Spice
Gochugaru
고춧가루
Also called Korean chilli flakes, Korean chili flakes, gochu-garu
What it is
Sun-dried Korean red chilli, ground coarse or fine. The colour and fruit of kimchi and tteokbokki, not cayenne heat.
Origin
Korea.
Flavour
Smoky-sweet chilli, moderate heat, a little sun-dried fruit.
How to use it
Bloom in oil or mix into kimchi paste. Fine grind for sauces; coarse for kimchi texture.
Storage
Fridge or freezer once opened — it fades in a warm cupboard.
Can you recognise Gochugaru?
Ingredient challengeQuestions about Gochugaru
From this ingredient's notes in the catalogue — not a chatbot.
What is Gochugaru?
Sun-dried Korean red chilli, ground coarse or fine. The colour and fruit of kimchi and tteokbokki, not cayenne heat.
How do I use Gochugaru?
Bloom in oil or mix into kimchi paste. Fine grind for sauces; coarse for kimchi texture.
How do I store Gochugaru?
Fridge or freezer once opened — it fades in a warm cupboard.
What does it taste like?
Smoky-sweet chilli, moderate heat, a little sun-dried fruit.
What can replace Gochugaru?
mild chilli flakes (medium for kimchi, tteokbokki, stews). Cayenne is hotter and less fruity. Use less, and you still will not get the sun-dried colour of gochugaru.
Nutrition
Per 100g · estimate · USDA FoodData Central averages and equivalent published tables. Values are typical, not lab tests of your shopping bag.
Heat: Hot
Recipes using it
Tteokbokki
떡볶이
Chewy rice cakes in a glossy gochujang sauce — the street stall that made K-food a late-night sport.
30 minEasy🌶️🌶️🌶️
Rose tteokbokki
로제떡볶이
The creamy, pink, extremely 2020s cousin of street tteokbokki — still Korean, just wearing a dairy jacket.
30 minEasy🌶️🌶️
Yangnyeom chicken
양념치킨
Twice-fried Korean chicken in a sticky sweet-chilli glaze — the reason 'chimaek' became a word.
1 hrMedium🌶️🌶️
Jeyuk bokkeum
제육볶음
Spicy stir-fried pork with gochujang and gochugaru — weeknight heat with rice that you will need.
47 minEasy🌶️🌶️🌶️
Dakgalbi
닭갈비
Spicy stir-fried chicken with rice cakes, cabbage and sweet potato — Chuncheon's table-grill export.
50 minMedium🌶️🌶️🌶️
Sundubu jjigae
순두부찌개
A raging bowl of soft tofu, chilli broth and a cracked egg — the stew you eat before the spoon melts.
35 minEasy🌶️🌶️🌶️
Doenjang jjigae
된장찌개
The everyday soybean-paste stew: zucchini, tofu, a little chilli, and a broth that tastes like someone's house.
30 minEasy🌶️
Budae jjigae
부대찌개
Army-base stew: kimchi, spam, sausages and ramyeon in a gochujang broth that refuses to be precious.
40 minEasy🌶️🌶️🌶️
Yukgaejang
육개장
Shredded beef soup, red with gochugaru, full of fernbrake and spring onion — hangover logic that also works at lunch.
1 hr 55 minMedium🌶️🌶️🌶️
Kimchi-jeon
김치전
A sour, lacy kimchi pancake — the fridge-door dinner when the kimchi is too ripe to be polite.
22 minEasy🌶️🌶️
Bossam
보쌈
Pork belly simmered until it slices like a cold cut, wrapped in leaves with radish salad and ssamjang.
1 hr 40 minMediumNo chilli
Dubu-kimchi
두부김치
Warm tofu with stir-fried kimchi and pork — a drinking-table plate that is also a real dinner with rice.
25 minEasy🌶️🌶️
Baechu-kimchi
배추김치
Napa cabbage salted and packed with a gochugaru-garlic paste — the ferment the rest of the kitchen leans on.
13 hrMedium🌶️🌶️🌶️
Oi-muchim
오이무침
Smashed cucumber salad with gochugaru, garlic and sesame — the 10-minute banchan that wakes up a heavy table.
15 minEasy🌶️🌶️
Jjamppong
짬뽕
A Korean-Chinese seafood noodle soup so red and briny it fogs your glasses.
45 minMedium🌶️🌶️🌶️
Gamjatang
감자탕
Pork backbone and potato in a gochugaru pot — a late-night stew you eat with your hands and a lot of rice.
1 hr 55 minMedium🌶️🌶️🌶️
Bibim-naengmyeon
비빔냉면
The same chewy cold noodles as mul-naengmyeon, but tossed in a sweet-hot gochujang sauce instead of ice broth.
30 minEasy🌶️🌶️🌶️
Dakbokkeumtang
닭볶음탕
Chicken and potato braised in a gochujang pot until the sauce clings — also called dakdori-tang, still a weeknight hero.
1 hrEasy🌶️🌶️🌶️
Korean ramyeon
라면
Instant noodles cooked like a home cook actually does it: extra garlic, an egg, and kimchi on the side.
13 minVery easy🌶️🌶️🌶️
Tteok-kkochi
떡꼬치
Rice cakes on a stick, fried and brushed with a sweet-hot glaze — the other street tteok.
30 minEasy🌶️🌶️