Recently I started teaching myself Korean cooking and I noticed that one of the core ingredients – Gochujnag – has gluten in it. Gochujang is the Korean chili paste used in several dishes including Bibimbop. I went to many different Asian markets, including the Korean H Mart, and read the labels of every brand. Every single gochujang I saw sold in Seattle has gluten in it. It is very likely that you will be getting gluten exposure when ordering any dish at a Korean restaurant that uses chili paste. Sneaky gluten filler is exactly what I discovered when I researched commercial gyro meat.
For this post, I want to thank Gluten-Free Veg-heads UNITE for their post Gluten-Free Victory!! Spicy Korean Bean Paste. They spotted in the Wikipedia how commercial production of gochujang took over in the 1970s and this was likely when gluten became a staple ingredient. Probably because it is cheap and acts as a preservative. Why it is there is of no concern to me. The important thing is that I am able to make my own gluten-free version. Using the recipe from Shizouka Gourmet converted by Veg-Heads and then adjusted my me, I made my own.
Ingredients
- 1 1/8 cup water
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup Korean chili powder
- 1 cup miso paste with no MSG or Gluten
- 1 Tablespoon salt
- 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
Directions
The directions are posted with photos on Korean Cuisine: Home-Made Gochujang. Here is the summary.
- Add water and brown sugar into pan. Heat until sugar is dissolved.
- Add Miso and keep heating until dissolved. Use a wooden spatula. Keep going until everything is smooth.
- After most of the water has dissolved, add the Korean chili powder and stir.
- When big bubbles start appearing, turn off heat.
- Let the paste cool and little and then stir in salt and rice vinegar.
- Jar paste. Shizouka Gourmet says it should keep for a year.
I avoid soy, unless it has gone through a long fermentation such as miso or natto.
Korean red pepper flakes.
Making the Gochujang.
Finished Gochujang.
I’ve made 3 clay pot dishes using my gochujang. They tasted great and without gluten. My gochujang was a little more on the sweet side than spicy. When I make this again next time, I will increase the amount of of chili powder. At some point if I continue to be interested in Korean cooking, I may ferment my own gochujang. Note that the Maangchi tutorial is not gluten free, so the recipe would need to adjusted.
Oh man, I love gochujang! There’s always some in my fridge…really good on eggs or burgers or… anything really. The gluten doesn’t bother my system but I still find it annoying that they find it necessary to add it in. Most of the gochujang I’ve seen has high fructose corn syrup in it as well… annoying.
@Dhammy – Great ideas. I hadn’t thought about adding it on burgers or eggs. I think I am going to need to make a much larger batch.
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I love Maangchi’s Video’s…
How do you think you could convert her fermentation to be GF?
I was thinking of using Coconut Palm Sugar instead of Brown Sugar. I wonder about the shelf life.
@Liese – Maybe replace the barley malt extrct with this?
http://www.briess.com/food/Products/nswss.php
No clue on the shelf life. I am going through this stuff too fast to worry.
I am trying to ferment my own…any words of wisdom?
I followed Maangchi tutorial and currently I have it in a food grade plastic bucket, open to the air in a warm dark place, but it is forming a white mold(?) on top…any thoughts? Her example showed it with a dry crust which mine isn’t forming (it’s been 2 weeks).
@David – No idea. I decided not to pursue this ferment at this time. Maybe ask Maangchi?
My heart was broken when I bought a giant tub of gojuchang after being gluten free for 6 months. It wreaked havoc on my body, and I thought it was some other snack I’ve been eating at the same time. Listening to a podcast on how gojuchang was made, I was shocked when they said there was MALT powder and wheat that went into it. No wonder! Thank you so much for this resource!!! I’ll have to give it a try, gojuchang is my favorite condiment of ALL time!
Your recipe produces a gochujang that is soooo much better than the hot pepper paste we’d been buying at H Mart. I’m glad to be rid of the MSG, gluten, unfermented soy, and corn syrup. We make bibimbap at home a couple of times per month and good gochujang is the critical ingredient — the sauce that pulls the whole dish together. I made a few modifications to your recipe. I used Raw Coconut Crystals instead of brown sugar to give a lower glycemic impact. I used No Salt instead of regular salt to keep the sodium content low. Other good salt substitutions might be Himalayan salt, a quality sea salt, or even Raw Coconut Aminos. Finally, I’ll use Raw Coconut Vinegar instead of rice vinegar the next time I make your fabulous recipe. Thanks to you, it’s bibimbap tonight!