Spicy-Sweet Korean BBQ Sauce (Ssamjang)

Recipe from Maangchi

Adapted by Julia Moskin

Updated June 23, 2023

  • Morgan Ione Yeager for The New York Times
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Total Time
5 minutes
Rating
5(442)
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Ssamjang, meaning "sauce for wraps" in Korean, has a wonderful combination of sweet, spicy and salty elements. It’s like American barbecue sauce, which makes sense, as it’s often used with grilled Korean specialties like bulgogi (marinated shaved beef), galbi (thinly sliced short ribs) and pork belly. Its main ingredient, doenjang, is a slow-fermented soybean paste that is similar to Japanese miso, providing the same rich umami flavor. Any Asian food market would stock multiple brands of doenjang; one of our favorite Korean cooking teachers, Emily Kim, a.k.a. Maangchi, advises simply, "Buy the most expensive one!" —Julia Moskin

Featured in: Maangchi: YouTube’s Korean Julia Child

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Ingredients

Yield:⅓ cup

  • ¼ cup fermented soybean paste (doenjang)

  • 1 to 2 teaspoons Korean red chile paste (gochujang)

  • 1 garlic clove, minced

  • 1 scallion, chopped

  • 1 teaspoon sugar or honey

  • 2 teaspoons roasted sesame oil

  • 1 teaspoon sesame seeds, toasted

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving

37 grams carbs; 389 calories; 7 grams monosaturated fat; 10 grams polyunsaturated fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 22 grams fat; 7 grams fiber; 3854 milligrams sodium; 15 grams protein; 14 grams sugar

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

  1. 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.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
442 user ratings
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Comments

andrea

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.

George Angell

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.

Amy

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.

OnlyInNY

Made as written and it's good, not great. I'll try different sauces and add the 1 T. vinegar another poster suggested.

OnlyInNY

Ugh! I purchased AND USED Gochujang Sauce, not paste. This may be the equivalent of using ketchup i/o tomato paste......so.....back to HMart's Sauce Aisle where I study the endless bottles in hopes of finding the paste. TBC

Carol

Can this be freezed?

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Credits

Adapted from “Maangchi’s Real Korean Cooking” by Maangchi

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