What is gochujang? Korean chili paste explained, with recipes

Gochujang (고추장) is a fermented Korean chili paste: spicy, slightly sweet and savory at the same time. It goes into bibimbap, tteokbokki and many marinades. Here you will find out what gochujang is made of, how spicy it is and how to turn it into quick sauces.

What is gochujang made of?

The basic ingredients are chili powder (고춧가루, Gochugaru), glutinous rice, powdered fermented soybeans and salt. The fermented soybeans are called 메주 (Meju) and bring the microorganisms for fermentation. Traditionally, the glutinous rice is first saccharified with barley malt (엿기름, Yeotgireum). In industrially made gochujang, wheat or other rice is often used instead of glutinous rice, and syrup appears near the top of many ingredient lists.

How is gochujang made?

Traditionally, gochujang ferments in earthenware jars called 옹기 (Onggi), which often stand on a raised stone platform. The jars let air through but not water. According to scientific reviews, traditional fermentation takes one to two years. A home recipe from Korean Bapsang allows at least 60 to 90 days. Industrial gochujang, by contrast, is made with added starter cultures in a much shorter time.

The heat comes from the chili; the sweetness and savoriness develop during fermentation, when starch and soy protein are broken down.

How spicy is gochujang?

That depends on the kind. Since 2010, South Korea has had its own scale for this, the GHU (Gochujang Hot Taste Unit), based on capsaicin content. It has five levels:

Level	GHU
1, mild	under 30
2, slightly hot	30 to 45
3, medium hot	45 to 75
4, very hot	75 to 100
5, extremely hot	over 100

For certified gochujang, the label has been mandatory since 2011.

What is the difference between gochugaru, doenjang and ssamjang?

• 고춧가루 (Gochugaru) is dried chili powder or flakes, the main ingredient of gochujang, but not a paste.
• 된장 (Doenjang) is a fermented paste of soybeans and brine, with no chili at all.
• 쌈장 (Ssamjang) is a mix of doenjang and gochujang, with sesame oil and garlic among other things, for lettuce wraps.
• 초고추장 (Cho-gochujang) is gochujang with vinegar, sugar and sesame seeds, meant for raw fish and seafood.

Where does gochujang come from?

Gochujang cannot be older than chili in Korea, and chili only arrived in the country in the late 16th century. Instructions for making gochujang appear in the book 증보산림경제 (Jeungbo Sallim Gyeongje), usually dated to 1766. The gochujang of that time was based on meju, with grain added, and only then chili and salt. It was quite different from today's.

Gochujang from 순창 (Sunchang) County is especially famous. According to a legend, the future King Taejo ate gochujang at a farmer's house there on his way to a temple and liked it so much that he later made it a tribute to the court. The story is set in the 14th century, however, before chili reached Korea.

Factory-made gochujang came onto the market in the early 1970s and gradually replaced the homemade kind. In 2009, gochujang received a regional Codex Alimentarius standard, which has applied worldwide since 2020. It classifies gochujang as a distinct fermented food, not as a chili sauce.

What do I use gochujang for?

Gochujang goes into bibimbap and tteokbokki, stews, soups and marinades for meat, for example spicy pork in the style of jeyuk bokkeum. Three simple sauces to try:

Bibimbap sauce (Korean Bapsang)

• 4 tbsp gochujang
• 2 tsp sugar, 1 to 3 tsp to taste
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp water

Goes with our bibimbap recipe.

Ssamjang (Korean Bapsang)

• 2 tbsp doenjang
• 1 tbsp gochujang
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• ½ tbsp sugar or honey
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp sesame seeds
• 1 tbsp water or rice wine

Try it with bulgogi in a lettuce leaf, for example.

Cho-gochujang (Kvalifood)

• 2 tbsp gochujang
• 2 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1½ tbsp sugar
• ½ tsp garlic
• ½ tsp soy sauce
• ½ tsp toasted sesame oil
• 1 pinch sesame seeds

According to Kvalifood, the sauce keeps for one to two weeks in the fridge.

The sauce in our tteokbokki recipe is also based on gochujang.

How do I store gochujang?

Store unopened gochujang in a cool, dry place; once opened, it belongs in the fridge. It keeps there for a long time but gets thicker over time. Korean Bapsang advises mixing a thickened bibimbap sauce with a little more water.

Gochujang, gochugaru and sesame oil are also included in our Dosirak cooking box with 25 Korean recipes.

Sources

• Korean Bapsang: Korean Pantry Staples, How to Make Gochujang, Bibimbap, Ssamjang, 15 Recipes that Use Gochujang
• Kvalifood: Chogochujang
• Ryu et al.: study on gochujang fermentation, Frontiers in Microbiology 2020 (PMC7848209)
• Ramalingam et al.: review on gochujang, Foods 2022 (PMC8834593)
• Lee et al.: study on commercial gochujang, Molecules 2016 (PMC6273659)
• Korea Times: Levels of hotness (2010)
• South Korea's Ministry of Agriculture (MAFRA): Spiciness of Korean Food, in Global Standards (2020)
• Encyclopedia of Korean Culture: 고추장 (in Korean)
• Sunchang culture encyclopedia: on the legend of King Taejo (in Korean)
• Cook&Chef News: on the history of gochujang (2026, in Korean)
• Wikipedia: Gochujang, 고추장, Onggi, Doenjang, Ssamjang