I’m thrilled to introduce you to my homemade Korean hot pepper paste (gochujang) recipe today. Yes, eventually! Over the years so many of my readers and viewers have requested the recipe for gochujang, but I thought I couldn’t make it until I visited Jamie Frater’s house in New Zealand during my Gapshida trip last year. To make good, well-fermented gochujang, you need good quality ingredients, an earthenware pot to make it in, and a sunny place for it to ferment. Making gochujang is easy, but taking care of it requires lots of patience and hard work.
Gochujang needs direct sunlight, so after you make it you need to open the earthenware pot on sunny mornings to let the sunlight hit it, and be sure to cover it in the evening. You have to stir it sometimes and turn it over from the bottom to the top so that it’ll be mixed and fermented evenly. As time goes on, your gochujang will turn shiny and turn a richer red. If you go outside to meet your friend but it suddenly rains and you forgot to close the lid, your gochujang will be spoiled.
Besides this, gochujang should not be made in the heat of summer or it will ferment too fast and explode. One of my Korean friends studying in the USA brought a container filled with his mother’s homemade gochujang on the airplane. He took it in his carry on. A long time ago, it was possible for people to bring gooey stuff like hot pepper paste, soybean paste, and even kimchi on an airplane. We have so many funny stories about this.
So my friend’s gochujang exploded on the airplane. Store bought gochujang is processed to stop fermenting, but homemade gochujang never stops, just like kimchi. The gas from the fermentation process kept pushing the lid of the container until it blew up. My friend’s mother must have packed it tightly with plastic bags and tape.
I’m living in an apartment in Manhattan without a patio, so it seemed impossible for me to make something that needs lots of direct sunlight to ferment well. Well-fermented gochujang is really delicious, and a totally different flavor from gochujang bought in a store. For a delicious meal you can simply mix it with warm rice, chopped kimchi, and toasted sesame oil.
So on my Gapshida trip, Korean food fan Jamie Frater invited me to his house to cook together. We filmed my popcorn chicken gizzard recipe video and the next day we filmed this gochujang video. The cameraman, Ryan Sweeney, is also a big fan of Korean food.
Jamie was waiting for me with all the ingredients for gochujang as well as Korean earthenware pots: onggi. He brought these from a trip to Korea that he won in a Korean food blog contest 2011 on the basis of his Korean food writing.
This Korean gochujang was made in New Zealand and taken care of by Jamie for months. It’s really international!
Makes about 16 quarts
Ingredients
- 2 pounds of barley malt powder (yeotgirem)
- water
- 10 cups of sweet rice flour
- 8 cups of rice syrup
- 4 cups (1½ pounds) of fermented soybean powder (mejugaru)
- 16 cups (1.6 kg) of hot pepper powder
- 4 cups of kosher salt
Directions
- Mix 8 liters (32 cups) of water and 2 pounds of barley malt powder (yeotgireum) in a large basin
- Strain the mixture and put it in a large heavy bottomed pot.
- Heat it up on the stove for about 20 minutes until it’s warm. Dip your finger in to test it: it should be warm, not hot.
- Remove it from the heat and add sweet rice flour. Mix well with a wooden spoon.
- Let it sit for 2 hours. The liquid on the surface will look a lot clearer, and it will taste a little sweet.
- Bring to a boil for about 2 hours over medium high heat, until it reduces by ¼-⅓ (about 28-30 cups).
*tip: Stir occasionally with a wooden spoon so it doesn’t burn to the bottom of the pot.
- Add the rice syrup and mix well.
- Remove from the heat and wait until it completely cools down.
- Add mejugaru and mix well. Then add hot pepper powder and mix well. Lastly add salt, and stir until there are no lumps in the paste.
- Transfer it to an earthenware pot or glass jar and cover with mesh or cheesecloth before closing the lid.
- It will take about 2-3 months to properly ferment. During that time it’s best to open the lid and let it sit in the sunlight during the daytime, and close it at night.
Jamie updated me recently about his gochujang with a few photos and emails. I missed the gochujang a lot! Jamie loves the texture and flavor of it, which made me very happy. Thank you very much Jamie for your effort taking care of the gochujang and updating us! Many of my readers will be encouraged to make their own homemade gochujang because of him.
He emailed:
“The gochujang came out great! It is a little thicker than commercial gochujang but I don’t think that is a problem at all. The flavor is deeper and slightly less salty than store bought pepper paste which is good I think. The hot New Zealand summer sun took great care of our precious paste! I can’t wait to see our video! I have attached 5 of the best photos I took of the gochujang.”
Well fermented gochujang! The top layer looks dark red and a little dry! I can almost smell the aroma from this photo!
Beautiful gochujang is showing off its bright red color! Thank you my gochujang! You grew up well, thanks to Jamie! : )
On the left is homemade gochujang, and on the right is store-bought gochujang. A big difference!
Maangchi's Amazon picks for this recipe
It's always best to buy Korean items at your local Korean grocery store, but I know that's not always possible so I chose these products on Amazon that are good quality. See more about how these items were chosen.
Hi, does anyone know of an online source for organic fermented soybean powder (mejugaru) or at least non-GMO? Thanks, John
I am proud of myself today I thought I would never do this recipe cause of the ingredients but today I made this jar and it’s sooooo delicious but my dad had a taste he said it’s too spicy I laughed and I told him it’s supposed to be like that poor Dad I am sorry for him
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Hi maangchi.
Actually I was having two questions in my mind.
The first one is can I use this after I just make it?
The second one is that I can put this in the fridge instead of leaving it in the air?
Please reply
You need to ferment it first, so sunlight is important. After that you can use it and put it in the fridge.
Mmm so can I leave it in the air of my house without sunlight cause there is no sunlight come in my house?
Hi maangchi, till today I still can’t find mejugaru.. Its been abt two years… All the Korean store here does not carry mejugaru… Tried Amazon but does not ship to my country… Ask my cousin who recently visited korea but was told that they couldn’t find it… I don’t understand…. Do you know where I can get it that actually provide international shipping? I desperately need it in order to make my own gochujang…. Is there any way that I can make it own my own? Can I do the same as doenjang meju block and grind it after the fermentation process? Please many … I need your input and suggestion…… Thank you
Hey saw your comment. Do you want mejugaru? Cos i just came back from korea and bought some
Hi there sorry just saw ur msg… how nice of u.. im excited reading ur msg… im keen, will u have enough for urself? Looking forward to ur reply.
Hi! Finally a reply (: I decided not to do the gochujang again in the end hence I don’t mind selling what I bought to u if not it will go to waste. I have about 900g of meju and gochugaru each and a bag of barley malt. Enough ingredients to maybe make 1/4 batch of maangchi’s recipe. Would u be interested to buy them off me?
great but unfortunately i only need mejugaru the other ingredient i have plenty… so is it still available? How much are you selling the mejugaru?
Hi Shikin, sure no problem about selling the mejugaru only. $13 for the bag…if you’re still keen
Hi maangchi !
I want to make Gochujang .Can I use this BARLEY ( in the picture ) . then put in blender to make barley powder and change it with BARLEY MALT POWDER .
The different is mine we just call it BARLEY and your is BARLEY MALT . We actually make drink form this by putting it in warm water.
For the FERMENTED SOYBEAN POWDER , can I change it with TEMPE (in malaysia). Tempe is actually made form soybean and fermented. Then , blend it to make powder form it .
It might sound ridiculous! To change it ! But it is possible?
I hope you can reply it asap. I really enjoy your watching your cooking .
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Hi Maangchi, it’s been 6 months now and I wanted to check with you whether gochujang will spoil if it’s kept covered and at room temperature? The last I check, my gochujang has a dried layer on top with a very pungent smell. I haven’t tasted it yet :x I kept a few jars in my fridge just in case
As long as it doesn’t have any mold on top, you can eat it. Even if you find mold, just scrape that part off and eat the rest.
Hello Maangchi
I live in France and I cannot have of Mejugaru or Fermented soybean Powder. I do not find any nowhere even in the specialized store in the Korean products.. On Internet one finds it but it does not deliver in France. Thus my question is the following one: can one replace Mejugaru by another thing? If not how can I even make of Fermented soybean Powder Me? Thank you in advance. Cordially Lamia.
Sorry for my approximate English
I use hot pepper paste, gochujang, all the time in my cooking. I love it and it kicks up my cooking more than one notch. Today, I am widowed and as much as I love to make it at home, I cannot find time to make gochujang. I usually buy 500 gm tub from the Korean grocery market which lasts me 3-4 months.
I just started mixing my first batch of gochujang and i accidently added thr malt powder in with the liquid. I soaked it but did not strain it. Will my paste be okay or should i start over?
I’m sorry to say that you need to start over again, because we only need the liquid from the malt powder, not the dregs. If you make gochujang this way the texture will be very gritty.
Maangchi can I use honey instead of rice syrup and can I use short grain rice flour cause I cant find all the ingredients in my area????
Hi Maangchi! I made some gochujang last week and it has started to ferment under the sun. I think it looks pretty good, I wanted to show you! Thank you so much for this amazing recipe. These craftsmanship skills are amazing, and showing people how to do it is really the best present evveeeerr. Annyong!
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Hi Marja,
It’s such good looking gochujang! Thank you for showing us your treasure!
hi Maangchi,
I just found this recipe while searching for inspiration for banchan for tomorrow’s Korean meal.
The commercial gochujang seems to have alcohol added, in any case the fermentation seems to do just this: Yeasts fermenting the ingredients to create alcohol as opposed to lactic ferments creating vinegar in Kimchi.
I think that there is a way to stop the fermentation of home made Gochugaru, namely with sulphites in the same way as we do in beer and cider brewing (yes, I’m homebrewer). Sulphites are used before bottling to stop fermentation but also to kill wild yeasts and only allow our own beer or wine yeasts to grow.
I am of course also going to give your Makgeolli recipe a try!
I may give it a try later in the spring / summer, as here in Holland we don’t get too much sun.
Hi Maangchi, i’ve been trying to contact you since last year but never once receive any reply but i understand that u are a busy woman… hehehe i have a couple of questions.
1) i could not find mejugaru in Sg search whole sg but not available…. is there any substitution? Can i make it myself? If yes, can you teach me (video/explain)? tried amazon but it does not ship to Sg:(
2)Can it expired?
3)Can it be use right after making or should i wait till it fermented? how long will it take?
4)I bought barley malt but the shop gave me really coarse barley malt.. Should i grind them first?
Thats are the qns i have in mind now… had all the ingredient bought except mejugaru…
Thanks
PS: Really need ur help….
I have never made meju-garu but if I learn how to make it, I will make a recipe and post it on my website. “I bought barley malt but the shop gave me really coarse barley malt.. Should i grind them first?” No, you don’t need to grind it.
Thank for your reply… i really appreciate it…. If thats the case can i just omit mejugaru?
Thank you.. May ask u about question 2 and 3.?
Hi Can I substitute the mejugaru with Doenjang Soybean Paste as I cant find this ingredient.
Thanks
Hi Maangchi, thank you for your recipe! My 고추장 came out a little dark (I used normal 고추가루 my fault) and a little too thick. It tastes more salty than sweet. Should I add more rice syrup to make it less thick and also more sweet? Or I can leave it just as it is…I’m quite happy with my first batch..can’t wait to make my second batch even better!
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Congratulations on your gochujang!
You can thin it out. Mix rice syrup and water and boil. And let it cool down and stir it in your gochujang.
Hi Maangchi! Thank you for the advice! My gochujang now looks like this after two months, it’s still slightly thick but I can still thin it even after two months? How do you know if it’s well fermented? My gochujang have been ‘exploding’ out from my 옹기 for the past few days…
Happy new year!!!
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“My gochujang have been ‘exploding’ out from my 옹기 for the past few days” This line makes me confirm your gochujang is well fermented.
When you taste it, you will taste deep earthy aftertaste.
Yes, you can thin in out if it’s too thick. Next time if you make gochujang again, make it thinner because it will get thicker over time.
Hi Maangchi, it’s been 6 months now and I wanted to check with you whether gochujang will spoil if it’s kept covered and at room temperature? The last I check, my gochujang has a dried layer on top with a very pungent smell. I haven’t tasted it yet :x I kept a few jars in my fridge just in case
Hi i see that you managed to make ur own gochujang. I assume you manage to get all the ingredients? As you know im from Sg too. Try to get mejugaru but failed. May i know how/where you get it? Been/called all korean store in Sg but no postive answer. Thank you.
Hi Shikin! Yup I managed to make my own gochujang (: bad news is you really need to buy the mejugaru direct from Korea (which I did). Do you need some? Cos I still have some mejugaru from last time…if you’re want to make some halal gochujang, I have another recipe which is much easier and doesn’t need mejugaru. Or if you need some halal gochujang, I don’t mind giving you a small container of mine to try..i’m also looking for testers hahaha
Hi how nice of you….i really want to make my own gochujang… Yes i want to make the gochujang that does not contain alchohol(halal)….. Tried the alternative which is simple (cant deny) but i dont feel satisfied as to me its cheating and the taste is different. Further more, i really want to get my hands on the gochujang making in the traditional way.
Hi. I have been wanting to make this but not able to because I can’t find the mejugaru. Where did you find it in Korea? I couldn’t find it even in Lotte Mart.
I went to Namdaemun market. I couldn’t find any from Lotte Mat. Sorry for the late reply!
Hi thanks for the reply! You replied just in time, I’ll be going to Korea next month. Did you manage to find yeotgireum garu at the same place too? How about the earthen pot where did you bought it at? Sorry for asking so many questions. Really look forward to making this :)
Hi Shikin, can u share hlal gchujang recipes to me ? Thanks
Where do I buy a larger pot like yours for fermenting?
There are korean grocer listings in the forums. I found lots of Onggi at Super H-mart.
Does “strain” mean what you did squeezing with your fingers to mix the malt powder? Or are you supposed to strain out the cloudiness? I left all the malt powder in when I added sweet rice flour.
Maangchi, I have three jars that sit in the morning sun. I have coffee filters over them with a rubber band. Sometimes I leave the lids off for a few days because they are covered well.
Is it important to close to lid to restrict oxygen to the fermenting things?
In my oongi I have little white fuzzy patches of mold. I removed them. Why is that?
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“In my onggi I have little white fuzzy patches of mold. I removed them.” The top of the hot pepper paste should be exposed to more direct and strong sunlight. Sunlight helps the paste not only ferment but also is a natural disinfectant.
Hello again! My gochujang is now 7 months old. I left it alone with the lid on for several months and it got a little bit slimy on the top in my oongi. I started stirring before I noticed the slime, but I removed as much as I could after.
It does not smell and it is not green or white – only a little dark red/brown.
I have them back in the sun and will remember to take their lid off to breathe and get sun more often.
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Hi dear
Sunday i made gochujang. I used sea salt in my gochujang. After that put gochujang in my earthenware pot, test my gochojang it’s spicy and salty.
I shuld add some syrup in my gochujang to be sweet or no it’s ok?
Thank you my chef~ ^^
Spicy and salty gochujang will be ok but you can add syrup anytime if you want. If you decide to make your gochujang a little sweeter, thinner, and less salty, boil some syrup with water. Then let it cool down thoroughly and stir with the gochujang. Good luck!
And after it has reduced to almost half, the color is much darker than your, it’s like a milk chocolate color, brown. Please tell me what to do.
It sounds good to me! You still can make gochujang with it. Add meju-garu, hot pepper powder, salt, and mix it together. My only concern is it (the fermented liquid ) might be so thick that your gochujang might turn too thick. While you mix the ingredients, add a little by little and see the density.
Thankyou so much for replying on time. I finished the ingredients. You were right, it’s very thick, but I didn’t want to change the proportions so I added everything according to the recipe. It there a way to make it a bit thinner? Or maybe just use it like this. I have never tasted this thing before, so I don’t know what to expect but right after mixing, I has a taste of it and I could pretty much only taste Salt and milk chilli powder. I asked extra hot chilli powder but it’s more like the paprika used in the west, which is powder capsicum. Will the flavours change after fermentation?
This is what it looks like,a little darker than yours and much thicker. It doesn’t fall off the spoon, I used another spoon to take it off the spoon. Very thick. Is it ok like this?
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What does your gochujang look like now? Is it still very thick? If so, this is the way I would try. Boil some water with some rice syrup and salt and let it cool down. Then add it to the thick gochujang a little by little, stirring until the consistency is like apple sauce. Sprinkle some salt on top of the gochujang. Good luck!
My gochujang turned out like yours and as what Maangchi said, you can thin it out with water and rice syrup
Maangchi! I went to another city to get ingredients and spent over $50, started making today and accidently added the rice syrup before boilingand cooking the mixture. Now it’s boiling to reduce to 1/3 WITH THE RICE SYRUP. Please tell me is this going to affect the end result too much, should I just throw it out? Please reply soon
Hi !
I’m in Australia too ! Would you mind telling me where you got your stuff? I have been searching Korean shops but haven’t had much luck in finding 메주 가루.
I’m in Queensland.
Thanks !
망치 언니 안녕하세요? ^^
I can’t find 메주 가루 in korean grocery store in my town But i start to 된장과 국간장 project ^^
i washed carefully 메주 blocks after fermented but some fungus to exist inside the 메주 blocks and dried in the sunlight for 1 day , can i put one 메주 block in a food processor and make 메주 가루 and add in 고추장 ?!can i use ?! is it OK or NO?!
정말 감사합니다. ♡♡
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Your meju looks well and nicely fermented. Don’t worry about the white fungus inside the meju because it’s good bacteria. But you can’t use this for gochujang making, it’s different than what you need.
Hi dear i have a question about 고추장 => in my cuentry haven’t any rise syrup but i have caramel syrup and honey and just find corn syrup. Can i use corn syrup or caramel syrup or honey in 고추장 resipe ?! Wich one is better for 고추장 resipe?! 나를 돠주는데 정말 감사합니다. ♡♡
Yes, you could use corn syrup. Good luck!
Hi Maangchi,
i am big foodie and chef with small food point, i love Bibim Guksu so much and its main ingrediant is gochujang sauce which i want to make it available at my place in local price, so i am trying to make gochujang sauce with indian ingrediants except bean paste which i will use korean for sure as i have korean friend here who have korean restra here, i just need your help with other ingrediants, for example can i make it with minimum ingrediants to cut the price, i have some chillies in my mind for substitute and rice. also main problem is here now days temp is reaching 45`C so is it will be safe to make it in this weather
Hi,
Thanks for the recipe!
I made this a year ago and it tastes ready to eat now. How long can I keep this and how to recommend storing it? I have about 5 liters :)
U should keep it in the fridge
It is in the 90’s currently here in Charlotte NC. Can I keep this next to a window inside my house where the temp is a steady 25 celsius ? Most days are sunny here in Charlotte. Also what size pot is that you are using?
Thanks,
Kevin
Hi! I’m allergic to fructose… do you know of any alternatives I can use for making Gochujang? I’m in LOVE with it but I don’t know what syrup I could use…
I did find this non-gmo fermented soybean powder:
http://www.rockwellnutrition.com/Natural-Soy-Powder-Organic-GMO-Free-by-Vital-Nutrients_p_658.html#.VW9zemRViko
Do you think it would work as the meju powder?
Thanks so much for your time!!
Eva
Hi, So I was wondering if anyone has found a brand of fermented soybean powder (mejugaru) that states on the package that it is non-GMO?
Thanks,
Eva
I was looking for the same, then it occurred to me that many countries require GMO labeling- including South Korea. So, buying fermented soy flour that does not include a GMO label, should, in theory, be non-GMO.
http://www.justlabelit.org/right-to-know-center/labeling-around-the-world/
Hi! We barely get sun at all and it’s snowing in Finland, is there another way to ferment the gochujang, perhaps, with the oven?
I would suggest a grow lamp, like the kind you use to grow plants indoors.
Is diastatic barley malt going to work? It’s the kind of malt that still has active enzymes, which I think is the same as the Korean type roughly. The Korean type is unavailable here in my current state of Montana, or online anywhere I know of, so it’ll be nice if this will work so I can make gochujang this summer.
Wondering if I can omit barley malt and just use rice flour instead? What’s the worst that could happen? Would it still be red pepper paste and ferment? I’m assuming taste would change. I checked Wikipedia and it said traditionally gochujang was made from red chili powder, glutinous rice powder,powdered fermented soybeans, salt, and sometimes a small amount of sweetener. Like some of your other followers I’m gluten intolerant and I love gochujang. It’s an integral part of many korean recipes. So I’m thinking of experimenting!
Barley malt is an essential ingredient to make gochujang. It gives sweetness plus deep flavor.
Thanks for your reply. I guess I will still have to abstain until I can find a substitute!
hello maangchi, can you propose something to substitute the malt powder?? i have gluten intolerance so i can not take it… i really wanna make the tteokppoki..thankss
I am on a very restrictive diet. I cannot eat wheat or soy (amongst other things). Do you know what I can substitute the barley malt powder (yeotgirem) and fermented soybean powder with?
Hi! Can you tell me why the gochujang gets left in the sun? I’ve made many other ferments and this is the first that has such a specific sun requirement. Thanks!
The sun ages it and makes it ferment.
I am making my own gochujang. I started it the beginning of June, I left it out for 5 or 6 hours a day for 10 or 12 days and they temp was between 70 and 80 degrees outside. Then I started leaving it out for an hr or two every three or four days in the morning. Do you think it will be ok? What should it taste like and should I add more salt now?
When it ferments it will have a deep gochujang flavor. I think it should be fine!