Red pepper powder (kochukaru / gochugaru)
November 23, 2010
One of the core ingredients in Korean cuisine is red pepper powder or kochukaru / gochugaru. We wanted to stress that this is an ingredient that you’ll need to buy in an Asian grocery store. Please do not try to use cayenne pepper in these recipes. And do not use crushed red pepper flakes. Apart from the physical pain such choices will cause you, your wallet will also be hurting.
You can buy pepper powder by the pound, so if you plan on making your own banchan, you need to pick up a bag.
Here’s a look at two of the brands we bought recently:
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Great blog. Just discovered it. I love Korean food but so difficult to find vegan in restaurants. About the red pepper powder–I have been using my own dried red peppers to make kimchi and we like it fairly mild. The only reason that I haven’t used the red pepper powder is because I don’t know what is in it and how it is processed. I felt that there must be additives to make is so moist. Can you help me out.
Thanks
Alice in Toronto
Hi, Alice in Toronto!
Thanks for finding us, we are so glad to find your blog too. Your post about walking just really inspired me to start walking again – and your food pictures look so yummy. As for the Korean pepper powder — growing up, my mom used to make her own red pepper powder by grinding a huge bag of dried red Korean pepper in a machine that our town mill had, and they would always come out really moist. We would keep it for a year or two and they would stay that way. I think it’s more the texture of the peppers more than anything… so I wouldn’t be too worried about the store-bought pepper powder. There are also a lot of organic Korean pepper powder brands if you can find them in your store!
Looking for bulk size of Gochugaru Korean red chili pepper powder to use in manufacturing.
Where can I find?
Hi, Lynn. Thanks for visiting us. Unfortunately, outside of Korean grocery stores, which carry larger bags of pepper powder, I don’t know where else to direct you. If you have a local Korean grocery store or restaurant, I would recommend contacting them and seeing if they can point you to a resource. Good luck!
Assi Food Market has really big bags of it. Like 10 pounds.
Google Assi to find a location
Thanks for the tip!
How can I order gochugaru everyone? I lived in Brunei
Hmm, I really have no idea, Razia. Anyone else out there have any ideas? The only online stores I’m aware of only ship to the US…. I hope you are able to find it somewhere. Good luck!
Hi. I bought a bag of crushed red pepper here in San Francisco and made my kimchi. I was disappointed when I went to make my next batch and found my pepper had molded. I’m wondering if I should store it in the refrigerator. I just bought some more and it is a more manageable 8 oz. bottle.
Hi, KP. Hmm, that’s odd. Did you keep it sealed well? We have never had that happen to us, and we get pretty big bags of pepper powder. We do make a point to seal it well immediately after use to try and keep as much air out as possible, but we have never had to refrigerate it before! The manufacturer can make a difference. So perhaps the brand you bought keeps their powder more moist? I don’t see a harm in keeping it in the refrigerator if you’re having mold issues. Good luck!
Has anyone found an Organic Red Pepper powder or flakes. If so please send the brand or producer (something I can track it down by). I’ve not been able to find it anywhere!
Thanks.
Hi, Richard. We have not. Let us know if you find any, and we’ll do the same!