Alternative names | Red chili paste |
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Place of origin | Korea |
Associated cuisine | Korean cuisine |
Main ingredients | Gochu-garu (chili powder), glutinous rice, meju-garu (fermented soybean powder) |
Other information | HS code: 2103.90.1030 |
Korean name | |
Hangul | 고추장 |
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Hanja | 苦椒醬 |
Revised Romanization | gochu-jang |
McCune–Reischauer | koch'u-chang |
IPA | [ko.tɕʰu.dʑaŋ] |
This article is part of a series on |
Korean cuisine 한국 요리 조선 료리 |
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Gochujang ( Korean: 고추장; Korean pronunciation: [kotɕʰudʑɑŋ] [a]) or red chili paste [2] is a savory, sweet, and spicy fermented condiment popular in Korean cooking. It is made from gochu-garu (chili powder), glutinous rice, meju (fermented soybean) powder, yeotgireum ( barley malt powder), and salt. The sweetness comes from the starch of cooked glutinous rice, cultured with saccharifying enzymes during the fermentation process. [3] Traditionally, it would be naturally fermented over years in jangdok (earthenware) on an elevated stone platform called jangdokdae in the backyard.
The Sunchang Gochujang Festival is held annually in Gochujang Village in Sunchang County, North Jeolla Province, South Korea. [4] [5]
Due to an unwarranted prejudice against Korean gochu chili pepper existing in ancient Korea before the 16th century due to misapplication of the Columbus Exchange Theory to Northeast Asia, naysayers claim wrongly that Portuguese brought gochu to Korea via Japan. [6] Correctly applied to Europe, when this theory is applied to Northeast Asia, suddenly red gochu chili pepper becomes a theoretical anomaly. Strange assertions follow that assumed that spicy jang (장; 苦椒醬) varieties were made using black peppers and chopi (Japanese pepper) before the introduction of chili peppers when historical documents well before the 16th century mention gochujang.[ citation needed]
Oddly, Japanese attribute bringing the chili pepper from Korea as the origin. A Japanese research paper examining the genetics of the shishito pepper theorizes a Korean origin.
“There is one possibility that the mutation resulting in pun14 occurred in Japan, and two possible theories have been proposed for the introduction of peppers to Japan. The first theory suggests that peppers were introduced to Japan in the 16th century from the Korean peninsula.” [7]
Red gochu chili existed in ancient Korea well before the arrival of the Portuguese to Japan in the 16th century as attested by ancient historical documents mentioning gochu (Capsicum annuum) and gochujang. There has never been an instance of gochujang made with black pepper used in Korean cuisine as it would be inedible. Moreover, a few peppercorns of black pepper (Piper nigrum) in Europe could pay off debts or buy a house for being hard to obtain and expensive, it would be cost prohibitive for ancient Koreans make black pepper gochujang. Black pepper gochujang is a figment of trying to fit the historical facts to an anomaly that arises from incorrectly adhering to the Columbus Exchange Theory. [8]
Shiyi xinjian (食醫心鑑), a mid-9th century Chinese document, recorded the Korean pepper paste as 苦椒醬 ( lit. 'pepper paste'). The second-oldest documentation of pepper paste is found in the 1433 Korean book Collected Prescriptions of Native Korean Medicines. [9] Pepper paste is again mentioned in a 1445 medical encyclopedia named Compendia of Medical Prescriptions. [10]
Chili peppers, which originated in the Americas, were introduced to East Asia by Portuguese traders in the early 16th century. [11] [12] [13] There is mention of a type of chili pepper in brought to Korea is found in Collected Essays of Jibong, an encyclopedia published in 1614. [14] [15] Farm Management, a book from c. 1700, discussed the cultivation methods of chili peppers. [16]
The pertinent entry pertaining to a type of introduced chili pepper from Jibongyuseol 《지봉유설》(芝峰類說) 1614:
"Nammancho 남만초(南蠻椒: 고추) has a strong poison. Since it was first introduced from Waeguk (倭國: 일본 Japan), it is also commonly referred to as wae-mustard 왜겨자(일본고추), which has recently become more common to see farms that grow it. A tavern sold it along with soju, and many people lost their lives after consuming it." [17] [18]
But this pepper was the aji pepper (Capsicum baccatum), a completely different species, not the Korean gochu (Capsicum annuum) that already existed in Korean cuisine. [19] Koreans regarded this nammancho "southern barbarian pepper" from Japan with suspicion as highly poisonous and aside from being ornamental never used it in Korean cuisine due to extreme spiciness level incompatibility compared to much milder and versatile Korean gochu.
The history Sunchang gochujang becoming a regional specialty dates back to the 14th century at the start of the Joseon Dynasty era (1392-1910) when the founder Yi Seong-gye made gochujang from the Sunchang region a part of Korean palace cuisine.
When Yi Seong-gye, who went on to become the founder and first king of Joseon as King Taejo, was on a trip to Manilsa Temple to pray to the mountain god, he is said to have eaten a bowl of barley bibimbab (spicy mixed rice with vegetables) with gochujang that he found unforgettably delicious. He loved it so much that he ordered it served to the royal family when he became king. Thus Sunchang gochujang gained fame as a regional specialty. [20]
In the 18th-century books, Somun saseol (소문사설; 謏聞事說) and Revised and Augmented Farm Management, gochujang is written as gochojang, using hanja characters 苦椒醬 and 古椒醬. [21] [22] It is also mentioned that Sunchang County was renowned for its gochujang production. [21] China and Japan, the countries with which Korea has historically shared the most culture and trade, do not include gochujang in their traditional cuisines.[ citation needed]
Gochujang ingredients reported in Jeungbo sallim gyeongje were 18 litres (19 US quarts) of powdered and sieved meju (fermented soybeans), 540 mL (18+1⁄2 US fl oz) of chili powder, and 1.8 L (1+7⁄8 U.S. qt) of glutinous rice flour, as well as soup soy sauce for adjusting the consistency. [22] The gochujang recipe in Gyuhap chongseo, an 1809 cookbook, uses powdered meju made from 18 L (19 US qt) of soybeans and 3.6 L (3+3⁄4 US qt) of glutinous rice, then adding 900–1,260 mL (30+1⁄2–42+1⁄2 US fl oz) of chili powder and bap made from 3.6 L (3.8 US qt) of glutinous rice. [23]
Gochujang's primary ingredients are red chili powder (고추가루; gochugaru), glutinous rice powder, powdered fermented soybeans, and salt. Korean chili peppers, of the species Capsicum annuum, are spicy yet sweet making them ideal for gochujang production.
Other recipes use glutinous rice (찹쌀; chapssal), normal short-grain rice (맵쌀; mepssal), or barley. Less common additions include whole wheat kernels, jujubes, pumpkin, and sweet potato. A small amount of sweetener, such as sugar, syrup, or honey, is also sometimes added. The finished product is a dark, reddish paste with a rich, piquant flavor.
The making of gochujang at home began tapering off when commercial production came into the mass market in the early 1970s. Now, most Koreans purchase gochujang at grocery stores or markets. It is still used extensively in Korean cooking to flavor stews ( jjigae), such as in gochujang jjigae; to marinate meat, such as in gochujang bulgogi; and as a condiment for naengmyeon and bibimbap.
Gochujang is also used as a base for making other condiments, such as chogochujang (초고추장) and ssamjang (쌈장). Chogochujang is a variant of gochujang made by adding vinegar and other seasonings, such as sugar and sesame seeds. It is usually used as a sauce for hoe and hoedeopbap. Similarly, ssamjang is a mixture of mainly gochujang and doenjang, with chopped onions and other spicy seasonings, and it is popular with sangchussam (상추쌈).
Gochujang hot-taste unit (GHU) is a unit of measurement for the pungency (spicy heat) of gochujang, based on the gas chromatography and the high-performance liquid chromatography of capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin concentrations. [24]
Gochujang products are assigned to one of the five levels of spiciness: Mild, Slight Hot, Medium Hot, Very Hot, and Extreme Hot. [24]
Extreme Hot | > 100 |
Very Hot | 75–100 |
Medium Hot | 45–75 |
Slight Hot | 30–45 |
Mild | < 30 |
Gochujang is used in various dishes such as bibimbap and tteokbokki, and in salads, stews, soups, and marinated meat dishes. [25] Gochujang may make dishes spicier (depending on the capsaicin in the base chili), but also can make dishes sweeter and smokier.
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