What to use instead of gochujang
It depends entirely on what it's doing in the dish. Here's the job, what else does it, and what to skip.
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Sweet-savoury chile paste that glazes a sauce
It is chile, glutinous rice and fermented soybean in one lump, so it brings heat, sugar and salt together, and the rice starch is what makes the sauce cling to rice cakes or chicken.
White miso plus gochugaru and honeyRan out
2 tbsp white miso + 1 tbsp gochugaru + 1 tbsp honey per 3 tbsp gochujang
Hits the same three notes. Lighter in colour and looser, since there is no rice starch to thicken it.
SsamjangRan out
1:1, and cut the sugar in the recipe
Comes with sesame, garlic and doenjang already in it, so the sauce reads nuttier and saltier and less sweet.
Sriracha plus white misoRan out
2 tbsp sriracha + 1 tbsp white miso per 3 tbsp gochujang
Vinegar and raw garlic come forward. Thinner, so reduce the sauce two minutes longer to get any cling.
Sambal oelek plus brown sugarRan out
2 tbsp sambal + 1 tbsp brown sugar + 1/2 tsp soy sauce per 3 tbsp gochujang
Hotter and more raw-chile, with no fermented depth underneath. The glaze is bright red and sharp.
What doesn't work: Sriracha on its own at 1:1. It has the heat and the sugar and no fermented soybean or body, so tteokbokki sauce made with it stays thin, tastes of raw garlic and slides straight off the rice cakes.
Fermented depth stirred into a stew or a rice bowl
The soybean ferment supplies glutamate, so a spoonful makes a fast broth taste long-cooked. Heat is the second thing it does and depth is the first.
Doenjang plus gochugaruRan out
1 tbsp doenjang + 2 tsp gochugaru per 2 tbsp gochujang
Deeper and saltier with none of the sweetness. The stew goes browner and reads more rustic.
Red miso plus gochugaru and sugarRan out
1 tbsp red miso + 2 tsp gochugaru + 1 tsp sugar per 2 tbsp gochujang
Close on savoury depth and missing the malty rice note. Add the miso off the boil so it keeps its aroma.
Doubanjiang, Sichuan chile bean pasteRan out
1 tbsp doubanjiang + 1 tsp sugar per 2 tbsp gochujang
Saltier and more broad-bean than soybean, and it takes the pot to Sichuan. Cut the recipe salt by half.
What doesn't work: Harissa or any North African chile paste. It is built on caraway, coriander and garlic in oil, so a jjigae made with it tastes of a different continent and never picks up the malty background gochujang gives.
Heat level is printed on the tub on a numbered scale. A mild one needs about half again as much to season the same pot.