What is an acceptable gochugaru substitution?
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- This topic has 8 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated 4 years ago by EvilGrin.
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- February 14, 2017 at 5:27 am #71434virginialuther12Participant
I am a Freelance writer and traveling all over the world.When I was visiting Korea, I had eaten some Korean food.I like Korean food very much.Especially rice cake and Kimchi.Some of the Korean recipes contain gochugaru.Personally, I don’t like the flavor of gochugaru.I want to substitute with gochugaru.So I used Aleppo for substitution.Does there is any other substitutions are available that keep uniqueness of Korean food?
- February 14, 2017 at 3:09 pm #71435EvilGrinParticipant
Nothing tastes like Korean pepper flakes. One of the slightly hotter Anaheim peppers might get you close but ive never tried them made into powder.
- February 18, 2017 at 10:42 am #71498sickbaParticipant
I just posted about this. Why not paprika? Yes, as evil says, it does not taste the same as well, but if we’re talking about getting a different kind of kimchi with the same benefits [ I eat it primarily for the health benefits not taste ] then why not?
- February 18, 2017 at 2:07 pm #71504John in Baton RougeParticipant
of course you can use paprika. There are no rules to making kimchi or any other food for that matter. Whatever you like. If it tastes good to you, that’s the only thing that matters :)
- April 1, 2017 at 3:36 pm #72011MegumiParticipant
Maangchi i feel confused regarding the best substitute of hot pepper flakes and hot pepper powder. I want to make korean dishes but some dish needs this one. I am living in place where there is no korean store. What is the best substitute? Like in making kimchi as well. Can i use Cayenne powder, chili powder, chili flakes?
- April 1, 2017 at 5:52 pm #72012John in Baton RougeParticipant
Order a bag online. There really are no good substitutes.
- April 2, 2017 at 10:55 am #72013EvilGrinParticipant
No there are not. I grow a variety of peppers and none of them taste like sun dried gochu. Very few pepper flakes are sun dried and have the seeds removed before processing.
Ordering online will be your best option or growing your own plants.
- April 14, 2017 at 4:12 pm #72110JenniferParticipant
My neighbor uses red jalapeño peppers for her kimchi. She blends it up with ginger and garlic until it’s a thick sauce. She also always shares it with me and it tastes just like the red pepper flakes to me. You can try doing that and see how you like it. I used powdered dry chilis from thailand before on kimchi but it does not taste the same and not the same ration as korean pepper flakes. I suggest you experiment with what works for you ;-)
- March 4, 2020 at 9:13 pm #86402EvilGrinParticipant
The huge problem with red jalapeno is NO BODY stocks them. Even our best Mexican markets dont ever have ripe jalapenos. Jalapeno also vary in heat a lot. Even peppers from the same plant can vary a lot. I grow a large variety of peppers every year including 2-3 kinds of jalapeno.
Second problem is red jalapeno powder cost more than gochugaru. Cost more than even Korean grown. So there is no advantage using ripe jalapeno unless you grow them yourself. Might as well grow gochu plants. Both are just as easy to grow and Kitazawa stocks fairly good gochu seeds.
Third problem, jalapeno dont dry that well and have a higher sugar content when ripe. They do dry but the walls are far thicker than Korean peppers. Your loss from mold would be high if sun drying and dried in a dehydrator do not taste the same….Been there and done that too. A couple pounds of fresh only makes a few ounces of dried. Ive dried many of them.
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