Ever since I started Cooking more again, I have tried to find new Ways to put Flavour and Spice into Food. Usually, I would use the normal Things like Kurkuma, Paprika, Salt, Pepper and other more Common Spices.
Those are all good Spices, but I get bored quickly and definitely needed something new.
That’s why, after seeing a Post about Pasta on Reddit, I decided to do some Research and find out what Gochujang is.
I found out pretty quickly on Wikipedia.
Gochujang (…) is a savory, sweet, and spicy fermented condiment popular in Korean cooking. It is made from gochu-garu (chili powder), glutinous rice, meju (fermented soybean) powder, yeotgireum (barleymalt powder), and salt. The sweetness comes from the starch of cooked glutinous rice, cultured with saccharifying enzymes during the fermentation process.
After reading that Article, and also seeing some really good looking Recipes online, I knew that I had to go and buy myself some Gochujang.
All I still had to figure out was where I could actually buy the Stuff. Turns out, at every well-stocked Asian Market or simply online.
In the End, I bought a small 250g Container off Amazon, because that was the most convenient Way for me to get some. It was also relatively cheap, at only around 2.50€.
My small red Tub of Gochujang arrived just Yesterday, but I have already used as the Key Spice in two Dishes, one Time with Chicken and one Time with Rice Vermicelli.
Both of those will be tweaked a bit and then cooked again, and when I am finally completely happy with them, they will get their own Posts here.
The one with Chicken, which also included some Soy Sauce, Honey and Butter will probably End up here sooner rather than later, as it was extremely enjoyable with just the right Amount of Spice.
I really enjoyed cooking with Gochujang so far.
About the Paste itself:
Gochujang has a very strong fermented Aroma, but it honestly smells kinda incredible.
It is very viscous and likes to stick to everything, including your Utensils and Fingers if it gets to them, until it gets hot and a bit more liquidy. Wash your Hands before touching your Face!
It‘s Spice Level is just perfect for me, but I also haven’t used that much at all, between one and two Teaspoons for both Dishes I have already cooked.
A good Meal 