Gochuchang - Korean red pepper paste

Gochuchang - Korean red pepper paste

i found this the other day while in an asian groceries and thought it looked interesting. there was also a black bean paste and another type which i have forgotten.

has anyone ever tried this or heard of it. i have found some recipies online but would just like to know if anyone has actually got some in their pantry and has used it. if so whats it like flavour wise and how can it be used?

It's very useful if you like Korean foods in general... It's spicy and often paired with sweet flavors too. You can use it anywhere basically, mostly used in korean soups (kimchi stew, daeng jang stew, etc) and things like ddukbbogi (rice cake). You can also make spicy fried chicken with it, which is always a hit. :) 

Here's a fish cake recipe that I found. You can probably go around her site and find more recipes that uses it because it's very versatile in korean recipes! It kinda goes everywhere.... You don't have to use fish cake, I reckon you can probably substitute that with anything (just veggies too probably)

http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/uhmook-bokkeum

 Black bean paste in the other hand is a bit different. It's not used in any other dishes except to make jjajang (in korea anyhoo) or to dip onions. Jjajang is a sauce that is really delicious though... Usually put over a jja jang noodles but can be put on just pure rice.. or I put it on tofu sometimes. You can probably just buy packets of the completed thing (microwavable in 2 minutes) and see if you like it or not before buying it.

http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/jjajangmyun

and ever popular bibimbap SO simple:

http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/bibimbap

You might have also seen daen jang which is a korean soybean paste, similar to miso. The flavor is abit different. You can make alot of things with it, especially daeng jang chige which is a stew as well.

thankyou naruelle. that website has wondeful recipies. I love the look of the fish cake recipie. im definitley going to go buy a tub of it now!  ilove korean food all together.... i can't wait to get my hands on some korean shaved ice. that stuff looks marvellous!