Spicy-Sweet Korean BBQ Sauce (Ssamjang)
Updated June 24, 2023
- Total Time
- 5 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
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Ingredients
- ¼cup fermented soybean paste (doenjang)
- 1 to 2teaspoons Korean red chile paste (gochujang)
- 1garlic clove, minced
- 1scallion, chopped
- 1teaspoon sugar or honey
- 2teaspoons roasted sesame oil
- 1teaspoon sesame seeds, toasted
Nutritional analysis per serving (0.6666666666666666 servings)
389 calories; 22 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 7 grams monounsaturated fat; 10 grams polyunsaturated fat; 37 grams carbohydrates; 7 grams dietary fiber; 14 grams sugars; 15 grams protein; 3854 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
In a bowl, combine all ingredients, adjusting the amount of chile paste to taste. Use immediately or cover and refrigerate for up to 1 week.
Private Notes
Comments
I made this using miso which is very similar to the Doenjang . My husband is a beekeeper so I used our honey but any medium flavored honey will do. Very easy and very very tasty.
Gochujang is one of those ingredients that cannot be substituted without fundamentally changing the taste profile of the dish you are making. To some degree, it is the defining taste background of Korean cooking, used in so many recipes. I have to travel about an hour to reach an Asian market, but I always stock up on the gochujang. You can buy it in several different heat levels and many sizes - up to 2 gallon buckets in the big Asian market in Seattle.
Korean gojuchang typically contains rice flour, I believe, and is a very thick, smooth paste with a round, slow heat; in my experience, in contrast, Thai chiles tend to have a sharp, fast heat. If I HAD to substitute a different chile for the gojuchang (and I'd try not to), I'd probably gravitate more toward ancho or New Mexico chiles for the same round evenness.
I made it with shio koji because I had it in my fridge, instead of doenjang, which I did not have. It was delicious.
The Korean Cookbook by Junghyun Park & Jungyoon Choi uses much less doenjang and the same amount oil. That would make a sauce instead of a paste. They also add onion in addition to scallion.
The thing is if you use sugar instead of honey, this is still a paste, not a sauce. It requires thinning if you don’t use honey.
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