Gochujang sauce, made from Korean gochujang paste and various savory ingredients, serves as a versatile sauce steady for marinating, dipping, and drizzling over dishes like noodles and rice. This recipe offers a distinct mix of sweet, spicy, and umami flavors, effortlessly enhancing any meal with its depth of taste.

Kitchen-made gochujang sauce is in a glass jar and shows its pretty red color.

Gochujang is a popular ingredient in Korean cuisine with a sweet and spicy flavor. By turning plain gochujang into an all-purpose gochujang sauce, you can dress up your favorite Korean dishes and add a new level of flavor to any dish.

This versatile sauce can be used as a seasoning, marinade, or dipping sauce. Get creative and experiment with different flavor combinations to discover all the possibilities.

What is gochujang sauce?

Gochujang sauce is Korean sauce made by seasoning gochujang paste with additional savory ingredients to enhance the flavor. This sauce typically starts with gochujang, a spicy and slightly sweet fermented red chili paste.

To this base, various ingredients like fruits, sugar, and garlic, are added to create a more complex and nuanced flavor profile suitable for use in marinade or as a dipping sauce for vegetables or as a topping for noodles or rice such as bibimbap.

Don’t be intimidated by its spiciness, it’s totally worth it to indulge in the deliciousness of Korean cuisine.

Want to make gochujang paste from scratch? Our kitchen-made gochujang recipe only takes 10 minutes to put together and you will have the classic gochujang that will last up to 1 year. Check out our recipes using gochujang for more ideas.

Steamed broccoli florets are served with kitchen-made gochujang sauce in a white serving dish.

Creative Uses for Gochujang Sauce in Your Cooking

Use it as a dressing for Korean rice and vegetable bowl, a popular Korean rice dish.
Marinate thin slices of pork in the sauce to make Korean-style pork barbecue.
Turn plain chicken into savory chicken bulgogi by coating it in gochujang sauce.
Add extra flavor to grilled chicken skewers or rice cake skewers by basting them in the sauce.
Use this sauce to dress up grilled fish (as seen on our grilled red snapper)
Use the sauce as a dressing for Korean noodles, such as nangmyeon or bibim guksu.
Use it as a dipping sauce for your favorite vegetables.
Drizzle over plain rice with a fried egg on top (see our Korean egg rice)
Stir-fry with ground beef to make gochujang noodles.

Ingredient list

gochujang (Korean chili paste): This deliciously fermented condiment that offers a mild spiciness and rich umami flavor. You can find it at Asian grocery stores, well-stocked supermarkets in the international aisle, or online.
garlic powder and onion powder: add savory flavor to the sauce
sugar: balances the savoriness by adding sweetness.
Asian pear (or bosc pear) and sweet apple: bring a refreshing taste and add another layer of flavor to the sauce.
lemon juice (or rice vinegar): for added tang!
sesame oil and toasted seeds: provide nutty complexity to the sauce.
corn syrup: gives the sauce a luscious texture
gochugaru (Korean chili flakes): for more intense spiciness. You can adjust the amount depending on your heat tolerance or omit it altogether.

How the dish comes together

Grate a Korean pear and a sweet apple, and mix them with gochujang (Korean chili paste) in a small bowl.

Add garlic powder, onion powder, sugar, lemon juice (or rice vinegar), sesame oil, toasted sesame seeds, and corn syrup.

If you want a spicier sauce, add some gochugaru (Korean chili flakes) to taste.

Mix everything together well, and your gochujang sauce is ready to use!

Indulge in the deliciousness of Korean cuisine with this versatile sauce. Drizzle it over cold vermicelli or noodles to experience the refreshing taste of unfussy Korean dishes.

Although it may be spicy, it’s a small price to pay for the mouthwatering flavor.

Keeping leftovers

To keep your gochujang sauce fresh, always store it in the refrigerator. It can last for up to four weeks. Avoid freezing it, as it is not recommended.

Yield: 8 people
Prep: 15 minutes
Total: 15 minutes

Ingredients

6 tbsp Korean chili paste (gochujang)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
1/4 Korean pear or bosc pear, peeled
1/4 sweet apple, peeled
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice, or rice vinegar
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
1 tbsp corn syrup
1 tbsp Korean chili flakes (gochugaru), optional

Method

Grate a Korean pear and a sweet apple, and mix them with gochujang (Korean chili paste) in a small bowl. Add garlic powder, onion powder, sugar, lemon juice (or rice vinegar), sesame oil, toasted sesame seeds, and corn syrup.
If you want a spicier sauce, add some gochugaru (Korean chili flakes) to taste. Mix everything together well, and your gochujang sauce is ready to use! This gochujang sauce makes about 1 cup.
To keep your gochujang sauce fresh, always store it in the refrigerator. It can last for up to four weeks. Avoid freezing it, as it is not recommended.