Gochujang

Gochujang or red chili paste 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 (barley malt powder), and salt. The sweetness comes from the starch of cooked glutinous rice, cultured with saccharifying enzymes during the fermentation process. Traditionally, it would be naturally fermented over years in jangdok (earthenware) on an elevated stone platform called jangdokdae in the backyard.

The Sunchang Gochujang Festival is held annually in Gochujang Village in Sunchang County, North Jeolla Province, South Korea.

History
Shiyi xinjian (食醫心鑑), a mid-9th century Chinese document, recorded the Korean pepper paste as 苦椒醬 (lit. 'pepper paste'). The second-oldest documentation of pepper paste is found in the 1433 Korean book Collected Prescriptions of Native Korean Medicines. Pepper paste is again mentioned in a 1445 medical encyclopedia named Compendia of Medical Prescriptions.

Chili peppers, which originated in the Americas, were introduced to East Asia by Portuguese traders in the early 16th century. There is mention of a type of chili pepper in brought to Korea is found in Collected Essays of Jibong, an encyclopedia published in 1614. Farm Management, a book from c. 1700, discussed the cultivation methods of chili peppers.

The history of Sunchang gochujang’s becoming a regional specialty dates back to the 14th century at the start of the Joseon Dynasty era (1392-1910) when the founder Yi Seong-gye made gochujang from the Sunchang region a part of Korean palace cuisine."When Yi Seong-gye, who went on to become the founder and first king of Joseon as King Taejo, was on a trip to Manilsa Temple to pray to the mountain god, he is said to have eaten a bowl of barley bibimbab (spicy mixed rice with vegetables) with gochujang that he found unforgettably delicious. He loved it so much that he ordered it served to the royal family when he became king. Thus Sunchang gochujang gained fame as a regional specialty."In the 18th-century books, Somun saseol and Revised and Augmented Farm Management, gochujang is written as, using hanja characters 苦椒醬 and 古椒醬. It is also mentioned that Sunchang County was renowned for its gochujang production. China and Japan, the countries with which Korea has historically shared the most culture and trade, do not include gochujang in their traditional cuisines.

Historical recipes
Gochujang ingredients reported in Jeungbo sallim gyeongje were 18 L of powdered and sieved meju (fermented soybeans), 540 mL of chili powder, and 1.8 liters of glutinous rice flour, as well as soup soy sauce for adjusting the consistency. The gochujang recipe in Gyuhap chongseo, an 1809 cookbook, uses powdered meju made from 18 L of soybeans and 3.6 L of glutinous rice, then adding 900-1260 mL of chili powder and bap made from 3.6 L of glutinous rice.

Ingredients


Gochujang's primary ingredients are red chili powder, glutinous rice powder, powdered fermented soybeans, and salt. Korean chili peppers, of the species Capsicum annuum, are spicy yet sweet making them ideal for gochujang production. According to gochujang is typically made from 25% red pepper powder, 22.2% glutinous rice, 5.5% meju powder (60% cooked soybeans and 40% non-glutinous rice), 12.8% salt, 5% malt, and 29% water.

Other recipes use glutinous rice, normal short-grain rice , or barley. Less common additions include whole wheat kernels, jujubes, pumpkin, and sweet potato. A small amount of sweetener, such as sugar, syrup, or honey, is also sometimes added. The finished product is a dark, reddish paste with a rich, piquant flavor.

The making of gochujang at home began tapering off when commercial production came into the mass market in the early 1970s. Now, most Koreans purchase gochujang at grocery stores or markets. It is still used extensively in Korean cooking to flavor stews (jjigae), such as in gochujang jjigae; to marinate meat, such as in gochujang bulgogi; and as a condiment for naengmyeon and bibimbap.

Gochujang is also used as a base for making other condiments, such as chogochujang and ssamjang. Chogochujang is a variant of gochujang made by adding vinegar and other seasonings, such as sugar and sesame seeds. It is usually used as a sauce for hoe and hoedeopbap. Similarly, ssamjang is a mixture of mainly gochujang and doenjang, with chopped onions and other spicy seasonings, and it is popular with sangchussam.

Gochujang hot-taste unit
Gochujang hot-taste unit (GHU) is a unit of measurement for the pungency (spicy heat) of gochujang, based on the gas chromatography and the high-performance liquid chromatography of capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin concentrations.

Gochujang products are assigned to one of the five levels of spiciness: Mild, Slight Hot, Medium Hot, Very Hot, and Extreme Hot.

Uses
Gochujang is used in various dishes such as bibimbap and tteokbokki, and in salads, stews, soups, and marinated meat dishes. Gochujang may make dishes spicier (depending on the capsaicin in the base chili), but also can make dishes sweeter and smokier.