Korean essential pantry items

Korean chili powder/Hot pepper flakes** *(Gochugaru: 고추가루)* – Most Korean spiciness comes from this magic powder called Gochugaru. It is essentially made with dried Korean red chillies. It mainly comes in two different formats – fine and coarse. Fine chilli powder is mainly used when making Gochujang and coarse chilli powder covers the rest of Korean cooking needs...

1. Korean chili powder/Hot pepper flakes (Gochugaru: 고추가루) – Most Korean spiciness comes from this magic powder called Gochugaru. It is essentially made with dried Korean red chillies. It mainly comes in two different formats – fine and coarse. Fine chilli powder is mainly used when making Gochujang and coarse chilli powder covers the rest of Korean cooking needs. It is recommended to store chilli powder in an air tight glass container and in the fridge as it can get mouldy if you don’t store it well (e.g. storing it at room temperature). If your Korean chili powder starts hardening, you can use the food processor to separate it again. Just a few seconds of pulse will fix it.

2. Roasted sesame seeds (Bokken chamggae: 볶은 참깨) – Roasted sesame seeds are usually used in a dish as a garnish. It adds a nutty warm flavour and nice crunchy texture to the dish. Typically it is used in Korean vegetable side dishes (Namul, 나물) and also in dipping sauces.

3. Soy sauce (Ganjang: 간장) – There are a few different kinds of soy sauce available in Korea, each has a different name based on the ingredients used and/or the method of brewing. For day to day cooking needs (e.g. stir fry, braising etc), you can use 100% naturally brewed soy sauce – Kikkoman brand or a Korean brand Yangjo Ganjang (양조간장). For soup and stew, I use soy sauce that’s made for soup. It’s saltier than other kinds of soy sauce but the colour is lighter. It can be also be used as an alternative to salt and it adds deeper umami.

4. Rice wine/cooking wine (Mirim: 미림) – Rice wine is particularly used for marinating meat for a BBQ. It gets rid of the meat smell and it’s also known to add a slightly sweet note to the main dish. Japanese Mirin (미린) does the same job.

5. Korean fish sauce (Aecjeot: 액젓) – Korean fish sauce is typically used in varieties of Kimchi to accelerate the fermentation process. In some occasions, it is also used in Korean side dishes and soup/stew. Also note that Korean fish sauce cannot be substituted with Thai or Vietnamese fish sauce.

6. Korean malt syrup/rice syrup/corn syrup (Mulyeot: 물엿) – These are a liquid form of sweetener. Koreans use it a lot to give food a sweet flavour but also to give a shiny look.

7. Sesame oil (Chamgireum: 참기름) – Sesame oil is widely used in many Korean side dishes, rice dishes, Korean BBQ and in dipping sauce as a finishing touch ingredient. It adds a nutty aroma and savoury flavour.

8. Korean chili paste/Hot pepper paste (Gochujang: 고추장) – Gochujang is probably the most famous Korean condiment. It goes in side dishes, soup & stew, main dishes, marinade etc. It is made from fine Korean chili powder, glutinous rice, fermented soybeans and salt. While it’s spicy, it also has a very subtle sweet note. Nowadays, there are various versions of gochujang (ie. extra spicy gochujang, less spicy gochujang and beef seasoned gochujang etc).

9. Soybean paste (Doenjang: 된장) – Korean soybean paste is often compared with Japanese miso paste. It is made with fermented soybeans over a period of time. It has natural pungent smell and flavour. It is mainly used in soup & stew but it can also be used as a sauce when making side dishes. As with gochujang, there are various versions of soybean paste available (e.g. soybean paste mixed with seafood extract).

10. Korean spicy dipping sauce (Ssamjang: 쌈장) – Korean spicy dipping sauce is most commonly accompanied with grilled Korean BBQ. It can be easily made at home using soybean paste, chili paste, garlic, onion, sesame oil etc. Check out my fancier version of this dipping sauce recipe if you want to make it from scratch. As with chilli paste (Gochujang) and soybean paste (Doenjang), there are various versions of spicy dipping sauce available. You can read more about spicy dipping sauce from my other post.

11. Sweet potato noodles/Korean glass noodles (Dangmyeon: 당면) – Sweet potato noodles are clear dried noodles made with sweet potato starch. They are most commonly used in Korean mixed noodles and vegetables (Japchae). The noodles come in large dried bundles and they are hard to separate. However, there is also a pre-cut version that are really easy to use as well. So look out for those if you can. To cook, you soak them in warm water for several minutes or boil depending on the recipe. They are similar to cellophane noodles but have a firmer and more resilient texture.

(Source: My Korean Kitchen)