You may have noticed over the months/years, but I super love gochujang. Mary Kate sent me this recipe a while ago, for just that reason! This makes a sauce that is ~50% gochujang, which means it’s borderline hotter than I can deal with, but it also has a really great flavor, so I keep shoveling it in… You can use this sauce on fried rice, plain rice, bibimbap, or anywhere else that will help you slightly moderate the heat of all that gochujang! The sauce keeps for up to a month, so you can make it once and then just make some rice to top when you get home too late to cook a fancy dinner a few weeks later.

Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon rice wine
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon minced ginger
• 1 pinch ground black pepper
• 7 ounces minced beef or pork
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 3/4 cup gochujang
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon honey*
• 1 tablespoon pine nuts or other nut of choice (optional – obvs I skipped this)

*You can adjust the honey to taste to help calm the heat. I actually misread and thought it went up to 3 tablespoons, and even then it was still very hot for me, but I did like the hint of sweetness under the warmth.

To start off, in a medium bowl combine the soy sauce, rice wine, garlic, ginger, and pepper, and stir together.

Add the minced meat and combine, then let sit for 5 minutes. When I do this again in the future, I will mix it together by hand, rather than just chopping up the meat with a spoon and stirring it together, as I was never able through the rest of the cooking to get the ground pork into super small bits, and I think breaking it up better earlier would have helped.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat, then add the sesame oil and spread it around the pan. Add the marinated meat, and cook, stirring the meat to break it up/prevent it from clumping.

Once the meat is mostly cooked, add the gochujang and water.

Cook, stirring constantly, 2-3 minutes, then reduce the heat to low and simmer an additional 8 minutes.

Stir in the honey and pine nuts, if using, and simmer another 2 minutes.

Use immediately, or cool and store in an air tight container up to one month.

Some very basic fried rice, so that I would be eating SOME amount of vegetable…

Stir-Fried Gochujang

From My Korean Kitchen.

• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon rice wine
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon minced ginger
• 1 pinch ground black pepper
• 7 ounces minced beef or pork
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 3/4 cup gochujang
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon honey, to taste
• 1 tablespoon pine nuts or other nut of choice (optional)

In a medium bowl, combine the soy sauce, rice wine, garlic, ginger, and pepper, and stir together. Add the minced meat and combine by hand, then let sit for 5 minutes.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat, then add the sesame oil and spread it around the pan. Add the marinated meat, and cook, stirring the meat to break it up/prevent it from clumping. Once the meat is mostly cooked, add the gochujang and water. Cook, stirring constantly, 2-3 minutes, then reduce the heat to low and simmer an additional 8 minutes. Stir in the honey and pine nuts, if using, and simmer another 2 minutes.

Use immediately, or cool and store in an air tight container up to one month.