Fearless with Flavour #1 - Gochujang
The fermented red chilli paste we all need in our lives.
Kia ora friends,Â
I don’t know about you, but the past fortnight seems to have been jam-packed for me, with some celebrating (wedding season), creating, and a few challenging curve balls - but mostly some very cool times. And of course, plenty of cooking… in fact in stark contrast, in the space of a few days I went from camp stove cooking in the wilderness to preparing a wedding cake for a good friend of mine – which has been so much fun (although I always forget how much time it takes, kudos to those absolute machines who make wedding cakes professionally). Now back home, I’m into the groove of creating some more simple, mostly plant-based recipes, which has been a welcome detox and reset after the past week of festivities.
You’ll notice by now that the newsletters have been tending to focus on particular seasonal produce – and I plan on continuing this for the most part, as we make our way through the year of food. This week’s newsletter though, is the first in a series that I’ll scatter throughout the fortnightly drop, called Fearless with Flavour.
Flavour has always been at the forefront of my cooking, and you’ll notice if you look through my recipes, there may be ingredients which are slightly more foreign to some of you. Fearless with Flavour will see me shining a spotlight on some of my favourite ingredients that I feel you absolutely need to add to your cooking repertoire. Given you’re reading this, I imagine most of you have a deep-seated interest in food and will probably already be familiar with a lot of the ingredients I write about, but at the very least, I hope you will cement these global ingredients in your culinary toolbox, to push the boundaries of flavour in your home kitchen.
The sweet, the salty, the heat and umami.
I spent some time deciding which ingredient to focus on for Fearless with Flavour #1, but recent experimentation and a big old tub of this stuff in the fridge that I was compelled to use, has meant this week is all about GOCHUJANG.
If you’ve ever eaten the Korean dish Bibimbap, then you’ve definitely eaten Gochujang. It’s what I rightfully like to call the Ultimate Umami Paste, as it adds a game-changing flavour boost to anything you add it to (within reason).
Gochujang is a Korean fermented red chilli paste made from gochugaru (Korean red chilli powder), meju (fermented soybean), yeotgireum (barley malt powder), chapssal (glutinous rice) and salt. The paste is traditionally fermented in large earthenware pots called Jangdok (or Onggi), in relatively cold temperatures. On sunny days, the lids of the pots are removed to allow some sunlight exposure and then closed at night. Gochujang usually ferments for at least 3 months and often for a year or two, to further develop the signature spicy, sweet and deeply savoury flavour.
These days you can purchase mass-produced Gochujang by the tub at your local Asian supermarket, and you will actually find it stocked in some regular supermarkets too. A little goes a long way, so add to taste, as it can have a reasonable kick.
While gochujang is traditionally used in Korean cooking, primarily in marinades, soups, stews etc. the recipes this week all seek to challenge the realms of how gochujang can be used, weaving this condiment into other cultures to turn them on their head. I can 100% confirm that all three of these gochujang recipes are absolute fire, and none more so than these Umami carrots with gochujang romesco and carrot greens salsa. Here, gochujang is added to a chunky Italian romesco sauce made with roasted almonds, red peppers and tomato paste. It adds a warmth and flavour lift that boosts the roasted carrots that lay upon it. Another reason to make this recipe, is that it utilises the green tops of the carrots – something which I’ve certainly been guilting of tossing away in the past. The carrot greens make an excellent base for an earthy salsa.
On the sweeter side.
It might sound remarkable, but gochujang can also be used in sweet recipes – a recent example of this can be seen in the Gochujang Caramel Cookies by Eric Kim, NYT columnist and author of Korean American.
Channelling this gochujang caramel vibe, one of my recent triumphs has been a recipe for Gochujang burnt honey crème caramel. This sees runny honey being cooked on the stovetop until deep amber and swirled with gochujang water to make a potentially life-changing topping for the classic French custard dessert. I spent more time than usual perfecting this recipe (see snap below for some different custards at different cooking times – including one that I managed to destroy as I removed it from the oven!), and the result couldn’t be more delicious.
What other ways could you use gochujang in your cooking? I think the possibilities are endless. I challenge you to be fearless in the kitchen this week.
Much love,
Alby xx
this week’s MOOD BOOSTER:
Kimchi + gochujang meatballs
Meatballs have long been a favourite of mine, and this recipe throws a new riff on the classic Italian dish. Kick-ass Korean flavours of kimchi and gochujang bring umami and heat to both the meatballs and the rich tomato sauce, ready to slurp up with a bed of thick udon noodles. It’ll have you feeling fine in no time!
Best of the season this fortnight (NZ):
New season apples
Mushrooms
Baby carrots
Zucchinis
Figs
Green beans
Tomatoes
Rock melon
Sweetcorn (very last of the Summer crop)
Kitchen music of the moment:
My partner Alex recently introduced me to an absolute banger called Who’s Hurting Who, by Jack Savoretti and which features the multi-Grammy award-winning Nile Rodgers. Another disco dance floor anthem worth checking out that features Nile is Kill the Lights, by Alex Newell. You’ll be boogieing all night long.
Recently my brother and his family were back home from the UK, and one of the favourite beats of his 1-year-old twins is On Melancholy Hill, from Gorillaz 2010 album Plastic Beach. I’ve been revisiting this album in the weeks since, and there’s some good stuff there, with a star-studded feature line-up including Bobby Womack, Lou Reed and Snoop Dogg.
Interesting reads:
How the wave of Gochujang popularity hit the US in recent years https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/gochujang-gateway-how-korean-chili-paste-became-so-popular-u-n1255748
Along the lines of how I used the carrot greens in the recipe above, Tom Hunt is one of the head figures leading the movement of ‘zero waste, plant-rich, climate cuisine’ as he terms it. Check out his Instagram and website for inspiration
British chef Thomasina Miers spoke recently on BBC Sunday about the food shortages facing the UK. In the wake of recent climate disasters in New Zealand, food shortages are becoming an increasing issue that needs to be made a global government priority to address.
An artistic view of the very real impacts of climate change, in the context of the recent cyclone in NZ https://thespinoff.co.nz/society/24-02-2023/the-side-eye-a-climate-change-reality-check