Do you enjoy eating Korean food and want to replicate some of the delicious flavours at home?? Well, look no further. Today, I’m showing you guys three different Korean sauces that you could make (and store) EASILY at home so you could use them in a variety of different ways.

These sauces are extremely versatile and can be used in whatever way you please – I always say, there are no rules… and same goes for this. You own your own tastebuds, so you do whatever pleases those taste buds!

WATCH VIDEO HERE:

Sesame Oil & Salt Dipping Sauce

This one is possibly the most ridiculously easy but also an AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS dipping sauce. As you guys know, I LOVE toasted sesame oil. It’s possibly the greatest oil of all time. It has an intensely savoury flavour… in Korean, we have a specific word to describe this flavour, and it is “go-so-hae (고소해)”. Unfortunately there is no direct English translation for this but it’s an incredibly satisfying flavour. Mix this with salt and you got yourself a beautiful little dipping sauce you can use to dip your grilled mushrooms (my favourite way of having this sauce), tofu, fake meats, or whatever you please! I even fried up some brussel sprouts and dipped those in there too.

Ingredients: 

• Small amount of salt (maybe about 1/2 tsp)
• A little more sesame oil (maybe about 1-2 tsp)

Instructions:

1. Add salt and sesame oil into a small dish.
2. Mix well (with chopsticks would probably work best) and use this sauce to dip grilled mushrooms, fried tofu, or whatever you please.

Note: The measurements really don’t matter, as no one really measures. I normally just put a small amount of salt and pour a little bit of sesame oil on top. Preferably, you would just make this each time you want to eat it, rather than store it for a long time because the oil will absorb into the salt and the sauce will become thicker and more chunky.

 

Cho Gochujang (Spicy Tangy Korean Sauce)

This is a recipe from my Cheap Lazy Vegan ebook!

I assume many of you may know by now what gochujang is, but in case you don’t know, let me tell you. Gochujang is a thick Korean fermented red chili pepper paste which is used very heavily in Korean cuisine. If you are Korean, you most likely have a tub of this in your fridge. It’s spicy, savoury and slightly sweet. I would say this is essential to Korean cooking.

Now you’re probably wondering what’s CHO gochujang. Cho gochujang is basically gochujang that has been mixed with a few other ingredients to make it tangy, sweeter and thinner so that it can be easily used as a dipping sauce.

Korean people like to use cho gochujang to dip things like savoury Korean pancakes (a slightly altered Korean savoury pancake recipe is available in my ebook). You can use it for SO MANY DIFFERENT THINGS. I even like to use it as a sauce for spicy cold noodles. You can also use it as a salad dressing if you are looking for something a little spicy or just pour a little on top of rice and vegetables for some added flavour. Options are ENDLESS!!!

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp Gochujang (Korean red pepper paste)
• 3-4 tbsp white vinegar
• 1 tbsp maple syrup or brown rice (any other sweetener)
• 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1-2 cloves minced garlic OR 1-2 tbsp garlic powder if lazy like me

Instructions:

1. In a bowl, mix all ingredients together until smooth and well-combined. The gochujang is thick, so you may need to work hard to get the clumps out. Alternatively, use a blender if lazy.
2. Optional – mix in some chopped green onions each time you serve the sauce (don’t add this if you plan on storing it in the fridge).
3. Store this in the fridge in a sealed container and use it over a long time.

 

Ssamjang (Spicy & Salty Dipping/Wrapping Sauce)

This sauce is incredibly popular in Korea and you will definitely be served this if you go to Korean BBQ. So if you plan on having your own VEGAN Korean BBQ, make sure you have this sauce prepared because it’s essential. Now, you COULD buy this at the Korean supermarket, but because I definitely prefer the taste of making this myself, I prefer to make it myself…. go figure. Plus, I would already have most of these ingredients on hand anyway, so I wouldn’t need to go out and buy a separate container of ssamjang since it’s easy to make.

The sauce can be altered in different ways as long as you have the two main ingredients: Korean fermented soybean paste (dwenjang 된장) and Korean red pepper paste (gochujang 고추장, as discussed above). If you’re desperate, you COULD just mix those two things together and it would still work.

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp Korean red chili pepper paste (Gochujang 고추장)
• 2 tbsp Korean fermented soybean paste (Dwenjang 된장)
• 1-2 tsp Maple syrup, brown sugar or any other sweetener
• 1-2 tbsp hemp seeds (optional)
• 1 tbsp ground flax seeds (optional)
• 1-2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds (optional but highly recommended)
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
• a little bit of water to thin it out
• Other optional add ons: crushed mixed nuts

Instructions:

1. Add and mix all ingredients in a bowl. Use a little splash of water if necessary to thin it out – but this should still be a thick paste.
2. Use this as a dipping sauce for fresh vegetables such as cucumber, carrot sticks, peppers, etc. and you can also use this to add inside Korean lettuce (and other leaf) wraps. Watch the video above for reference.
3. Store in a sealed container and you can use this for months because it is highly salted/fermented so it won’t go bad for a long, long time.