Gochujang is the New Sriracha

I love chili sauces. It's gotten to the point where I don't feel like a dish looks right unless it's topped with a healthy zig-zag of sriracha or my new favorite jalapeno sauce, Yellowbird Sauce. Not only does the bright red sauce add an eye-popping touch of color, it also adds just the right amount of heat, sweeteness, and garlicky flavor.

But there's a new chili sauce in town. Okay, actually it's a very old sauce since it dates back late 18th century in Korea. But it's new to me! It's called gochujang, and I was sent a sample bottle from Chung Jung One to review.

Gochujang is a spicy, fermented Korean chili sauce made with rice, red chili, garlic, onion, and rice wine. It's thicker than sriracha. It's got a milder spice factor, and it's a tad sweeter. Also, because it's fermented, it has a pungency that packs a punch.

I've been putting it on everything! Since it's a Korean sauce, I'm sure it's traditionally served with Korean food. But I mixed it up by adding to my Tofu Pad Thai last week.

And as you may or may not know from reading this blog, I eat a LOT of ramen bowls. I typically eat ramen for breakfasts on weekends while I catch up on whatever show I'm watching. Right now, that's Lost. So on Saturday morning, I watched Lost in my PJs and had this bowl of Lotus Foods Buckwheat & Mushroom Ramen with Upton's Seitan, broccoli, cauliflower, corn, and red pepper. And of course, it's topped with a generous squirt of gochujang.

Chung Jung One's Gochujang is the only brand I've tried so far, so I can't say how it stacks up to other brands. But I think it's just amazing. I only wish I had a bigger bottle!