Korean cuisine — Gochujang in print · 181

Fermented heat and shared grills: kimchi, gochujang and banchan from the Korean Peninsula. Hansik (한식) is Korean cuisine organised around rice, soup or stew, and banchan. Kimchi is expected, not optional, even when the main is grilled meat. No. Many stews and soups are mild; heat concentrates in gochujang dishes, tteokbokki and some kimchi. Baek-kimchi and doenjang jjigae are common low-chili counters.

What is the difference between gochujang and gochugaru? Gochugaru is dried chili flake. Gochujang is a fermented paste of chili, soybean and glutinous rice. They are not interchangeable spoon-for-spoon. Banchan are the meal's vegetable and ferment layer. Restaurants refill them; at home they are yesterday's pickles, namul and a new kimchi.

It is a social and restaurant form. Weeknight tables more often hold rice, kimchi and a jjigae or leftover grilled fish. Kimjang is the seasonal making and sharing of winter kimchi, typically in late autumn, now recognised by UNESCO as intangible heritage. They are the domestic norm, paired with a spoon. First-timers are not judged for asking for wood, but metal is not a tourist stunt.