Gochujang is a fire engine red chili paste that is a foundation ingredient in much of Korean cooking. Made from a combination of dried red chillies, sweet rice flour, and fermented soybean powder, the slightly funky flavour is further accentuated by weeks of aging in the sun.
This spicy condiment is not meant to be eaten on its own, and can be mixed with a number of other condiments and flavours to knock the intensity down a few marks. Rice vinegar is not an uncommon partner to gochujang in Korean cooking, but the pungent sweetness of the paste is seemingly made to marry with smoky flavours.
So in my gochujang roasted broccoli recipe below, I combined the chilli paste with Chinese black vinegar (already mildly smoky in its own right) and then boosted the marinade with a little bit of liquid smoke. End result? Try it for yourself!
Oh, and despite accentuating the heat in the gochujang, I was pleasantly surprised by how well this broccoli and an average Chilean syrah/shiraz complemented each other.
Smoky Gochujang Roasted Broccoli
Gochujang is a fermented Korean chili paste that pairs beautifully with the smokiness of Chinese black vinegar. The flavours are bold and a little will go a long way, hence my recommendation to prepare this dish as a side to share with a group.
- 250-300 grams purple sprouting broccoli
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon gochujang
- 1 tablespoon white miso
- 2 teaspoons Chinese black vinegar
- 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon finely minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon fresh minced or grated ginger
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- Toasted sesame seeds (optional)
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees celsius (400 fahrenheit). Add the broccoli (stems, leaves and all) to a large bowl with the sesame oil and rub with your hands to coat. Pop the broccoli on a greased tray and roast for 10 minutes.
- While the broccoli is roasting, add the gochujang, miso, black vinegar, liquid smoke, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and sugar to the same large bowl. Whisk with a fork to combine.
- After the 10 minutes is up, tip the roasted broccoli back into the bowl. Quickly stir through the gochujang sauce and lay the stems back on the oven sheet. Roast for a further five minutes.
- Sprinkle toasted sesame seeds on top to serve (optional).
- Author: Kip Dorrell
- Serves 2-4 as a starter
- Cuisine: Italian Korean Fusion