Ever used, much less heard of Gochujang?

RRP

saluki2007 said:

The Asian market on University has it and just about anything else you can think of.  Great store if you've never been.

Thanks - I've been there several times. It always amazes me to see those huge 40 or 50 pound bags of rice! Apparently they are a supplier to the Asian restaurants in the area.

JohnInCarolina

RRP said:

saluki2007 said:

The Asian market on University has it and just about anything else you can think of.  Great store if you've never been.

Thanks - I've been there several times. It always amazes me to see those huge 40 or 50 pound bags of rice! Apparently they are a supplier to the Asian restaurants in the area.

Ron, Asian people buy rice the way we buy lump.   They use it in just about every meal.  

I was fortunate enough growing up to have a Korean college student renting a room from my family.  I learned a lot about their culture and food. My family is still in touch with his and I have been to see him in Seoul several times.

Eoin

We use it mixed with jerk paste to put on chicken - adds a bit of sweetness and makes the jerk paste stick better.

gdenby

RRP said:

... It always amazes me to see those huge 40 or 50 pound bags of rice! Apparently they are a supplier to the Asian restaurants in the area.

The place I mentioned that had several varieties of gochujang not only has a stack of a couple of tons of different kinds of rice, but has a brief period each year when the space is cleared for the new crop. Never occurred to me that rice didn't have an indefinite shelf life, until I tried some of the fresh jasmine rice they got in.

SonVolt

I keep a tub in the fridge. It seems to last indefinitely. I think I first tried it at one of those Japanese steakhouses where they cook in front of you... one place in Nashville served it as their "hot sauce for steak". I asked the cook what it was and have been buying it ever since.  If I'm using it as a dipping sauce I'll typically thin it down with oil or soy sauce, sometimes water and add scallions, sugar or other stuff to it. 

jonnymack

Pretty easy to find and you should always have some around. Good stuff. 

UNCHeels08

JohnInCarolina said:

RRP said:

OK, gang - is it hard to find? We have a couple Asian grocery stores in town so I guess I'll go looking tomorrow!

Ron, our local grocery store - Harris Teeter - actually carries it.  If your local place has an “international” aisle, you might want to look for it there first.

Just an FYI, but when I went to look for it at my two closest Harris Teeters (I’m in Raleigh), neither had the paste. They just had premade gochujang-based sauces. Ended up ordering a tub off Amazon for about $9, one of the legit ones with no English writing on it lol. 

I may be wrong (happens often) but I think most of the Korean recipes call for the paste and not the sauces that have all sorts of other ingredients. I’ve been really enjoying experimenting with it in some Asian-style sauces for ribs/wings/chicken, but still trying to nail it down. 

nolaegghead

UNCHeels08 said:

JohnInCarolina said:

RRP said:

OK, gang - is it hard to find? We have a couple Asian grocery stores in town so I guess I'll go looking tomorrow!

Ron, our local grocery store - Harris Teeter - actually carries it.  If your local place has an “international” aisle, you might want to look for it there first.

Just an FYI, but when I went to look for it at my two closest Harris Teeters (I’m in Raleigh), neither had the paste. They just had premade gochujang-based sauces. Ended up ordering a tub off Amazon for about $9, one of the legit ones with no English writing on it lol. 

I may be wrong (happens often) but I think most of the Korean recipes call for the paste and not the sauces that have all sorts of other ingredients. I’ve been really enjoying experimenting with it in some Asian-style sauces for ribs/wings/chicken, but still trying to nail it down. 

You are right.  The paste is what you want.  Like buying beef base vs consomme.  Look for fermented rice, wheat malt and soy, at the very least "fermented".  It's like miso. 

blasting

Eggcelsior said:

My Korean brother-in-law recommends this brand:

That's kinda funny - It's good to know what an actual Korean suggests, but how the heck do I go about putting this on a grocery list or asking for this at a store?

HeavyG

blasting said:

Eggcelsior said:

My Korean brother-in-law recommends this brand:

That's kinda funny - It's good to know what an actual Korean suggests, but how the heck do I go about putting this on a grocery list or asking for this at a store?

Show a clerk the pix or just walk up and down the section looking for a match.

Amazon used to have that Assi brand available but apparently not at the moment:

https://www.amazon.com/assi-Hot-Pepper-Paste-Pound/dp/B00Z58TW4M

JohnInCarolina

UNCHeels08 said:

JohnInCarolina said:

RRP said:

OK, gang - is it hard to find? We have a couple Asian grocery stores in town so I guess I'll go looking tomorrow!

Ron, our local grocery store - Harris Teeter - actually carries it.  If your local place has an “international” aisle, you might want to look for it there first.

Just an FYI, but when I went to look for it at my two closest Harris Teeters (I’m in Raleigh), neither had the paste. They just had premade gochujang-based sauces. Ended up ordering a tub off Amazon for about $9, one of the legit ones with no English writing on it lol. 

I may be wrong (happens often) but I think most of the Korean recipes call for the paste and not the sauces that have all sorts of other ingredients. I’ve been really enjoying experimenting with it in some Asian-style sauces for ribs/wings/chicken, but still trying to nail it down. 

Good point, but some of those sauces are very close to the real deal in terms of texture and flavor.  I think it would give Ron a pretty good idea of what this stuff is about, but YMMV.

Killit_and_Grillit

@blasting I am almost positive our Publix carries that brand. I saw it yesterday looking for some shallots. It was in the produce section next to the ginger and kimchi. 

zahulio

I used it to make Korean thunder chicken from the halalpitmasters.com blog. Recipe here.  Bought from a large Asian grocery store.

UNCHeels08

zahulio said:

I used it to make Korean thunder chicken from the halalpitmasters.com blog. Recipe here.  Bought from a large Asian grocery store.

@zahulio That looks great and I basically have all of the ingredients on hand already. How did you like it and how spicy was it? It doesn’t seem like it’d be too spicy with just the gochujang as spice but I have to be careful with heat due to the rest of my family. 

zahulio

UNCHeels08 said:

zahulio said:

I used it to make Korean thunder chicken from the halalpitmasters.com blog. Recipe here.  Bought from a large Asian grocery store.

@zahulio That looks great and I basically have all of the ingredients on hand already. How did you like it and how spicy was it? It doesn’t seem like it’d be too spicy with just the gochujang as spice but I have to be careful with heat due to the rest of my family. 

@UNCHeels08 It's hardly spicy. My picky daughters loved it!

UNCHeels08

Perfect. Going to try it soon, I love all of the ingredients in it so hopefully this is the combo I’ve been looking for. May try it first on some wings. Thanks. 

bg_easy

I used the same brand as @zahulio to make Bobby Flay's version of Korean Chicken.  Here's a really old post, but it's in the rotation and requested often :-)

https://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1198307/korean-chicken-cook#latest

RRP

saluki2007 said:

The Asian market on University has it and just about anything else you can think of.  Great store if you've never been.

Went there today, couldn't find it, but ask the shop keeper who read my note and then spoke in English saying no he doesn't carry it and knew of no Korean grocery in our area. Then I went to our Kroger and sure enough they had it both in paste and in sauce form. I bought a tub of the paste. Only $4.19 for a 500 gram tub. Brand is Sempio.

odie91

Lol this is gonna be like the next siracha.  You know, some red Asian sauce that's been around for ten thousand years, and then some white guy discovers it and it becomes all the rage

Aviator

Well, WTH. Ordered it from AMz.
Lets see what its all about. Cant go wrong with a price of 9$

caliking

odie91 said:

Lol this is gonna be like the next siracha.  You know, some red Asian sauce that's been around for ten thousand years, and then some white guy discovers it and it becomes all the rage

Already is. It’s the Asian Condiment/Sauce of 2018. The Kroger and HEB near me both carry multiple brands of the paste and gochujang sauces. 

@RRP Sempio is a well known Korean brand that makes pretty decent galbi and bulgogi marinades too, if you feel like giving them a try. The hot versions are not very spicy. 

odie91

Well call me blasphemous, but this is the version I like .   Adultered with all those ingredients.  I see the word "fermented" mentioned in there though, so don't stone me

odie91

Btw, the 4th, 5th and 6th korean characters say gochujang.  The ones before and after, I'm notnsure

caliking

odie91 said:

Btw, the 4th, 5th and 6th korean characters say gochujang.  The ones before and after, I'm notnsure

 That actually looks like a pretty good sauce. Doesn't seem to have thickeners like xanthan gum or other stuff. Plus points for having gochugaru and pear in it .

odie91

caliking said:

odie91 said:

Btw, the 4th, 5th and 6th korean characters say gochujang.  The ones before and after, I'm notnsure

 That actually looks like a pretty good sauce. Doesn't seem to have thickeners like xanthan gum or other stuff. Plus points for having gochugaru and pear in it .

Lol, certainly you don't really believe "natural pear flavor" has even on molecule of a real pear in it do you lol ?    

SSQUAL612

There are several post on the forum for Korean Chicken.  Here’s one I’ve made & used Gochujang and it’s one I will make again. 
https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/korean-grilled-chicken-recipe-1921151

caliking

odie91 said:

caliking said:

odie91 said:

Btw, the 4th, 5th and 6th korean characters say gochujang.  The ones before and after, I'm notnsure

 That actually looks like a pretty good sauce. Doesn't seem to have thickeners like xanthan gum or other stuff. Plus points for having gochugaru and pear in it .

Lol, certainly you don't really believe "natural pear flavor" has even on molecule of a real pear in it do you lol ?    

Point taken.  But given all the other carp that typically goes in to making bottled sauces, and which aren't in that one, I'm going with at least a few molecules of pear being in that bottle.

HoustonEgger

This month's cooks illustrated magazine has a recipe in it for Gochujang - I'll see if I can get that posted for anyone interested

RRP

HoustonEgger said:

This month's cooks illustrated magazine has a recipe in it for Gochujang - I'll see if I can get that posted for anyone interested

Yes, please!

SSQUAL612

I also make Asian style spicy cucumbers with Gochujang.  Goes great with almost everything.