It's day 18 of Thirty Straight Days of Blogging, and boy do I have something special for you. What you see above will eventually become the new God for those who love all things spicy. Feast your eyes upon the Korean hot pepper paste better known as Gochujang.
I'm not exactly sure when I first started hearing about it. I remember reading something in Bon Appetit about it being the "next big thing". I also remember seeing someone use it on the show Eat St. I was interested in trying it, but never saw it anywhere. It wasn't until my trip to Surfas when I would eventually find it. It was about $10 for 1 kilo. I figured I wouldn't find it any other place, so I when ahead and bought it. Little did I know it would change my taste buds forever.
As you can see, I'm almost done with this tub. This stuff is literally peppery gold! All other hot sauces need to bow down to the awesomeness that is Gochujang. Tabasco is merely a pawn in comparison. Fuck Frank's Red Hot! THIS is the shit you put on everything! And Sriracha....just know that Gochujang is the TRUE heir to the IRON THRONE of SPICE!
All threats aside, this stuff is awesome! It's got this sweet/spicy thing down to perfection. It's a little earthy, a little savory, and a whole of bad-ass goodness. You absolutely must get your hands on this stuff!
What I like to do with this stuff is what I call my After-Work Special. I normally use two packs of instant ramen noodles, but since I had some leftover pasta, I used that this time around.
I'll start off with a pan on the LOWEST heat setting I can get it at. This stuff will burn, so all you are trying to do is just warm it up.
I'll add about a tablespoon or two of Gochujang, butter, sesame oil, black pepper, garlic powder and honey to the pan. I'll stir this up until combined.
When mixed, I will drop in the pasta. In the case of ramen, I will drop it in straight from the water. No strain or rinsing of the noodles is necessary.
Once you get the pasta in the pan, just toss until nicely coated. You aren't going to have a really saucy dish, but it will be enough to coat the pasta well.
At this point, I'm good to go. Since I was making this specifically for the blog, I decided to add a fried egg to it. You know, to make it all fancy!
And there you have it. Simple, spicy goodness. In my opinion, two of the best things to accompany the Gochujang are sesame oil and honey. Both of those ingredients bring wonderful flavor notes to something that is really good on its own. The nuttiness from the oil and the extra sweet from the honey will give that extra flavor that will make your mouth feel like it's having an orgasm. And when your mouth-gasm is over, come back and leave a comment of only "Thank You" down below.
That "Thank You" comment will mean that Gochujang just had its way with your food hole and you will never be the same.
And...uh...you still have a little on the side of your mouth. ;)
See you tomorrow!
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