Gochujang: The Fermented Chilli Paste
Gochujang — fermented red pepper paste — is the defining condiment and cooking paste of Korean cuisine, used more broadly than any single ingredient except salt. Its complexity comes from the fermentation: gochugaru (red pepper flakes) + glutinous rice (malt-converted to sugar) + doenjang (fermented soybean paste) fermented together. The result is simultaneously spicy, sweet, savoury, and deeply umami — a paste that is not interchangeable with any other chilli preparation.
- **The production:** Glutinous rice is cooked and enzymatically converted to sugar (similar to the chicha principle) — this produces the characteristic sweetness. The sweet rice mash is combined with gochugaru, doenjang, and salt, then fermented for months in large clay pots (onggi). - **The flavour:** The sweetness from the rice, the heat from the gochugaru, the umami from the doenjang, and the complexity from the fermentation produce a four-axis flavour balance unique in the culinary world. - **Heat tolerance:** Unlike raw chilli, gochujang can be cooked for extended periods — its compounds are stable and its complexity deepens with prolonged heat exposure. - **Applications:** Marinades (bulgogi variants, dakgalbi), stir-fry sauces (tteokbokki), dipping sauces (ssamjang), soup bases (sundubu jjigae). - **Storage:** Refrigerated after opening — the active fermentation slows dramatically at low temperatures.
Maangchi