Gochujang Product Review

What is Gochujang?

Gochujang is a fermented chili paste with a savory, sweet, and spicy taste which is widely used in Korean food. It is mainly made from glutinous rice, fermented soybeans, red chili pepper powder, and salt. Its texture is thick and sticky. This popular Korean condiment can be served as a dipping sauce with other seasonings, used in marinades for meat dishes, or added to stews or soups.

Which Gochujang is popular in Korea?

There is a wide variety of Korean gochujang products available in the market today. Most gochujang has a spicy and sweet taste, but you can also find mild spicy or less salty gochujang in the market. You can also try extra spicy products especially for marinating meats if you prefer.
  
Here are some popular gochujang products.

• Chungjungone Sunchang 100% Brown Rice Red Pepper  Gochujang

• Rating: ★★★★★
• Rich in flavor and color
• Spicy and little savory
• Made with sun-dried chili peppers and rice produced in Korea
• Good for bibimbap, stew, and marinating beef, pork, or chicken
• Very popular in Korean domestic as well as international markets

• Haechandle Spicy Sung-dried Gold Gochujang
• Rating: ★★★★☆
• Extra spicy and a little bit sweet
• Made with spicy sun-dried chili peppers and rice produced in Korea
• Good for spicy stew, and marinating beef, pork, or chicken
• Popular in Korean domestic markets

• Haechandle Sun-dried Gochujang
• Rating: ★★★★★
• Rich in flavor and color
• Less spicy than other products
• Made with sun-dried chili peppers rice produced in Korea
• Good for bibimbap, stew, and marinating beef, pork, or chicken
• Very popular in Korean domestic and international markets

• Haepyo Sunchanggung Sun-dried chili pepper Gold Gochujang

• Rating: ★★★★☆
• Rich in flavor and color
• Made with the highest graded sun-dried chili peppers
• Good for stew, and marinating beef, pork, or chicken

What can you do with Gochujang?

You can use gochujang in many different dishes such as bibimbap, tteokbokki(stir-fried spicy rice cake stew), ssambap(Korean rice lettuce wraps), fried rice, stir-fried sausage, and spicy grilled squid.

Gochujang is also used to marinate the meats such as spicy bulgogi, Korean-style spicy chicken wings, yangnyum chicken(Korean-style popcorn chicken), etc. Korean-style yangnyum chicken is quite popular with its spicy and sticky sauce. 

It is also popular to use gochujang in soups or stews to add a more sweet and spicy taste. Gochujang jjigae is a popular stew with gochujang, meats, and vegetables of your choice for cold winter.

Nowadays gochujang mixed with yogurt is used as a spread sauce for burgers. This spicy sauce can be used in many dishes such as rice wraps, rice balls, and even pizza. It can be also used for salads dressing to spice up.

Any special tips?

If gochujang is too spicy for you, you can mix it with ketchup, mayo, or yogurt as you prefer. This less spicy version is also good for beginners or children.