If you’re a fan of Korean gochujang, the spicy, sweet, savory, pungent paste that’s used so often in Korean cooking, you’re going to love yak-gochujang. It’s gochujang fried with beef, honey, sesame oil and pine nuts, and will totally knock your socks off!
Yak-gochujang looks simple, but it’s a very special dish. “Yak” means medicine in Korean, as the honey gives it medicinal powers that makes it good for your body. Because of its precious ingredients, and rich, refined flavors, it was historically considered a side dish for the upper classes.
Of course these days it’s enjoyed by a wider range of people. Personally I love pine nuts, so I use them generously in my recipe, but if you can’t find or don’t like pine nuts, then you can substitute peanuts, walnuts, or skip them. Also, you can use rice syrup or corn syrup instead of honey.
Once you make it, you can keep it in the fridge for a month. It’s great to have around because when you need a quick, delicious meal you can mix it with rice, put it in your lunchbox as a side dish, use it in lettuce wraps (ssam) or make quick little gimbap rolls like I do in this video. It’s very rich and strong and needs to be balanced with something a little more bland like cooked rice or noodles.
I also think it would make a nice gift for someone who loves spicy things!
I hope you enjoy the recipe, and if you try it out or give it as a gift, let me know how it goes in the comments!
Ingredients
Makes 2 cups of yak-gochujang
- 1 cup gochujang (Korean hot pepper paste) buy it in a Korean grocery store or make your own
- ½ pound beef: shell steak, tenderloin, or flank steak, cut into ½ inch small cubes
- 4 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- ¼ cup honey
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ cup pine nuts
Directions
- Heat a skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic and 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil. Stir with a wooden spoon for 30 seconds. Add the beef and ground black pepper. Keep stirring for about 2 minutes.
- Lower the heat and add gochujang, honey, and pine nuts. Continue cooking, stirring with the wooden spoon for about 5 minutes until the paste turns a little thick, and shiny.
- Remove from the heat and mix with 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil. Let it cool and transfer to a glass jar or an airtight container. Serve it as a side dish for rice or use as dipping sauce for lettuce wrap. You can keep it in the fridge up to 1 month.
Vegetarian yak-gochujang
Ingredients
- 1 cup gochujang (Korean hot pepper paste) buy it in a Korean grocery store or make your own
- 5-6 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked in cold water for overnight
- 4 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- ¼ cup water
- ¼ cup honey
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ cup pine nuts
Directions
- Drain the mushrooms and squeeze out excess water. Cut them into ½ inch bite sized pieces, and include the stems.
- Heat a skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic and 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil. Stir with a wooden spoon for 10 seconds. Add the mushrooms and stir for about 3 to 4 minutes until the mushrooms are soft and cooked. Add 1 or 2 tablespoons water if it gets too dry.
- Lower the heat and add gochujang, honey, and pine nuts. Continue cooking, stirring with the wooden spoon for about 5 minutes until the paste turns a little thick, and shiny.
- Remove from the heat and mix with 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil. Let it cool and transfer to a glass jar or an airtight container. Serve it as a side dish for rice or use as dipping sauce for lettuce wrap. You can keep it in the fridge up to 1 month.
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I’m vegetarian — and I really appreciate the vegetarian options you give for many of your recipes — but for a vegetarian version of this dish I substitute veggie crumbles for the meat. Delicious!
Hi Maangchi,
since pine nuts are very expensive in the Netherlands,
with what could i replace them?
Ik made the gochujang-bokkeum from your cookbook last week.
Have it tasted by 4 collagaes from work and they all liked it.
It was only so dense after coming out of the fridge that i used a bit
of water and stirred it. Warmed it short to half warm in the micro
that was a blast !
Thanks so far,
Rob from the Netherlands
Gosh this looks delicious. I don’t remember seeing pine nuts in the korean grocery store but I’ll look for them. I’ll check the other asian store here too. The mediterranean ones are SUPER EXPENSIVE in the american grocery stores… maybe these are cheaper. Also… I would definitely toast them!!! THIS LOOKS AWESOME!!! :)
Costco has a giant bag of pine nuts for pretty cheap. I think it was 20-30 for a bag the size of my head. It would be worth a look.
Yak gochujang is a new discovery for me. I have never seen it in Korean restaurants. But I have made it several times at home now, and I love it. I also introduced it to a friend of mine who loves spicy food and he really liked it too. Thanks so much for this, as for so many other recipes!
hi maangchi.. can i replace beef with pork? which part of pork meat would you suggest?? thanks in advance.
Hi Maangchi,
I just watched some of your videos – wow!
Instead of pinenuts, I often use hulled sunflower-seeds, sometimes slightly roasted. Works nicely in Kimchi, too.
Bye, Sanne.
I just made this with ground beef and black walnuts. I haven’t had gochujang in a while, so when I tasted this my face immediately started sweating – it’s really delicious though and I completely understand why when you made the gimbap you didn’t add very much. This stuff is delicious, but potent.
Made this last week, love it. I like my beef cooked on the outside but raw on the inside; do you think if the beef cubes were raw on the inside they would spoil in the yak gochujang?
I just made this with beef minus honey, pine nuts since I don’t have any at hand. Ate it with rice and chilled cucumbers. Verdict: Awesome!!!! I can imagine it an excellent dish with wraps like layers of kaenip, lettuce, fresh seaweed… with rice and shredded chilled cucumbers. Very nice lunch box/picnic food. Next time I’m gonna try it with pork instead.
Thanks for sharing this fuss free and yet tasty recipe with us. :D
Wonderful!
Thank you for your wonderful recipes. I posted a link to this one in a Korean cookbook giveaway on a Dutch cooking blog, and guess what, I won!! ( http://koken.blog.nl/winnen/2014/02/13/winnaar-1-2-3-koreaans ) So I must thank you for getting me the book! :-)
oh, congratulations!
Wow this look delicious ! Would make the vegetarian version with oyster mushrooms soon :D
This looks so yummy! My daughter, who loves Korean dishes, just moved far away. I wondered, will this keep well w/out refrigeration for about 3 days? If I pack it hot, won’t it be like vacuum sealed? I know she would enjoy this, especially after a long hard day, a quick kimpab snack – delicious!
Yes, it’ll be ok up to 4 to 5 days at room temperature. “If I pack it hot, won’t it be like vacuum sealed?” no, I would cool it down first before putting it into a jar to avoid any excess moisture. Happy cooking!
Maangchi ssi!
This recipe makes me impatiently wait for your upcoming book. It is super delicious. I happen to be offered to buy some fresh pine nuts and I bought some to use for this recipe. It’s my kids’ favorite. Even my daughter who doesn’t normally eat spicy food love it
Cutemom, you must be a really cute mom! : ) Good luck with your Korean cooking!
Fascinating, Mangchi! I’ve never tried this before. I’d love to make it one day for my family. xxx
Are you still in Korea? If so, make this for your Korean friends. They will love it. But the ingredients are expensive in Korea. Happy cooking! : )
안녕하세요, 망치! I love your website and I love your food! I was wondering: Do you have any tips on making a Korean meal? Like how to make everything at once?
This looks absolutely delicious Maangchi! I have been following your recipes for almost a year now and you have no idea how much you’ve helped me learn about Korean food!! I might make this for my Korean BBQ dinner party on Wednesday, and serve it as an alternative to ssamjang! I think I’m going to probably make the ssamjang a bit more on the mild side and also serve this as a spicier alternative!! :)