14 Easy Recipes that use Gochujang Sauce
Do you have too much Gochujang on your hands? You can make these 14 Easy Gochujang Sauce Recipes that are easy and delicious! From rice cakes, and pancakes to stews— you will love all these versatile recipes!
Gochujang sauce is all the rave these days, and I’m really happy that it’s getting the recognition it deserves! However, I realized many people are probably left with a tub of Gochujang, wondering, “I’ve made what I wanted to eat… now what am I supposed to do with the rest of this tub?”
Gochujang is a spicy, sweet, and savory fermented chili paste that can be used in many different ways in Korean-style cooking. While it’s mostly used exclusively in sauces and marinades outside of Korea, it’s one of the most essential cooking ingredients used in Korean cuisine! 😊🧡
In Korea, Gochujang is typically made in the winter months— between November to February. The 4 to 6 months required for the fermentation process needs to take place in full sun, before the start of the sweltering and rainy Korean summer.
Homemade gochujang is possible!
I have been making Gochujang at home ever since I came back from Korea in 2014 because once I tasted my homemade one, I could never go back to store-bought one! BTW, if you want to try making it at home, here’s my latest post on 🌶️ How to make Gochujang at home.
Now, if the idea of waiting for 6 months (that’s how long it takes to fully ferment) feels too daunting, I have a quick and easy recipe for ready-to-eat Gochujang that can be made in just a few hours! I learned the recipe from a Temple Food (Sachal Eumsik 사찰음식) cooking class back in Korea and it’s pretty close to the slow one.
The Fabled Almost-Instant Gochujang!
What you need to know about store-bought gochujang
If you are going to buy gochujang from the store, I want to share some tips for choosing them. A good quality gochujang should have limited ingredients like below. It’s awesome if you can find truly fermented (숙성) one that doesn’t contain corn syrup but unfortunately most gochujang will have corn syrup instead of Rice Syrup.
- Chili Pepper Powder (Gochukaru)
- Fermented Soybean Powder (Mejukaru 메주가루)
- Sweet rice / Rice / Brown Rice / Barley / Wheat Flour
- Rice Syrup (Jocheong 조청)
- Salt
Whenver I buy Gochujang, I try to buy ones that don’t have corn syrup as the #1 ingredient because since that means gochujang consists mainly of corn syrup. Here’s my current favorite brand of Gochujang that you can buy from the store or online HERE.
Whether you choose to make Gochujang at home or buy it, here are my 14 Easy Gochujang Sauce Recipes to try your hand at!