Making gochujang takes five simple ingredients and only five minutes to make this earthy, fermented, sweet and spicy red chili paste. I used an easy recipe from Minimalist Baker which I found resulted in the most authentic tasting version.
By using miso, which is a fermented bean paste, as a base combined with Korean hot chili powder, the gochujang becomes thick and deep and complex although it has only 5 simple ingredients.
You can use red pepper powders such as cayenne but this will give it a completely different flavor and too much heat in my opinion. I ordered the Korean red chili powder online and prefer the amount of restrained heat that it adds to the paste.
I used the gochujang to make a sauce to flavor the bibimbap rice bowl, but it can also be used on meats, as a dipping sauce, or to spark up soups and baked tofu.
This recipe makes about 11/2 cups of gochujang paste. It will keep in the refrigerator for about a month so that you will have the opportunity to experiment with the gochujang as you add it to your kitchen repertoire.
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