Gochujang (Korean Fermented Chilli Paste — Ratio and Use)

Korean, with documented history from the 16th century after chillies arrived from the Americas via Japan. Traditional production centred in the Sunchang region of North Jeolla Province, which maintains gochujang as a protected regional product.

Gochujang is one of the great fermented condiments of the world — a thick, brick-red Korean paste made from gochugaru (Korean red chilli flakes), fermented soybean powder, glutinous rice, salt, and water that undergoes months of outdoor fermentation in traditional onggi earthenware pots. The result is a paste of remarkable complexity: fiercely spiced, deeply savoury from the fermented soy, subtly sweet from the rice, and umami-rich in a way that raw chilli paste can never achieve. Traditional gochujang is made in the months before summer, packed into onggi pots, sealed with a cloth cover to allow airflow, and left to ferment in the sun for months. The heat, the microbial activity, and the raw ingredients combine to produce a paste that is simultaneously hot, sweet, sour, and deeply umami — what Koreans call the 'fifth taste' that underpins the entire flavour profile of Korean cuisine. Commercial gochujang approximates this through shorter fermentation periods and adjusted ratios. In Korean cooking, gochujang is used in three ways: as a condiment (served at the table and mixed into bibimbap); as a marinade base (combined with sesame oil, garlic, and sugar for galbi or bulgogi-style preparations); and as a cooking paste (fried in oil with aromatics — the base of sauces like tteokbokki and sundubu jjigae). Frying gochujang in oil is the critical technique: like frying tomato paste or doubanjiang, it removes rawness and develops depth. Raw gochujang in sauces can taste flat; fried gochujang is transformative. Gochujang has entered global cooking as a versatile hot-sweet-savoury paste that works beyond Korean cuisine — in pasta sauces, marinades, vinaigrettes, and dips.

Spicy, sweet, deeply savoury, and umami-rich — a fermented complexity that raw chilli pastes cannot replicate