To obtain Korean ingredients, buy them online or find a Korean market near you.
Danmuji ~ 단무지
Made from pickled daikon radish, danmuji is made by hanging a radish in the sun until it becomes flexible. It is then pickled in a mixture of salt, rice bran, sugar, daikon greens, kombu, and perhaps chili pepper and/or dried persimmon peels. After pickling for several months, the finished danmuji becomes yellow in color, although most commercially produced danmuji is now dyed with food coloring. In Korea, danmuji is eaten as an accompaniment to a dish or used as a filling for kimbap.
Substitution(s): pickles
Doenjang ~ 된장
Doenjang is a traditional Korean fermented soybean paste. It is produced by boiling and stone-grinding dried soybeans into small, coarse pieces. This paste is then formed into blocks, which are then exposed to sunlight or some other source of heat to be dried. During this drying period, bacteria reproduce while consuming soybean protein and water. One to three months later, the blocks are placed in pottery jars with brine and left to ferment further. After the fermentation process, liquids and solids are separated: liquids become ganjang and solids become doenjang. Commercially made doenjang may also contain wheat flour and ground anchovies which are added after fermentation.
Substitution(s): none
Ganjang ~ 간장
A byproduct of the production of doenjang, ganjang is thin in consistency and dark brown in color. It is made entirely of soy and brine with a saltiness that varies depending on the producer.
Substitution(s): any soy sauce
Gochugaru ~ 고춧가루
Used extensively in Korean cooking to add spiciness and flavor to dishes, gochugaru consists mainly of powdered red chili peppers. The purer the chili powder, the spicier
it is.
Substitution(s): any red chili or cayenne pepper powder
Gochujang ~ 고추장
A kind of hot sauce, gochujang is a savory and pungent fermented hot pepper paste. Traditionally, gochujang
was fermented over years in large earthen pots outdoors. It is made by
adding powdered red chili peppers, salt, and glutinous rice powder to
soybean paste and aging the mixture in the sun. Short-grain
rice, barley, and less frequently, whole wheat kernel, jujube,
pumpkin, and sweet potato may be substituted for the glutinous rice
powder to create specialty variations of gochujang. Sometimes a small amount of sweetener, such as sugar, syrup, or honey, is also added.
Substitution(s): none
Ssamjang ~ 쌈장
Ssamjang is a thick, spicy paste used with food wrapped in a leaf. It is made of doenjang, gochujang, sesame oil, onion, garlic, green onions, and optionally brown sugar. Eaten in one bite, a dab of ssamjang is added to a small amount of rice and a piece of bulgogi or kalbi, all of which is wrapped in Romaine lettuce or perilla.
Substitution(s): none
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Grace Kim
16 May 2009
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