Gochujang Korean Chili Paste (Vegan), 500 g

We’ve started using gochujang in a lot of dishes as a replacement for standard chili paste, and we’re hooked. The flavor has so much more depth — not just that “all heat, no character” thing you get with some chili pastes. It adds richness, sweetness, and warmth all at once. It’s surprisingly hard to find in a regular grocery store, and while our local Asian market carries it at a good price, this one is priced competitively and delivered right to our door. That convenience alone makes it an easy choice. If you’re looking to add more depth and complexity to your cooking, this is a fantastic pantry staple.

Great option if you do not have a nearby Asian mall. For the price, I do recommend going there first. The product came in good condition with no defects or shipment damage. Came in sealed. Normal size container of gonchujang. The paste tasted sweet and salty, per the norm for Gochujang. Elevated every dish. Great in ramen and sir fry, and hot pots.

This paste is sooo good! I recommend for lovers of spicy food.

Deeply savory flavor is indispensable for making amazing ramen soups. Not too hot for most people.

The smell isn’t that good size is okay the heat level was hot worth the money

Perfect and delicious

What you see in the user picture reviews is exactly what I received. I spent years and years trying to figure out what the "red chili paste" was they served and where I could get it (if anywhere). I CONSTANTLY craved the stuff and after thinking to research it again online, I finally came across the name (Gochujang) and this product. I just got it in the mail and immediately opened it up to try it. Perfect! Its the EXACT same thing the Japanese steak houses serve. I was worried because what they seem to serve (at least in my location) tends to be more "seedy" and this appeared to be more tomato paste from the user reviews I saw before purchasing. I can ASSURE you this is the exact stuff you were searching for. In terms of flavor, its just the right amount of kick. Extremely tasty and has a kick of spice but for me, its not overwhelming as if you were eating a mouthful of jalepenos. Just enough spice to enjoy and I found myself eating a few spoonfuls by itself because its sooo good. Now that I have found what I have been searching for over the last 10 years, I will have this stocked in my fridge from now on.

The product I received is not the same as the images currently on the website, so it's possible the manufacturer changed the packing (mine was shipped November 2023 in SF Bay Area). I've purchased gochujang paste many times in the past (& gochujang "sauce", too, so I know the difference)... different brands but at least the past 2 times it was in a square-on-top-shaped red container that looked like the images currently shown here. Store discontinued selling it so I just guessed this might be the same brand, or at least the taste would be similar to what we were expecting. The item I received is in a completely different package & label. What I received does not say "gochujang paste" on the front label, it says "hot pepper paste" instead. Also, it does not say "vegan" on this label if that is a concern for you (but I personally don't know by looking at ingredients if it is truly vegan or not). If this is the same stuff with a new name the images online should be changed to reflect that! I am also suspicious how the item I received has two different ingredient/nutritional labels on it & the information differs slightly. A rectangular label is on the back, & a square-shaped label on the side that actually says "gochujang paste" there (see pics... was this leftover labels from their old, square "gochujang" packaging?") So I assumed the company changed product labels, so we tasted it & it does not taste like any gochujang paste we've ever had before... it may be due to the brand but this tastes bitter & possibly rancid. The kind we've had before had a mild discernible sweetness (not as sweet as sauces, but it was there) but this stuff has zero sweetness & a weird sewage-y taste, as if it had fish in it (not in the ingredients) so don't know if that's this brand or if it went bad. The container did have a foil seal under the lid, but I didn't think at the time to scrutinize to see if it might have been compromised before I pulled the seal off to taste it. The rectangular label says "for best results refrigerate after opening, but the square label does not, so don't know if refrigeration is necessary. Also the front label says "recipe inside" but there wasn't anything under the lid or on the other sides/bottom, unless they put the recipe inside under the goop. They do not accept returns on food items (understandable) so I'm not concerned it was an opened returned item... but I still do not want this stuff, it takes suspiciously rancid & it is certainly not as advertised/expected. You can't return damaged, mislabeled, or just plain yucky food like you can easily return non-food products online, they don't want it back, so you have to go through online chat or phone call to get a refund, which took about 5 minutes. (If it was as advertised I would have taken the loss & assumed it wasn't to our tastes... but I wanted "gochujang" & it really looks like they changed the packaging & perhaps the recipe so they are not longer calling it that.)