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Korean cooking ingredients

Green chili peppers

Cheong-gochu 청고추

Korean green chili peppers

There are many kinds of green chili peppers in Korea, some spicy and some not, and the Korean word cheong-gochu includes all of them. They are usually 3 to 4 inches long and look like long jalapeños, but they are pointier. They have a sweet flavor, and their spiciness can range from very mild (asagi gochu 아삭이고추) to very spicy (cheong-yang gochu 청양고추). Koreans usually chop the pepper with the seeds and use both.

Koreans are seasonal variations: asagi peppers come at the end of summer and are perfect for making green chili pepper pickles and green chili pepper kimchi. Cheong-gochu green chili peppers will eventually mature into red chili peppers (hong-gochu) if left to grow.

Buy Korean green chili peppers in Korean grocery stores, or substitute any local green peppers like serranos or jalapeños in my recipes.

Korean green chili peppers

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Posted on Tuesday, February 26th, 2008 at 11:20 pm. Last updated on February 16, 2020.
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Recipes that use green chili peppers (cheong-gochu):

8 Comments:

  1. hyde United States joined 2/12 & has 8 comments
    Posted March 11th, 2012 at 2:30 pm | or create a profile.

    How should I store these? In the refridgerator? Or on the counter?

  2. eluvism Chicago joined 10/11 & has 2 comments
    Posted December 19th, 2011 at 11:32 pm | or create a profile.

    So my grandparents plant green peppers in their garden but I dont know what kind they are.. Are the green chili peppers the kind that you can dip in 된장 and eat by themselves or are they like a spicier kind that you use primarily to flavor courses?

  3. benjaminmbaker joined 6/10 & has 1 comment
    Posted June 11th, 2010 at 8:45 pm | or create a profile.

    What is a good replacement pepper if I can’t get the korean pepper? Is serrano okay?

    • LuccaQ Buffalo,NY joined 6/10 & has 30 comments
      Posted July 3rd, 2010 at 8:02 pm | or create a profile.

      I wouldn’t recommend using a serrano, it is significantly hotter. The closest flavor I think would be a jalapeño. The jalapeño’s are usually a little hotter than the “green chili” or “Korean pepper” you could remove some of the seeds and/or white “veins” inside to adjust the heat. If you want to skip the heat an Italian sweet pepper (larger and light green/yellow in appearance) has a similar texture and fresh pepper taste.

    • orionflux joined 8/09 & has 16 comments
      Posted August 10th, 2010 at 3:53 am | or create a profile.

      If you have a space for a 3 to 5 gallon bucket, you can grow your own peppers. Shishito and Fushimi peppers are sweet Japanese peppers. Koreans use a different type- guajillo, aji, etc. I grew some this year & they look more like what I encountered in S.Korea. I can send seeds if you are willing to send me a SASBE (self addressed stamped bubble envelope).

      If you have a backyard, get some food grade 3 or 5 gallon buckets, GARDEN soil (not the same as POTTING soil).. And start your seeds inside 8 to 10 weeks before your last frost date. 1 plant per bucket, feed every week or 2 with miracle grow or your organic alternative (blood/bone meal, fish emulsion, etc). Spicy peppers have root exudates that prevent root rot and other Fusarium diseases. Plant anywhere you have these problems (if you choose to plant them in ground).

      While you should always plant chili peppers close together, providing shelter from the sun with other plants will help keep them from drying out and provide more humidity. Tomato plants, green peppers, and okra are good protection for them. Teas made from hot peppers can be useful as insect sprays. Hot peppers like to be grouped with cucumbers, eggplant, escarole, tomato, okra, Swiss chard and squash. Herbs to plant near them include: basils, oregano, parsley and rosemary. Never put them next to any beans, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts or fennel. They also work well with parsnips, but not carrots.

      Hope that’s helpful.

  4. bubu& has 1 comment
    Posted December 26th, 2009 at 2:56 am | or create a profile.

    where can i get this in singapore?

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