Gochujang

Gochujang (Korean: 고추장) is a savory, fermented Korean food. It is made from red chili, glutinous rice, fermented soybeans and salt. It is used to add flavour to a variety of Korean foods such as bibmbab (Korean: 비빔밥), bulgogi (Korean: 불고기), and tteokbokki (Korean: 떡볶이).

Ingredients

The main ingredients of gochujang are red chili powder, glutinous rice powder mixed with powdered fermented soybeans, and salt. Each serving contains 8.9% of protein, 4.1% lipid, 15.9% of carbohydrate, and 3.5% of fibre. It has more Vitamin B than doenjang and ganjang. It contains 5mg of Vitamin C per gram and 2,445mg of carotene per 100 gram.

One peculiar ingredient is capsaicin which is main cause of hot taste. Some people put salted fish or meat into gochujang.

History

Gochujang (hot pepper paste) has been made since chili was introduced from Japan in 1592, during the middle period of the Chosun Dynasty (Korean: 조선 왕조). According to Jung-Bo-Sal-Lim-Kyung-Jae (Korean: 증보살림경제), written in 1766, it was made from beans, sweet from glutinous rice, hot from red peppers, and salty. Since that time, making gochujang became rapidly popular. In Nong-Ga-Wol-Lyung-Ga (Korean: 농가월령가), there is content regarding making it.

Types

Different types of gochujang are made by adding different ingredients in the production process. Recipes are slightly different depending on the parts of Korea it comes from. The most common types of gochujang are listed below.

Glutinous rice Gochujang

Made by mixing glutinous rice powder with powdered fermented soybeans red peppers, which are the basic ingredients of Gochujang.

Kaoliang Gochujang

made by adding kaoliang.

Barley Gochujang

made by adding barley. Popularly used as Ssam-Jang (쌈장) in summer.

Wheat Gochujang

made by adding wheat. Used for making Jji-Gaes (찌개, stews), and Jang-A-Jji (장아찌, Pickled Vegetables)

Red-bean Gochujang

made by adding red-beans. Used in Cho-Gochujang (초고추장) thanks to the beautiful red color.

References

이춘자, Lee Chun-Ja/ 장 醬/ 대원사, Dae Won Sa/ 2003/ pp. 89 – 107
김찬곤, Kim Chan-Gon, 한국문화관광부, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism/ 우리 민족 문화 상징 100/한솔수북, Han Sol Su Book/ 2006/ pp. 67 - 69