Gochujang
/ˈɡoʊ.tʃuː.dʒæŋ/noun
A Korean fermented red chili paste made chiefly from chili powder, glutinous rice, fermented soybean powder, and salt.
Did you know?Traditional gochujang fermentation was associated with jang-making, a Korean culinary tradition in which earthenware jars slowly transformed grains and soybeans into intensely flavored pastes.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Korean
Korean
장 (jang)
“Fermented sauce or paste; a native Korean culinary term also written with the Chinese character 醬.”
Middle Korean
Middle Korean
고쵸 (gochyo)
“An earlier form related to modern 고추 (gochu), meaning chili pepper; the exact deeper history of this term is debated.”
Modern Korean
Korean
고추 (gochu)
“Chili pepper.”
Modern Korean
Korean
고추장 (gochujang)
“A fermented chili paste; literally, “chili” plus “jang,” a fermented sauce or paste.”
20th–21st Century
English
gochujang
“An English culinary loanword for Korean fermented red chili paste.”
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