen jang) is the fermented soybean paste I mentioned in the part about making ssam jang. It is very much like Japanese miso, but the flavor is more robust and the texture may be more rustic. It is commonly used to make a soup called tenjang (or dwenjang) chigae.
wookie at 6:07PM on 03/27/08
i think i have a lot to learn about korean food. any suggestions for sites or books readily available? this is my new favorite cuisine. kimchee on everything! any korean recipes will be tried by me unless they prove too difficult, or contain ingredients unavailable.
mrsmugger at 7:22PM on 03/27/08
*Waving hand in the air again*
My favorite Korean cookbook is "Growing Up in a Korean Kitchen" by Hi Soo Shin Hepinstall. She includes a small glossary section to help define and translate ingredients. It isn't an exhaustive collection, but the classics are well executed in her book.
I highly recommend any of the bbq dishes, the appetizers are very good, the soups and stews are getting a little more "hard core" Korean, but I hope you will enjoy them. Do try the bebimbap and the (spicy)sauteed rice cake with meat (dok bokee) and the chap chae--a classic! Oh her recipes for dips and sauces to serve with dumplings/seafood pancakes are excellent.
Ma-sheik-ae jap soo sae yo! (trans: Enjoy your meal)
wookie at 12:07PM on 03/28/08
thanks wookie. i'll order it today.
mrsmugger at 2:09PM on 03/28/08
gojuchang is also great on eggs; it's like a way more savory version of sriracha.
mightypow at 6:36PM on 03/28/08
Why did you buy it if you don't know what to use it for??
If your bald rub, a bunch on your head, maybe, just maybe, you'll grow black hair, just like Kim Jong IL
drsmoke at 10:29AM on 03/31/08