Gochugaru (Korean chilli flakes)

Flavour and aroma

fruity, sweet, mildly smoky, moderately hot. Fruity, sweet and moderately hot, with a faint smokiness.

Heat

Mild

Forms

flakes, powder

How to use it

• use raw

  For kimchi, mix with a little water, fish sauce or rice porridge into a paste and let it hydrate for 10 minutes before rubbing into the vegetables.

• bloom in fat · Tadka (tempering) technique

  For chilli oil, pour oil heated to about 120–150 °C over the flakes; hotter oil burns them black.

• use raw

  Add directly to soups, stews and marinades; it needs no toasting.

• Kimchi seasoning paste
• Soups and stews such as kimchi jjigae and yukgaejang
• Spicy marinades for pork and chicken
• Seasoned vegetable side dishes (namul, muchim)
• Homemade chilli oil

Identifying good quality

Bright, vivid red flakes (coarse) or powder (fine) with few seeds and a slightly moist feel. Labels may indicate heat (mild, medium, hot) and whether it is sun-dried (taeyangcho). Dark or dull colour means old.

• Not to be confused with Red chilli flakes: Western crushed red pepper is hotter, darker and full of seeds.
• Not to be confused with Cayenne / chilli powder: Cayenne is much hotter and finer.

Origin and history

Origin: Korea; Capsicum itself is native to the Americas.. Grown and used: Produced in Korea and China; used throughout Korean cooking..

Chillies reached Korea around the late 16th century, probably via Japan. Over the following two centuries ground chilli became central to Korean food, replacing much of the older use of other spices in kimchi; by the 18th century recipes for chilli-seasoned kimchi were being written down.

Commonly told; not firmly documented