Kocheejung (Korean BBQ Sauce)

You can buy Korean BBQ Sauce (English spellings include Gocheejung or Kocheejung or Gochujang ) from Korean Grocers such as H-Mart, but even King Soopers and Whole Foods have it now.  However, the brands differ and it is difficult to find a really good one.  We like Choripdong Brand the best.  

However if you really want the best, you have to make it yourself.  We got this recipe from our Korean friend and gourmet cook, Sharon White.  This is the recipe for the best Korean BBQ sauce. It makes a huge batch, enough to last Anglos for perhaps a lifetime, but Sharon made this huge batch every year for her family and some friends at church.  But not to worry, put it in clean jars in a dark place, and refrigerate after opening. It keeps for years unopened and the flavor enhances with age.

For First Step:

5 gallon water boiled

Add 4-5 lbs. barley malt flour to 1 gallon water and stir.

Add this barley water to boiling water. Repeat.

For Second Step:

In large bowl, mix:

64 oz. Yamaizumi mild miso bean paste and 40 lbs. soy bean paste fermented.

Add 40 oz. sue bee clover honey and 6.6 lbs. Korean malt syrup or corn syrup.

Add 1 gal dried and ground red peppers (Sharon usually hand picked hers from Pueblo, Colorado, and then laboriously hand dried them on tarps in her backyard, but any dried Big Jim style peppers or hotter ones too, dried and ground with good flavor is the key, with red color).

Add boiling barley water, after having boiled for at least 20 minutes.

Add another 32 oz. honey or maple syrup.

Add another 5 gal. barley water, if necessary to achieve proper consistency. Can in sterilized jars from the dishwasher and store. Serve with Kalbi-Korean short ribs, or any other Asian food, as a spicy dipping sauce, or used in various cooking preparations to add a little heat and a lot of flavor.

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IF YOU MUST BUY KOCHEEJUNG FROM THE KOREAN GROCER (SUCH AS H-MART) AND CHOOSE NOT MAKE IT FROM SCRATCH, BUY THE BEST QUALITY BRANDS, SUCH AS CHORIPDONG.  The Assi brand is ok, but not as good as Choripdong brand.  Most all of the commercial brands use corn syrup and wheat flour instead of natural sweeteners and barley malt flour, as featured in traditional recipes and in the one above.  The taste difference is really evident, not to mention the health concerns with corn syrup, artificial sweeteners, preservatives and other garbage added.