Step 1

Mix 8 liters (32 cups) of water and 2 pounds of barley malt powder (yeotgireum) in a large basinStrain the mixture and put it in a large heavy bottomed pot.Heat it up on the stove for about 20 minutes until it’s warm. Dip your finger in to test it: it should be warm, not hot.Remove it from the heat and add sweet rice flour. Mix well with a wooden spoon.Let it sit for 2 hours. The liquid on the surface will look a lot clearer, and it will taste a little sweet. Bring to a boil for about 2 hours over medium high heat, until it reduces by ¼-⅓ (about 28-30 cups).*tip: Stir occasionally with a wooden spoon so it doesn’t burn to the bottom of the pot. Add the rice syrup and mix well.Remove from the heat and wait until it completely cools down.Add mejugaru and mix well. Then add hot pepper powder and mix well. Lastly add salt, and stir until there are no lumps in the paste. Transfer it to an earthenware pot or glass jar and cover with mesh or cheesecloth before closing the lid. It will take about 2-3 months to properly ferment. During that time it’s best to open the lid and let it sit in the sunlight during the daytime, and close it at night.

Step 2

dough5b6 Michigan joined 1/19 & has 7 commentsPosted December 29th, 2020 at 10:14 pm | Log in to reply. This recipe has ruined me. It is too good! I can’t buy store bought. I made this recipe last year and went through it pretty quick. I love taking a bit and mixing with apple cider vinegar. This would be my dip for my fresh spring rolls. I couldn’t get enough of it. Finally instead of halfing the recipe I made the whole amount. It’s going to take a while because it’s winter and there isn’t much light in Upper Peninsula Michigan. It will all be worth it. Thank you so much Maangchi for blessing us all with your gifts. You are truly gifted being able to make such wonderful food and being able to teach others how to cook really wonderful food too. My Korean mother gave up on me and now I impress her with my Korean cooking. I tell her I am learning from Maangchi!My gochujang going to bed tonight.See full size image Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 77 commentsPosted January 1st, 2021 at 7:36 am | Log in to reply. Your gochujang looks well fermented! Congratulations! jamalerich Tokyo, Japan joined 5/17 & has 2 commentsPosted September 14th, 2020 at 5:00 pm | Log in to reply. As much as I try to keep things tidy, usually some paste sticks to the walls of my fermentation vessel, and those little bits seem prone to mold. Is there anything to do to help with that? Is it ok to just wipe it off and let the ferment keep going? michelleincolorado Colorado joined 8/20 & has 3 commentsPosted August 30th, 2020 at 12:56 am | Log in to reply. This is an older post – but maybe you’ll still see this,Is there a way to use Meju instead of the powder for this, and how much would I need? Powder is harder to find, but soybeans, I have a lot of those! John4 Long Island (NY) joined 7/20 & has 3 commentsPosted July 29th, 2020 at 6:41 pm | Log in to reply. I ordered all the ingredients to make this in early July and most, if not all, from Amazon. It cost me around $130 USD. I know it would’ve been cheaper if I went to H-Mart in near Nassau County (long island NY) but darn Covid kept me from going that route. I AM making this today as we speak (as I type ;-) I even ordered some Onggi/Hangari to ferment in. They’re a bit disappointing in quality (rough surfaces) but should get the job done! I just hope traditional Korean onggi like mine don’t have heavy metals in the glaze! I’ve also made Kimchi but I got a little silly and chopped up some mugwort and put it in. It smelled a little funny at first, but now I don’t notice the mugwort.It’s hard to get ingredients when I can’t go into any stores :-(ALSO, my soy sauce ferment is now 1yr old (different method than Maangchi’s: I used rice koji n didn’t make bricks) & my miso paste ferment is almost 24mos old. Some of that was in plastic buckets (soy sauce) n miso was in sugar crock from Marshall’s n overflow into 32oz canning jar.See full size image michelleincolorado Colorado joined 8/20 & has 3 commentsPosted September 14th, 2020 at 8:02 pm | Log in to reply. If you get the urge again – with a little patience in most places you can order online from Hmart and it’s a lot cheaper than on Amazon. It does take longer to ship, but the ingredients were easily 1/3 of the price of Amazon’s Azlinda Tan M United Kingdom joined 6/20 & has 1 commentPosted June 28th, 2020 at 2:46 pm | Log in to reply. Hi Maangchi!I am going to make gochujang using the recipe from your book. I would like to get the onggi to ferment the gochujang. May I know which size would you advice me to get please? The recipe makes 8 quarts (7.5litre) does that mean I have to find onggi jar that have the capacity of at least 7 litres? Thank you Maangchi! Azlinda Nari_95 Sweden joined 2/20 & has 3 commentsPosted June 15th, 2020 at 3:01 pm | Log in to reply. Hi Maangchi,I will repost the same question because didn’t get an answerCan I use a different flour for the fermented soybean flour?, because they don’t have it here in Sweden and amazon doesn’t ship to Sweden? Or can I make my own fermented soybean flour?Kind regards Nari Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,051 commentsPosted June 17th, 2020 at 7:30 am | Log in to reply. Hi Nari, I’m sorry to say that you need fermented soybean flour called meju-garu. There is no substitute. John4 Long Island (NY) joined 7/20 & has 3 commentsPosted July 29th, 2020 at 6:28 pm | Log in to reply. I ordered this on July 6, 2020: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00WDO0B1Y?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_shareA 3lb bag for $27 Rhonda Fry Kansas joined 6/20 & has 1 commentPosted June 3rd, 2020 at 2:16 pm | Log in to reply. Maanchi,Hi…I wanted to let you know that when I tap the link for the hot pepper powder…it does not open a item on the amazon website page like the other links do…I really want to buy the brand that has the picture of what you use…could you please provide a active link to where I can purchase that?Thank you so much…I love all that I am learning from your videos!I hope to make the homemade pepper paste soon!!!Thanks again for all you do!!!Sincerely,Rhonda Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,051 commentsPosted June 15th, 2020 at 10:50 am | Log in to reply. They don’t seem to sell their gochugaru on amazon these days. michelleincolorado Colorado joined 8/20 & has 3 commentsPosted September 14th, 2020 at 8:05 pm | Log in to reply. I don’t know if you’re still looking – but Hmart does have online orders for Gochgaru, https://www.hmart.com/catalogsearch/result/index/?cat=301&q=korean+red+pepper+powder dough5b6 Michigan joined 1/19 & has 7 commentsPosted December 29th, 2020 at 10:23 pm | Log in to reply. I just take my Korean red pepper flakes and turn it into a powder in my vitamin. I work with it in small cup to 2 cup batches. It seems to work very well for me. Plus it is a lot cheaper than buying the powder version of the same thing. Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 77 commentsPosted January 1st, 2021 at 7:34 am | Log in to reply. Using vitamix is such a great idea! muditami Perth Western Australia joined 5/20 & has 1 commentPosted May 24th, 2020 at 9:30 pm | Log in to reply. Hi Maangchi….thank you so much for your wonderful recipes….anyway, I was just wondering, is it okay if I put fresh chilies in gochujang? because I really love spicy gochujang.Thank you…. ducana_bruh Caribbean joined 3/20 & has 1 commentPosted March 24th, 2020 at 7:26 am | Log in to reply. Is there a way to make nonspicy gochujang? If I just skip the hot pepper powder, I’m afraid the texture will be different. Is there a nonspicy powder I can use instead? Thank you! Nari_95 Sweden joined 2/20 & has 3 commentsPosted February 8th, 2020 at 1:12 pm | Log in to reply. Hi Maangchi,Can I use a different flour for the fermented soybean flour?, because they don’t have it here in Sweden and amazon doesn’t ship to Sweden? Or can I make my own fermented soybean flour?Kind regards Nari Eulipian Honolulu, Hawai`i joined 6/20 & has 1 commentPosted June 2nd, 2020 at 9:17 pm | Log in to reply. Might be able to substitute light miso, but have to adjust for saltiness and additional liquid content. Or maybe not…. 망치 will know. Inches Chicago joined 6/16 & has 48 commentsPosted December 15th, 2019 at 11:56 pm | Log in to reply. I made gochujang about 3 years ago now and I still have a lot left. I now learned that I cannot eat gluten, so I cannot eat barley or anything touching wheat, like the nuruk in makgroli either and maybe some meju-garu. So I cannot eat my long aged makgeoli or gochujangI know that this is the traditional method, but have you ever heard of any way to make gochujang or makgeoli without barely or starter that uses wheat? The enzymes help make the sweetness and to ferment and digest – I wonder if there are any alternative ways to get that in Korean tradition.There is gluten free gochujang at the store but it’s $5 for a very small bottle. I would love to have a jar of gochujang sitting next to my doenjang fermenting ^_^ pandodo Rancho Cucamonga, CA joined 11/19 & has 1 commentPosted November 17th, 2019 at 11:15 pm | Log in to reply. Hi Maangchi, I have just bough a pack Malt Flour(Fine), can I use this to make Hot pepper paste?Thank you.See full size image