You’ll find yourself craving this easy gochujang-style Korean chili paste over and over again. It’s at once spicy, sweet, salty, and bursting with umami!
Before we begin… what in the world is gochujang?
Ah, gochujang. With Korean cuisine all the rage these days, I’m sure you have heard of this spicy chili paste. If not, here is an explanation, courtesy of Bon Appetit:
“Gochujang, a fundamental ingredient in Korean cooking, is a thick and spicy-sweet crimson paste made from red chile pepper flakes, glutinous rice (also known as sticky rice), fermented soybeans, and salt. Traditionally, it’s fermented over years in an earthenware pot kept outdoors, during which time the starches in the glutinous rice are converted to sugars, giving the condiment its underlying sweetness. The chile peppers provide a healthy amount of lingering heat, while the fermented soybeans act as the miso-like ingredient that anchors gochujang’s “umami” flavor.”
Since first enjoying a dish made with gochujang at Pure Kitchen, I have been wanting to make my own gochujang-style Korean chili paste at home, though not one that is fermented over a period of several years. Nah, my love of gochujang runs too deep to wait that long for its salty-spicy-sweet-umami deliciousness.
I consulted the internet for recipe inspiration here, and actually worked off of this recipe to create my own inspired version. I simplified the recipe by using regular chili flakes instead of Korean chili flakes, and added tomato paste for volume, texture, and red colour.
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To be fair, my recipe is not a true gochujang, given the untraditional ingredients and method, but for me and my small group of taste testers, it hits in all the right places and is supremely addictive!
how to make this gochujang-style Korean chili paste:
Add rice vinegar, chickpea miso, maple syrup, tomato paste, tamari, garlic, chili flakes, garlic, and water to an upright blender and blend until smooth! That’s all there is to it. 🙂
Stay tuned for my next recipe, which integrates this crispy tofu with this gochujang-style Korean chili paste!
If you make this recipe, leave a comment and rating below to let everyone know how you liked it, and share a photo to Instagram with @upbeet.kitchen and #upbeetkitchen, too!
Enjoy!
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Easy Gochujang-Style Korean Chili Paste
Description
You’ll find yourself craving this easy gochujang-style paste over and over again. It’s at once spicy, sweet, salty, and bursting with umami!
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- ¼ cup chickpea miso
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- ¼ cup water
- 1–2 tablespoon tamari (start with 1 tbsp and add more to taste)
- 4 medium garlic cloves
- ½–1 teaspoon chili flakes (depending on how spicy you want it to be)
Instructions
- Place all of the ingredients in an upright blender and blend until smooth.
- Transfer to an airtight glass jar and store in the refrigerator, where it will keep for at least two weeks
Notes
This recipe is inspired by Minimalist Baker.
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