Korean food has become famous all over the world for its bold flavors, vivid colors, and deep-rooted traditions. Among its most iconic spicy elements, Gochujang Sauce stands as a traditional sauce that has shaped Korean cuisine for generations.
Now, Buldak Hot sauce is leading the next wave of Korean heat. With a fiery kick and modern appeal, it’s quickly becoming the go-to trendy sauce for a new generation of spice lovers.
In this guide, we’ll explore how these two sauces are shaping the global love for Korean spicy food. You’ll also discover how to enjoy them in everyday dishes and why they’ve become flavor essentials.
What Is Gochujang? The Sauce that Started Korean Heat
※ Caution! Although it looks similar to ketchup, it has nothing to do with tomatoes!
1. What is Gochujang?
Gochujang sauce is a thick, spicy Korean paste. It is made from red chili powder (gochugaru powder), soybeans that have been fermented (aged), rice, and salt. It has a spicy taste but also has sweetness. This Korean sauce is used in many dishes and is a key part of every Korean kitchen.
Many people ask, what is Gochujang? It is not just a simple chili paste. It is the most important ingredient in typical Korean recipes, such as stews or meat rubs. Learning about this sauce is the first step to cooking local spicy Korean food.
2. How to Make Gochujang Sauce
Although you can easily buy Gochujang from stores, some people still want to learn how to make Gochujang sauce by themselves. The old, traditional way takes a long time because the paste needs to be fermented (aged).
Here's a more detailed description of how to make Gochujang sauce in the traditional way.
[Preparing the Ingredients]
1) Wash the rice and soak it in water for at least 2 hours, then grind it in a blender to make it into a fine powder.
2) Break the well-dried and trimmed Meju blocks into small pieces, grind them in a blender to create a fine powder. Meju block is a square block made of fermented beans.
3) Soak the malt powder (yeot-gireum) in water, knead it with your hands, and strain it through a fine sieve.
[Making process]
1) Pour water onto rice flour and make it into a soft dough. Shape it round as the size of your palm, make a hole in the middle, and mold it neatly. Put it in boiling water and when it floats, scoop it out into a large bowl.
2) Pour the malt water and stir with a mallet until the dough becomes liquidish.
3) Once cooled, add meju powder, chili powder, malt water, and sea salt, and mix with a spatula.
4) Place it in a bowl and leave it at room temperature for 3-4 days, then ripen it in the sun for 2-3 months. Throughout this several-month-long fermenting process, the flavor of the jang deepens further.
3. History of Gochujang
Gochujang has existed for a few hundreds of years! We first discovered its trail from old Korean documents back in the 1700s. Before chili peppers came to Asia, Korean food was not that spicy. Once those peppers arrived, people started to make this special Korean sauce.
This long history represents the importance of Gochujang. In the past, families used huge jars to keep them for a long time outside their houses. Today, this long tradition is kept alive through modern kitchens, where some families continue to share their own Gochujang recipes handed down to younger generations.
4. How to Store Gochujang
Storing Gochujang is easy. Just keep it in a sealed container inside the fridge. This way, it stays fresh for months. Good storage keeps the taste strong and makes it safe to eat. You can use this Gochujang preserved in the fridge to apply to the upcoming Gochujang recipes.
Buldak Hot Sauce : The New Trendy Sauce of Korean Heat
Buldak sauce is a trendy new spicy sauce that follows Gochujang as a must-have kick for Korean food. The idea for Buldak sauce recipe came from a famous and very spicy Korean dish. That dish is called Buldak (spicy chicken). The sauce first got very popular as a sauce for instant noodles. Later, people began bottling it as a Korean sauce so they could use it for everything!
The first bottle of Buldak sauce came out around 2018. Since then, the Buldak sauce company has grown huge due to its popularity! It now has extended to so many types of sauce. These include the Buldak Hot Sauce Original, the creamy Buldak Hot Sauce Carbonara, and the super-strong Buldak Hot Sauce 2x Spicy. As the sauce spread outside of Korea, many home cooks began creating their own Buldak sauce recipe versions to match local tastes.
Take A Look at Buldak Hot Sauce Products
Here are the main products of Buldak sauce you can find:
Buldak Hot Sauce Original
Buldak Hot Sauce Original is a great mix of spicy heat and deep, savory flavor. It makes stir-fried food taste better and adds a special kick to almost anything. It is also safe for everyone to eat because it is KMF Halal certified.
Buldak Hot Sauce Carbonara
Buldak Hot Sauce Carbonara is a cool mix between the signature spiciness of Buldak and soft cream! It takes the classic Buldak Hot Sauce Original spice and adds a smooth, creamy taste. You get both a spicy feeling and a soft taste added with rich texture. This one is also KMF Halal certified.
Buldak Hot Sauce 2x Spicy
Buldak Hot Sauce 2x Spicy has a much stronger and intense spice. This sauce was made just for people who truly love extreme-spicy korean food and want the most powerful flavor of Buldak sauce. You can enjoy it with confidence because it is KMF Halal certified.
Spice Level Diagnosis: If you've tried Buldak ramen..
For spice level, the sauces are in this order: Carbonara ≤ Original < 2x Spicy.
Line ups Spice Level Carbonara Very Spicy(🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️) Original Very Spicy(🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️) 2x Spicy Extreme Spicy(🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️)
Carbonara & Original: Very Spicy(🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️)
Buldak Ramen Carbonara is only Medium Spicy (Level 2). But the sauces, Carbonara and Original, are Very Spicy (Level 4).
Did you handle the Very Spicy Buldak Ramens well? This includes flavors like Yakisoba, Habanero Lime, and Original. If so, try the very spicy sauces!
2x Spicy: Extreme Spicy(🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️)
The 2x Spicy product is Buldak's hottest. It is Extreme Spicy (Level 5).
If you could eat the Buldak Ramen 2x Spicy before, you should try the new 2x Spicy sauce.
This helps people easily choose the right sauce, from those just starting with hot sauce to spicy lovers who want to try the most intense flavor.
👉 Tip: Because the spice is so strong, many people search “Buldak sauce Amazon” to read reviews before they decide to buy.
Check out Amazon reviews before you get your sauce
Search for the Hot Kick of Buldak Sauce
2 Korean Recipes with Gochujang
Gochujang is the essential ingredient of many traditional Korean meals. Here are some tasty ideas for Gochujang recipes:
a. Tteokbokki
Tteokbokki is one of the most famous spicy Korean foods. It is a dish of chewy rice cakes cooked in a thick Gochujang. Young people in Korea enjoy it as a street food too. If you have ever wondered about Tteokbokki pronunciation, it sounds like: “tuhk-boh-kee.”
b. Yak Gochujang
The Korean word "Yak" means medicine. Yak Gochujang is a version of the paste made sweeter by mixing it with things like nuts, seeds, or honey. People usually eat it with rice or light side dishes.
3 Fusion Recipes with Gochujang
This Korean sauce is also great for making new, creative foods! Chefs all around the world also mix it with food from other countries. This is why you’ll now see Gochujang recipes in everything from pasta to chicken, showing how well the sauce works across cultures. Of course it can be easily tried in the United States too.
a. Gochujang Pasta
One example of a fusion recipe is the Gochujang pasta recipe. It’s a mixture of Italian pasta noodles and Korean spice. It’s not hard at all to try, so you can easily cook it at home.
You Will Need (Ingredients):
Pasta noodles
Garlic
Cream
Onion
Gochujang sauce (Korean chili paste)
Mushrooms
Butter (if you prefer)
Easy Steps to Make It:
1) Cook pasta noodles. Save some of the noodle water. Do not pour it all out!
2) In a pan, cook the garlic, onion, and mushrooms until they are soft.
3) Push those vegetables to one side. Put a spoon of Gochujang on the empty spot and cook it quickly. (If you want more deeper taste, you may add the sauce as much as you want)
4) Now, put the cooked noodles, the water you saved, and the cream into the pan.
5) Mix everything up until the sauce covers all the noodles. Enjoy your Gochujang pasta!
b. Gochujang Aioli
Here is another fun idea: Gochujang aioli. Aioli is a thick, creamy sauce made of garlic. Adding Gochujang makes it spicy and adds flavor. It is perfect for dipping fries or putting on burgers!
Here’s how:
You Will Need (Ingredients):
Mayonnaise
Garlic
Salt
Pepper
Gochujang sauce
Easy Steps to Make It:
1) Get a mixing bowl.
2) Put the mayonnaise, garlic, salt, and pepper inside. Mix them well with a spoon.
3) Add the Gochujang now. Mix it again until the sauce is all one color.
4) Your Gochujang aioli is ready! It tastes great with fries, or you can spread it on bread.
c. Gochujang Chicken
Gochujang chicken is another beloved recipe. Cover the chicken with Gochujang sauce before cooking. This makes the chicken meat sweet and spicy. When it’s cooked, the chicken soaked with Gochujang will become smoky and tender.
This recipe guides you to make yummy Gochujang chicken!
You Will Need (Ingredients):
Gochujang sauce
Sugar
Honey
Soy sauce
Ginger
Garlic
Chicken thigh meat
Easy Steps to Make It:
1) Make the Sauce: Get a mixing bowl. Put the Gochujang, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and sugar inside. Mix them up well.
2) Put the sauce on the chicken: Use a spatula to evenly put the sauce on chicken meat. Or you can simply dip the meat inside the mixing bowl.
3) Cook the Chicken: Take your chicken pieces and cook them in a pan until they look brown on the outside.
4) Add the Sauce: Pour the rest of the sauce you just made in a pan. More sauce, more taste!
5) Finish Cooking: Stir and cook the chicken until the sauce gets thick and sticks to all the meat. Make sure the meat is cooked completely.
6) Serve your tasty Gochujang chicken with rice too! They go well.
3 Buldak Hot Sauce Recipes
You can use these Buldak sauce recipes to make many exciting meals. Buldak Hot Sauce Recipes extend beyond the well-known Buldak ramen!
a. Rose Tteokbokki
This is a creamy and fun way to enjoy Tteokbokki. Add cream or milk to your Buldak sauce. The pinkish sauce looks mild. However, it still contains spiciness and a has a rich taste.
b. Fire Chicken
This is the original spicy Korean food that inspired the sauce! It is a hot, grilled chicken covered in a spicy sauce. Using bottled Buldak sauce makes cooking this Fire Chicken much faster and approachable at your house.
c. Bibimbap
Bibimbap is a big bowl of rice mixed with vegetables, meat, and an egg. If you switch the traditional Gochujang sauce to Buldak hot sauce, you can give the whole dish an extra fiery kick!
These dishes are just a starting point—there’s a Buldak sauce recipe for almost every kind of meal, from quick snacks to big dinner plates.
Get the perfect Buldak Sauce for your recipe at buldak.com.
Quick Questions and Answers (FAQ)
Q: Where can I buy Gochujang?
A: You can buy Gochujang at big stores like Walmart, Korean markets (like H Mart), or from the internet (Amazon). Many Asian grocery stores sell it, too!
Q: How to make Gochujang sauce?
A: The old, traditional way takes months. You mix cooked rice, fermented soybean powder, gochugaru powder (chili powder), salt, and water. Then, you let it ferment for a few months. For a quick-made home sauce, you can mix store-bought Gochujang with a little water, sugar, and vinegar according to your taste.
Q: How many flavors of Buldak Hot Sauce are there?
A: The main flavors of Buldak sauce are Original, Carbonara (creamy), and 2x Spicy (extra hot). Sometimes, special flavors are on sale as a limited edition.
Q: How to pronounce Gochujang
A: Gochujang pronunciation is as follows. Say it in three words: go – choo – jang. It sounds like [go-choo-jahng].
Q: How to pronounce Tteokbokki A: Say it like tuhk-boh-kee. Try practicing slowly: tteok–bbok–ki, then say it faster!
Q: Is Buldak Hot Sauce a halal product?
A: Some Buldak sauce products are Halal certified (meaning they are safe for people who follow certain dietary rules). Always check the label on the bottle you buy to make sure if it is Halal certified.
Q: How spicy is Buldak Sauce?
A: The Carbonara and Original are pretty hot (spicy Korean food level). The 2x Spicy is much, much hotter! If you are new to heat, start with Original or Carbonara. And when you think you are ready, move to the bolder step of 2x Spicy!
Q: Where can I buy Buldak sauce?
A: You can buy Buldak sauce online (Amazon, Walmart) and at many big stores (Target, Costco, and Asian grocery stores).
Q: Can I use Buldak Hot Sauce in Gochujang recipes?
A: Yes! You can swap out some of the Gochujang with Buldak Sauce if you want more heat. The flavor will be different (spicier and thinner), so use a little less than you would for Gochujang.
Korean Flavors, From Classic Gochujang to Bold Buldak
Gochujang sauce and Buldak hot sauce both show unique and exciting flavors from Korea. Gochujang is a traditional ingredient full of history. Buldak sauce is new and follows fun, modern ideas.
Trying both of them is a great idea! Whether you cook Gochujang pasta, Gochujang chicken, or a Buldak sauce recipe, these sauces will make your cooking experience amazing. They are perfect for trying new spicy Korean food and making your meals’ taste unforgettable.
