Basic Korean Sauces: Soy and Gochujang

Know the ratios and recipes get simple

Korean cooking looks varied, but most of its seasoning comes from swapping around a few basic combinations. The two pillars are a soy-based sauce with sweetness, garlic and sesame oil, and a gochujang-based sauce. Learn these ratios once and you can make bulgogi, braises, stir-fries and dressed dishes without a recipe. All ratios below are tablespoon-based starting points; pastes and sauces vary in saltiness and sweetness between products, so taste and adjust. Because ratios only require measuring with the same spoon, scaling up or down is easy.

Soy marinade: the base for bulgogi, braises and stir-fries

This is the most used basic sauce. It is the base for marinating meat, stir-frying vegetables and braising potatoes or tofu. For braises, thin it with water; for meat, add grated fruit or onion. The amounts below suit about 300 g of meat for two.

• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 to 1.5 tbsp sugar (or partly honey or rice syrup)
• 1 tbsp minced garlic, 1 tbsp chopped green onion
• 1 tbsp sesame oil, a little black pepper and sesame seeds
• For meat, add 2 to 3 tbsp grated pear, apple or onion

Soy dipping sauce: for dipping and mixing

This sauce is for dipping pancakes and dumplings, or for spooning over bibimbap or tofu instead of gochujang. It is less sweet than the marinade, with water or vinegar to soften the saltiness. For dipping, a little vinegar pairs well with oily foods; for topping tofu or vegetables, add plenty of chili flakes and green onion.

• 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp water (or 1/2 to 1 tbsp vinegar)
• 1/2 tsp chili flakes, 1 tbsp chopped green onion
• 1/2 tbsp sesame oil, sesame seeds, a little sugar (optional)

Gochujang sauce: for stir-fries and dressings

This is the base for stir-fries such as spicy pork, spicy squid and tteokbokki. Gochujang alone is sweet and heavy, so chili flakes add heat and color, and soy sauce adds depth to the saltiness. Gochujang burns easily, so do not fry it long over high heat; add it once the ingredients are nearly cooked, or marinate ahead and stir-fry over medium heat.

• 2 tbsp gochujang, 1 tbsp chili flakes
• 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp sugar (or corn or rice syrup)
• 1 tbsp minced garlic, 1 tbsp sesame oil, sesame seeds
• For meat, add a little ginger and black pepper

Chogochujang: sweet and sour dipping sauce

Chogochujang is gochujang mixed with vinegar and sugar, a sweet-sour sauce for dipping blanched vegetables or seafood and for dressing spicy cold noodles or raw fish rice bowls. Start with gochujang 2, vinegar 1 to 1.5 and sugar 1, then adjust the sourness and sweetness to taste. A little minced garlic or sesame is a nice addition. For mixed noodles, add a bit of soy sauce and sesame oil and keep it slightly thinner so it coats the noodles. Vinegars differ in acidity, so the same amount can taste more or less sour.

How to adjust the flavor

If a sauce is too salty, thin it with water or broth, or add a touch of sweetness to mask the salt. If it is too sweet, add a little soy sauce or vinegar. If it tastes flat, increase the garlic and green onion, or finish with sesame oil and seeds for aroma. Heat is better adjusted with chili flakes than with more gochujang, which makes things heavy. Sauces settle and taste better about 30 minutes after mixing, so make them ahead if you have time.

• Too salty: thin with water or broth, a little sugar
• Too sweet: a little soy sauce or vinegar
• Flat: more garlic and green onion, finish with sesame oil and seeds
• Heat: adjust with chili flakes

Making them in Japan or abroad

Japanese soy sauce is close to Korean regular soy sauce and works as is in the soy marinade. Replacing some of the sugar with mirin adds gloss and softness, but it also adds alcohol and sweetness, so use less. Gochujang is common in large Japanese supermarkets, and Korean chili flakes are sold at Korean grocers and online. Other chili powders, such as Japanese ichimi, are much hotter, so start with half or less. In English-speaking countries, an Asian grocery is the easiest place to find both gochujang and Korean chili flakes.

Storage and allergies

Sauces containing raw garlic or green onion are safest refrigerated and used within a few days. To keep a batch longer, mix only the soy sauce, sugar and sesame oil and add the garlic and onion when you use it. Never reuse a marinade that held raw meat. Soy sauce, doenjang and gochujang usually contain soy, many soy sauces and gochujang products contain wheat, and sesame oil and seeds contain sesame. If you must avoid wheat, check labels for wheat-free soy sauce and gochujang.