Korean Sauce Guide

Korean hot sauce, gochujang, and where to start

If you have heard of gochujang but never cooked with it, or you want a Korean spicy food recommendation that does not begin with the hottest thing on the menu, this page is the short version.

What is gochujang?

Gochujang is a fermented Korean red pepper paste made from red pepper powder, glutinous rice, fermented soybean and salt. The fermentation is the point: it builds savory depth next to the heat, so the burn lands round and slow instead of sharp and immediate.

That is also why gochujang behaves differently in cooking than a straight chili sauce. It carries salt, sweetness and umami at the same time, which is why a single spoonful can season an entire dish. Korean kitchens have used it that way for centuries, in stews, marinades and dressings.

The four Korean sauces worth knowing

Korean cooking runs on four fermented staples. Learn these and most Korean recipes stop looking unfamiliar.

SauceWhat it isWhat it does
GochujangFermented red pepper pasteSweet heat with savory depth. The base of most Korean spicy dishes — and of BALGAN.
GanjangSoy sauceSalt and umami. Used for seasoning, braising and dipping.
DoenjangFermented soybean pasteEarthy and deeply savory. The backbone of Korean stews.
ChojangVinegared gochujangGochujang loosened with vinegar and a little sweetness. Poured, not spooned — the closest thing Korea already had to a hot sauce.

Chojang is the one most people outside Korea have never met, and it is the closest ancestor of what BALGAN makes: gochujang loosened with vinegar so it pours.

Korean hot sauce vs sriracha vs Tabasco

The difference is fermentation and order of flavor. Sriracha and Tabasco lead with heat and acid. A fermented Korean red pepper sauce leads with sweetness, then heat, then a savory finish.

SaucePepper baseFlavor orderTexture
BALGANFermented Korean red pepperSweet first, heat second, savory depth lastPours; sweetened with allulose instead of sugar
SrirachaFresh red chili and garlicSharp, garlicky, sweetPours; heat arrives immediately
TabascoAged chili and vinegarSour and thin, vinegar-forwardSplashes; almost no body
Tub gochujangFermented red pepperDeep and sweet, but concentratedSpoon and stir — not pourable

Korean spicy food recommendations

Ordered from gentlest to boldest. If you are ordering Korean food for the first time and want heat, start at the top and work down.

  • TteokbokkiMild to medium

    Chewy rice cakes in a sweet-hot gochujang sauce. The friendliest way into Korean heat — sweetness arrives before the burn.

  • Kimchi jjigaeMedium

    A sour, deep, bubbling kimchi stew with pork or tofu. The heat is warm and round rather than sharp.

  • DakgalbiMedium

    Chicken stir-fried with gochujang, cabbage and rice cakes on a flat pan. Sweet, smoky, shareable.

  • JjamppongMedium to hot

    Seafood noodle soup with a red, peppery broth. Heat you feel in the chest, not on the tongue.

  • BuldakHot

    Fire chicken. Built for people who already know they like it hot, and want to prove it.

Korean food recommendations for first-timers

Korean food is not only spicy. If heat is not what you are after, these five are the standard entry points.

  • Bibimbap

    Rice, vegetables, egg and gochujang mixed at the table. The single best introduction to what gochujang does to a dish.

  • Korean BBQ

    Grilled pork belly or short rib wrapped in lettuce with garlic and sauce. Social, hands-on, easy to like.

  • Japchae

    Sweet potato noodles with vegetables and sesame. No heat at all — proof that Korean food is not only spicy.

  • Kimbap

    Seaweed rice rolls with fillings. Portable, mild, and the everyday food Koreans actually carry around.

  • Korean fried chicken

    Twice-fried, thin-shelled, glazed in soy garlic or a red pepper sauce. The gateway dish for most people.

How to use Korean hot sauce at home

DIP. DRIZZLE. DRESS. Dip fries and dumplings, drizzle over eggs, pizza and fried chicken, and use it as the base of a dressing for poke bowls, grain bowls and salads.

Three places to start, with full recipes:

Questions

What is gochujang?
Gochujang is a fermented Korean red pepper paste made from red pepper powder, glutinous rice, fermented soybean and salt. Fermentation is what separates it from a plain chili sauce: it builds savory depth alongside the heat, so the burn is round rather than sharp.
Is Korean hot sauce the same as gochujang?
No. Gochujang is a thick paste sold in a tub, meant to be spooned and stirred into cooking. A Korean hot sauce is that same fermented pepper base thinned into something you can pour straight onto food. BALGAN ORIGINAL KOREAN HOT SAUCE is the second.
Is Korean food always spicy?
No. Many staples — japchae, kimbap, galbi, most banchan — carry no chili at all. Korean cooking uses heat as one note among salt, sweetness and ferment, not as the whole dish.
What Korean spicy food should a beginner start with?
Tteokbokki. Its sauce is sweet before it is hot, so the gochujang flavor registers before the heat does. Kimchi jjigae is the natural second step.
How is Korean heat different from Thai or Mexican heat?
Korean red pepper is comparatively low in raw burn and high in sweetness and color, so the heat reads as warmth spreading behind the flavor rather than a spike at the front.
How do I use Korean hot sauce at home?
DIP. DRIZZLE. DRESS. Use it as a dip for fries and dumplings, a drizzle over eggs, pizza and fried chicken, and a dressing base for poke bowls, grain bowls and salads.

ALWAYS BE HOT SAUCIN’

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