Gluten Free Vegan Gochujang (Korean Chili Pepper Paste) - Unconventional Cooks (2024)

I blinked furiously before adjusting my eyes to the screen in front of me. 5:30am. June 21st. The pilots voice bloomed from the silence announcing we were landing into the Hong Kong International Airport. Outside, the skies were still dark, only splashes of lamps were seen. I squeezed my hands together tightly – we were finally home.Zoe and I carefully entered the elevator to our apartment. Familiar faces greeted us hello as we made our way up to the 12th floor. Zoe almost jumped in fright when we heard footsteps coming to the door, only to realize my mum wasn’t the one answering the door. Thank goodness. Today was her birthday and she was about to get the biggest surprise of her life.
Naturally I went straight for the fridge after dropping my luggage in our living room. I was struck with nostalgia as I ran my fingers along the wooden drawers and the kitchen tiles. The cabinets were packed full of oats, seasonings, noodles and the fridge brimming with fresh vegetables and fruits from the market. The best part was the cardboard box filled with fresh ginger, garlic and my favorite purple sweet potatoes. Trying to not get caught in my daydreaming, I put on my old apron ready to face the challenge of making a birthday spread fit for my mum.

1 cup of this and 1 cup of that. I could hardly remember the measurements – only a blur of movements trying to make multiple things at the same time without adding onto the mess we had already created. Potato peels, chili flakes, dirty bowls and measuring cups sprawled out across the table, but our focus was intently on the saucepan bubbling in front of us. It smelt like heaven. Savory, spicy and sweet all together. It smelt like a Korean restaurant. I dipped my spoon in to taste the thick red paste. My eyes flew open and lit up immediately – it tasted just like it. It tasted exactly like gochujang. This was going to be perfect for our chicken.

Gochujang is a staple in Korean cooking. You could say it is the “sriracha” for Korean cooking. This beautifully rich and thick chili pepper paste is used to flavor their banchan (side dishes), stews, rice cakes and meats.The only unfortunate part of this story is that gochujang is not gluten free. Not to mention options that are available are limited and expensive.

Although this gochujang sauce has about the same amount of calories as storebrought gochujang paste, but it does not contain any highly processed ingredients like corn syrup, xanthum gum and so forth. So you have go to try this!

I remember giggling and feeling all giddy inside as I took a scoop of the thick, red paste from the jar. It seemed incredulous to me that we had actually made it, under 10 minutes. Why didn’t I do this before? I kept asking myself that question.And of course the surprise? It was a success. My mum looked so shocked. She couldn’t stop smiling. And of course she loved the dinner: Braised Gochujang Chicken with Crispy Corn Thins; Crispy Sweet Potato Fries with Homemade Ketchup, Cauliflower & Broccoli Fried Rice, Stirfried Veg and Homemade Japanese Pickles.

The smiles over the birthday dinner and the nods of approval of the delicious gochujang braised chicken was yet another confirmation of how good this gochujang was. The jar was emptied out in less than week as we used it in our regular prawn stirfries for dinner and tossing it in noodles for lunch. The versatility of the sauce has convinced me that I need to be making more of this regularly to keep in my fridge.

I looked to see my family moping down the braised gochujang chicken with thin crispy corn cakes (another one of our latest innovative combos). The laughter, the chatter and joy made all the effort worth it. But the brightest smile of all the was my mum’s. Nothing made her happier than being around her family, the people she loved.

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