Gochugaru Archives

Gochugaru (Korean Red Chili Powder) ?

Red pepper flakes, or gochugaru, is easily the most widely used ingredient across Korean cuisine. From kimchis, to side dishes, stews, marinades and dipping sauces, gochugaru can be found in hundreds of Korean dishes.

It is made using sun-dried Korean red chili peppers and comes in varying degrees of spice. Gochugaru comes in 2 different granularity - fine and coarse.

Most often, Korean recipes like Kimchi and many other spicy dishes use coarse chili powder and so when one says Gochugaru in Korea, they usually refer to the coarse variety.

Fine Gochugaru is finely milled Korean red chili powder and it's separately called as Goun Gochugaru 고운 고추가루. Fine powder is also used occasionally to make dishes like tteokbokki and jjampong for a smoother texture and taste but it's MAINLY used for making Gochujang.

To make Korean Gochugaru, Korean red chili pepper is harvested, dried whole in the blazing autumn sun and then ground into powder.

Not To Be Confused With

fine red chili powder korean gochugaru for gochujang — Fine Korean Chili Powder

Although from the same Korean red chili, the very finely ground gochugaru adds a different texture and feel to the dish so only use this powder as called by the recipe.

Note Korean red chili powder (Gochugaru) has a distinctively different flavor than other chili powders so when especially making Kimchi, please try to use Korean gochugaru as much as you can.

Where and What To Buy

Korean grocery stores or online stores. Gochugaru loses its brightness in both color and flavor so make sure you buy fresh, bright red colored powder - preferably from peppers grown in Korea.

How to Use/Cook

All spicy Korean recipes use this powder, especially Kimchi recipes, soups, stews and more.

How to Clean/Store

Keep in a sealed container in a cool dry place away from direct sunlight. For long-term storage, securely seal in a bag or container and keep in the fridge or freezer.

How To Grow

You can grow your own Korean chili peppers at home. Note that there are different varieties with different levels of spiciness.

Nutrition/Health Info

Dried chili peppers are rich in vitamin E and are a good source of fiber and iron. Red chili peppers in particular can help lower blood cholesterol. Countries that consume chili peppers regularly have been shown to have lower rates of heart attack and stroke than countries without regular chili pepper consumption.