Which gochujang?

Hey,

As far as I know all gochujang should be made following the same method. Which is that it usually is fermented. I have not heard of the non-fermented one before, but I am not the expert. If there were a choice, I would opt for the fermented one over the non-fermented. Maybe Maangchi or someone else with more experience than I can provide some more information.

There are definitely different levels of quality when it comes to gochujang. I would go for the one that is the most natural. The brand that I like is Sunchang, I always use it, so I can attest that it is good. It also comes in varying degrees of heat. I usually buy the spiciest one my local market carries, which is a number 4. I believe a number 5 exists, but I haven’t seen it in the store. Some of the gochujang’s contain other ingredients that are used as ‘fillers’, such as corn flour and wheat flour. These not as good and not as natural. I posted a question that deals with this a while back, the link is below.

In the end, I think almost any gochujang will do to provide you the authentic flavor you are looking for. It is a must have, so it is better to have it than not have it at all.

ryan :)

Translation Please…

http://www.amazon.com/Sunchang-Gochujang-Pepper-Level-Spicy/dp/B004KUEQUG/ref=sr_1_18?ie=UTF8&qid=1296843645&sr=8-18

Hey EW,

No problem. Out of the two brands that you posted, I would buy the second one, the Haechandle brand one. I personally would still buy the Sunchang from Daesun, but that is just because I have experience with this one.

I found a really good blog post about what the best gochujang is. Thank you to Grace of ‘One fork, one spoon’ for her excellent and informative blog post. It also confirms what I have said about Sunchang, but it is really a matter of preference when it comes down to it. Check out the post here:

The best gochujang

ryan :)

P.S. – Something I found out from reading the above mentioned blog post, is that ‘Sunchang’ is actually a place in South Korea as well as a brand name used by Chung Jung Won for it’s gochujang. Sunchang is a county in the North Jeolla Province of South Korea. It is renown among the people of Korea for it’s famous gochugang and many different brands come from there, not just the ‘Sunchang’ brand by Chung Jung Won. Supposedly, the governor of the county puts an official ‘Seal of Approval’ to verify that it is Sunchang Gochujang. Kind of like Champagne or San Marzano tomatoes, I guess. Just a little trivia for you!