Spicy Asian-Inspired Dinner Recipes with Gochujang
Here are some easy Asian-Inpired dinner recipes to make with Gochujang, or Korean Chili Paste, a staple Korean condiment. Gochujang is a Korean condiments that’s fermented, so it has a deep, sweet flavor under all that spiciness. I love using Gochujang to add just the right amount of spicy and sweet to a dish. It goes well with every ingredient, and easy to get creative with. If you love spicy food, you have to try cooking dinner with gochujang with these recipes!
What Is Gochujang?
Gochujang, or Korean Chili Paste, is one of the 3 classic sauces in Korean cooking. This umami-packed spicy-sweet fermented condiment is used in everything from dipping to marinades. Compared to Chinese spicy doubanjiang, it is a lot sweeter thanks to its 4 main ingredients:chili powder, fermented soybean powder, malt powder, and glutinous rice. Added to cooking, it gives the dish a deeper spicy flavor that’s sweet and fermented, while thickening the sauce.
Gochujang Marinade and Sauces
Cheesy Korean Spicy Chicken Noodles
There’s no way of making Korean Spicy Chicken Noodle Challenge from scratch without gochujang. This spicy condiment becomes the base for this super spicy, but extra cheesy Spicy Buldak noodle sauce. Thanks to its sweetness balancing out all the intense heat, the sauce becomes something so tasty you’ll keep going back in for a second bite! Trust me, add any vegetables into this dish, and it’ll disappear in no time.
Air Fryer Sweet Spicy pork Ribs
There’s no other way to enjoy these Air Fryer Sweet-Spicy Pork Ribs than to just pick them up with your hands and take a big bite. Using a fruit-based marinade, this spicy pork has an extra juicy sweetness under that spicy heat. The sugars from the apple, onion, sweetener and the red chili paste caramelize perfectly on the surface while air frying, giving it that crispy edge. This pork rib recipe is great for a simple family meal or hosting a last minute dinner guest.
- 4 lb pork spare ribs membrane removed, cut into individual pieces
Marinade:
- 1 apple
- ½ large onion
- 6 garlic
- 1- inch ginger
- 2 tbsp Soy Sauce
- 5 tbsp Sweetener of Your Choice I like honey or plum extract
- 1.5 tbsp Sesame Oil
- ⅔ cup Korean Red Chili Paste aka gochujang
- 2.5 tbsp Korean red chili flakes aka gochugaru, adjust to your own spice level
- 1 pinch black pepper optional
Spicy Rice Cake Skewers
The gochujang-based sauce of these Spicy Rice Cake Skewers makes them so, so addicting. This spicy-sweet sauce thickens just enough to cling to every piece of that sticky rice cakes. But, under the bright red sauce there’s still a bit of crispiness. I make a ton of these everytime, because they’re just so easy!
- 50 Rice Cakes
- 3 tbsp Gochujang
- 1.5 tbsp Soy Sauce
- 1.5 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp Sesame Seeds
Gochujang Butter & Cream Sauces
Spicy Garlic Bread
These Spicy Garlic Bread might be the best garlic bread you’ve ever tried. It’s a slight twist to the classic garlic bread that might make this a must-have item on your dinner rotation. Every time I make this with a soup, Dom cleans the plate. It’s easy, flavorful, and uses fairly simple ingredients. The gochujang butter gives it the right pop of flavor to dip into soups or enjoy on its own!
Spicy Salmon Poke
This Spicy Salmon Poke is my go-to protein on a hot day. Cool salmon mixed with spicy, creamy Gochujang mayo sauce and wrapped in seaweed is a perfect bite. It’s creamy with the sauce, but also from that high amount of omega-3’s in the salmon bites. With refreshing cucumber in every bite, this is exactly what you need in the summer heat.
- 1 pound Sashimi-grade Salmon
- 1/3 cup masago
- 4 tbsp Japanese Mayo
- 1.5 tbsp Gochujang Optional
- 1-2 stalk green onion chopped
- 1 tbsp white sesame seeds
- 1 tbsp black sesame seeds
- 1/2 Cucumber
- Crispy Seaweed to serve
Crispy Salmon with Gochujang Butter
If you make this Crispy Gochujang Salmon, you’ll have to make a ton of extra Gochujang Butter for later. Savory, spicy butter on top of salmon pan-fried until crisp is the easiest, tastiest dinner you can make in 20 minutes. This spicy butter is so good on literally everything. Dom especially loves it when I use it to reverse sear a steak!
- 2 filet salmon skin-on or skinless, about 6-8 oz each
- Salt & pepper to season
- 2 tbsp corn starch or just enough to coat the salmon lightly
- 2 tbsp neutral oil like vegetable or avocado oil, for frying
Gochujang Butter
Garnish
- 1 tsp sesame seeds
- chopped scallions or cilantro Optional
Creamy Gochujang Shrimp Pasta
This Creamy Gochujang Shrimp Pasta looks fancy, tastes fancy, but is a LOT easier than you think. The gochujang melts into a cream sauce that mellows out the heat. The result is a flavorful cream sauce that coats the noodles and shrimps in a thick layer of spicy creaminess. It’s the perfect date night recipe to impress someone with your cooking!
- 400 g pasta I used rigatoni
- 1 lb prawns deveined & deshelled
- 1.5 tbsp Korean Red Chili Paste
- 2 shallots chopped
- 1.5 tbsp garlic minced
- 1 cup heavy cream
- Handful of parsley chopped & separated by stem
- ½ tbsp dried red chili flakes
- 1 cup parmesan cheese
- ½ cup hot pasta water reserved
Seasoning Mix
- 1 tsp paprika
- ½ tsp thyme
- ½ tsp oregano
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp cumin
- 1 ½ tbsp oil
Gochujang-Based Stews
Korean Army Stew Hotpot
There’s nothing that gets me craving spicy more than seeing BudaeJjigae, or Korean Army Stew, on my TV. It’s loaded with all sorts of tasty ingredients, like spam, instant noodles, sausages, mushrooms, and your favorite vegetables in one spicy, savoy pot. The broth is just the right amount of spice to heat you up from the inside out. It’s a great recipe for everything from cold days to a fun family gathering.
Sauce Mixture:
- 8 cloves Garlic minced
- 1.5 tbsp Korean Chili Paste
- 2 tbsp Gochugaru
- 1 tbsp Soy Sauce
- 1.5 tbsp Fish Sauce
- 1 tbsp Sugar
- 1/2 tbsp Black Pepper
Toppings:
- ½ cup Kimchi
- 4-6 cups Dashi Stock or Chicken Stock
- 3 Sausages sliced
- 1 pack Spam sliced
- 3 stalks Green Onion Sliced
- 1 pack Firm/Traditional Tofu sliced
- 1 slice American Cheese
- 1 pack Instant Noodles
- 6 Shiitake Mushroom
- 2 Enoki Mushroom
- 1/2 cup rice cakes
Korean Spicy Chicken Stew
This Korean Spicy Chicken Stew is a classic example of Korean homestyle cooking in one pot. Chunks of potatoes, onions, and carrots stewed with chicken in a spicy gochujang sauce simmered until soft. They absorb all the spicy, umami flavor in every single bite. It’s easy to make, and it’s less dishes! Make tons of rice whenever you make this, you’ll need it!
- 2 pounds chicken drumsticks or any other parts of chicken
- 2 medium potatoes chopped
- 2 large onions chopped
- 1 large carrot sliced
- 1 jalapeño sliced
- 5-6 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons Korean Red Chili Paste gochujang
- 1 tablespoon Korean soy bean paste doenjang
- 1 tablespoon Korean red chili flakes gochugaru
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2-3 cups chicken stock or other stocks
I started writing down one thing at the end of every day — what I actually managed to do. Not a to-do list, not plans. Just one small win. It’s surprising how quickly it shifts your perspective.