Gochujang is a three-part ingredient: fermented heat (from red pepper), fermented depth (from soybean), and sweetness (from glutinous rice). No single substitute replicates all three simultaneously. The best approach is to identify which quality matters most in the dish you're making, then choose accordingly.
The quick table
| Substitute | Best for | Ratio | What it misses | |-----------|---------|-------|----------------| | Miso + chili + honey | Most cooked applications | See below | Specific gochujang flavor | | Sriracha + miso | Sauces, marinades | 1:1 total | Less fermented depth | | Tomato paste + chili flakes | Pasta sauces | 1 tbsp tomato + ½ tsp chili | No fermentation at all | | Harissa | Mediterranean dishes | ¾ quantity | No sweet note, different spice | | Chipotle in adobo | Smoked applications | ½ quantity | Smoke vs ferment | | Doenjang + chili + sugar | Korean recipes | See below | Gochujang character |
The best all-purpose substitute
White miso + chili sauce + honey
- 2 tablespoons white miso
- 1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce (or sambal oelek)
- 1 tablespoon honey (or 2 teaspoons sugar)
Whisk together. Use as a 1:1 substitute for gochujang in any cooked application.
What it does right: The miso provides the fermented glutamate depth; the chili sauce provides heat; the honey provides the sweet note that gochujang gets from glutinous rice.
What it doesn't do: The specific gochujang flavor — a slightly funky, deeply fermented red pepper character — is unique. This substitute produces a similar structure without the same specificity. For most cooked applications (marinades, pasta sauces, stir-fry sauces), this won't be noticeable. For applications where gochujang is used raw or as a primary flavor (dipping sauce for ssam, bibimbap topping), the difference will be more apparent.
Substitute for specific applications
In pasta sauce (gochujang pasta)
Substitute: 1 tablespoon tomato paste + ½ teaspoon red chili flakes + 1 teaspoon white miso.
In gochujang pasta, the gochujang is cooked in olive oil to bloom its flavor — the same technique as building a tomato sauce. Tomato paste performs the same structural role (concentrated, acidic, red, sweet), the chili flakes provide heat, and the miso adds fermented depth. The result is a pasta sauce that won't be mistaken for Korean, but will have the same layered-savory-heat character.
See Korean Pasta Recipes for the full technique.
In a marinade
Substitute: Sriracha at ¾ quantity + 1 teaspoon white miso.
Sriracha is primarily vinegar, garlic, and chili — less fermented complexity than gochujang, but it performs the same marinade function: coating the protein with heat and acid that tenderizes and caramelizes under heat. The miso addition provides the glutamate and fermented notes.
Ratio: For 2 tablespoons gochujang in a marinade, use 1½ tablespoons sriracha + 1 teaspoon white miso.
In bibimbap sauce
Substitute: Harissa at ¾ quantity + ½ teaspoon sesame oil + 1 teaspoon honey.
Harissa (North African fermented chili paste) is the closest Western analog to gochujang: both are fermented, concentrated chili pastes with complex spice character. Harissa's spice profile is different (cumin, caraway, coriander versus gochujang's more straightforward chili depth), but the structural similarity is high. The sesame oil brings it toward Korean register; the honey adds the sweetness that harissa naturally lacks.
In Korean stew (jjigae)
Substitute: Doenjang (fermented soybean paste) + gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes) + a pinch of sugar.
Doenjang already has the fermented Korean character; gochugaru provides the specific Korean chili character. This combination is more authentically Korean than any substitution using Western chili sauces.
If you have gochugaru but not gochujang: This is actually the most direct substitute. Gochujang is made from gochugaru — adding 1 tablespoon gochugaru + 1 tablespoon doenjang + 1 teaspoon sugar + 1 teaspoon water (mixed to a paste) produces something very close to the real thing in cooked applications.
Making gochujang from scratch (simplified)
If you want something closer to the real thing and can't find it:
- 2 tablespoons gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes — widely available online)
- 1 tablespoon white miso
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
Mix to a paste. This produces a very rough approximation — actual gochujang ferments for months to years and develops flavor compounds no quick mixture can replicate. But for cooked applications, it's dramatically closer to gochujang than any other substitution.
What gochujang does that substitutes can't replicate
The specific gochujang character comes from mejus (fermented soybean blocks) fermented with Korean red pepper and glutinous rice over months. During this fermentation, the glutinous rice's starches convert to glucose (sweetness), the soybeans develop glutamate (umami), and the pepper's capsaicin compounds interact with the fermentation to develop flavor compounds not present in fresh chili. This is why gochujang has a complexity that no mixture of ingredients can fully replicate — the flavor compounds only exist after months of biological transformation.
For daily cooking purposes, the substitutes above are good enough. But if you find yourself using gochujang often in Korean-Italian or Korean-Mexican recipes, it's worth buying a tub. It keeps in the refrigerator for a year or more, the flavor improves with time, and a little goes a long way. Most larger supermarkets now carry it; Korean grocery stores always do.
For the full guide on cooking with gochujang — in pasta, stir-fries, and as a sauce — see Korean Pasta Recipes: Gochujang, Kimchi, and Doenjang.
The Flavor Pairing Matrix at borderlesskitchenseries.com/free shows gochujang alongside doenjang as the Korean fermented flavor foundations that parallel miso in Japanese cooking.
The full recipes live in the book.
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