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The next article and recipe had been featured within the You Can Ferment That! column within the March/April 2023 Zymurgy journal.
By Amahl Turczyn
As a follow-up to fermenting kimchi at dwelling within the Jul/Aug 2020 problem of Zymurgy, that is find out how to make probably the most fashionable sauces in Korean delicacies, and a key ingredient in kimchi. Gochujang is as ubiquitous to Korean tradition as ketchup is to ours, but it surely’s extra of a base seasoning for cooking than a condiment. It’s normally both cooked with meals or used as a marinade ingredient. As such, it’s a constructing block for soups, stews, rooster wings, seafood, galbi and bulgogi.
Whereas gochujang could be very straightforward to search out at Asian markets, the place it’s usually offered in vivid crimson plastic tubs, the selfmade model has a way more complicated taste, you may tailor the warmth degree to your liking, and you’ll keep away from the heavy sweeteners (generally rice or corn syrup) industrial producers use. The dangerous information is, like home-fermented crimson miso, it takes time to ferment conventional gochujang—depend on two to a few months at the very least, although it should proceed to enhance past that.
Another excuse to ferment your personal model of this versatile chile paste is that, as a homebrewer, you in all probability have already got one of many key components at dwelling—barley malt. This gives an earthy, grainy base for the bottom soybeans and chile peppers used, with out getting issues too candy. Coarse-milled malt, husks included, are principally mashed with heat water to transform the starches to a liquid barley wort after which concentrated by boiling the liquid down, lowering it by about half. Sounds acquainted, proper? And for a quicker model, you may skip the all-grain mash and simply use unhopped, diastatic pale malt extract. You want these lively enzymes intact, since a part of the method includes conversion of one of many different foremost components, particularly glutinous rice powder. Additionally known as “candy rice flour,” glutinous rice powder is simple to search out at Asian markets, and goes by the identify of chapssal garu (찹쌀) in Korean.
Coarse-ground malted barley known as yeotgireum (엿기름), and it has a number of culinary functions in Korea past brewing beer. For a 3-quart (2.8-liter) batch of completed gochujang, you will have about 4 liters of pretty skinny (SG 1.036) wort. When utilizing milled, malted grain or yeotgireum, you’d simply conduct a one-hour single infusion mash for a extremely fermentable wort, after which separate the spent grains from the wort, simply as you’d for brewing. It’s possible you’ll discover it best to mash in a mesh bag somewhat than sparge, however do no matter works for you.
If you’re utilizing diastatic pale malt extract somewhat than grain, you’ll wish to dilute it to that very same energy and quantity. To this wort, you’ll be including a bit over a pound (500 g) of glutinous rice powder and letting the wort enzymes work on these starches at about 140°F (50°C) for 2 hours. It’s finest to take care of this temperature throughout conversion; because it’s a comparatively low quantity, you may simply preserve the entire kettle or stockpot in your oven if it may be set that low. Stirring each half an hour helps with conversion however will not be strictly essential.
That’s actually probably the most troublesome a part of the method; the remainder of the recipe is simply boiling the wort and transformed starch combination down to scale back it from 4 quarts to 2, and cooling it again right down to conversion temperature of about 140°F. Then you definitely add the ocean salt, stirring to dissolve. The fermented soybean powder, known as meju garu (메주가루) in Korean, and fine-ground crimson chile powder or gochugaru (고추가루) are added to the candy, decreased wort liquid subsequent. This kinds a thick, sticky paste that ought to by now be round 100°F (38°C), and it now should be scooped into an applicable fermentation vessel and allowed to ferment. How thick? The combination needs to be skinny sufficient to slowly drop from a spoon, however thick sufficient that any peaks that type on the floor keep up. Thicker than ketchup then, however not as thick as miso. Suffice to say, your arms shall be getting a fairly good exercise stirring these powders right into a paste of uniform consistency.
For the chile powder, Korean crimson chile has probably the most genuine aroma, taste and shade, and you should purchase this goun gochugaru (고운 고추가루) in giant baggage at Asian markets. Be sure to get the fine-grind powdered chile, and you may get a variety of warmth, from gentle to further spicy. For my batch, I additionally used homegrown crimson chiles that I ripened to a full crimson shade, dried in a meals dehydrator, and floor to a advantageous powder with a spice grinder. It’s clearly simpler to simply use purchase Korean chile powder, however the sizzling New Mexico chiles I used, particularly Lumbre and Rattlesnake varieties, had the spice degree I needed. (Plus, it gave me a very good excuse to make use of my heavy-duty grinder. I’m sort of a kitchen gadget nut.)
As with different fermented merchandise, salt performs a giant function in moderating the pace of fermentation, in addition to stopping molds and undesirable micro organism from getting a foothold and spoiling the batch. Historically, genuine, coarse Korean sea salt known as cheonilyeom (천일염) is used. It undergoes a particular course of to verify minerals within the seawater don’t make the salt bitter. Grocery store sea salt is ok to make use of…salt is principally salt. Manufacturers like Maldon work simply as effectively. When the gochujang is transferred to the fermentation vessel, as with miso, coarse salt will not be solely combined into the paste, but additionally sprinkled liberally on the floor to stop microbes from rising there over its months of fermentation.
Additionally, you will want to verify your fermentation vessel is clear and sanitized earlier than you fill it with gochujang. Historically, an onggi (옹기) is used, the identical semi-porous pot used to ferment kimchi and makgeolli. The outdated method of creating certain it’s sterilized is to fill it with sizzling coals from a wooden hearth, which additionally provides the completed gochujang a delicate smoky taste. Nowadays, dwelling fermenters can merely invert the vessel over a low fuel flame for five minutes or so to heat-sanitize it. As soon as it’s cooled down, you need to use a spatula to switch the gochujang into the vessel, securing the highest with a bit of material that may permit fuel trade throughout fermentation whereas conserving out bugs and dirt.
Diehard gochujang traditionalists preserve that the highest of the vessel must also be uncovered to direct daylight for further mould prevention. This, nevertheless, isn’t sensible except you will have a specifically made vented glass high for the aim; the glass high retains out rain and permits in sunshine, whereas the vented mesh sides let in air. It’s an ingenious invention to make certain, however not strictly essential. I desire to ferment indoors in my cool basement, with simply the material cowl secured with a rubber band. It takes longer, but it surely appears considerably safer than leaving pots of fermenting chile paste out within the yard.
And talking of fermentation, precisely how will these things ferment with out a yeast addition? We’ve deactivated the barley malt enzymes with the lengthy boil, so what does the fermenting? It simply so occurs that the funky-smelling meju garu is probiotic and enzymatically lively, and it’s what does the fermentation, though the purpose is to not produce alcohol right here, however somewhat to interrupt down starches, lipids, and proteins. Amylase tackles the starches, lipase the lipids, and protease breaks down proteins into umami-rich amino acids resembling glutamate and aspartate.
It’s similar to the fermentation course of for Japanese miso, which additionally makes use of soybeans as a protein base—in that course of, koji (Aspergillus oryzae, a food-friendly species of mould) gives the required enzymes. For gochujang, that’s why the cooling step after boiling to scale back the candy wort is essential—you wish to keep away from stirring in your meju garu till the wort is cool sufficient to not deactivate the enzymes within the fermented soybean powder.
That’s about it! You have to be able to make your personal batch now.
Contemplating that koji, like barley malt, comprises amylase, I made a decision to take issues one step additional. As an experiment, I milled a couple of half a pound of crimson wheat malt right into a advantageous powder utilizing a Mock Mill Kitchenaid attachment (yep, one other kitchen gadget) and added it with the meju garu. For the reason that barley malt enzymes had been deactivated, I figured this batch of gochujang might use a bit further amylase. It’s not conventional, and simply notice that there’s a slight threat anytime you eat any uncooked agricultural product*, however I used to be proud of how this batch turned out. The recipe accompanies this text. Comfortable fermenting!
*Rodent feces sometimes flip up in baggage of brewer’s malt—the FDA permits for a small proportion in lots of meals merchandise—however hantavirus, salmonella, leptospirosis, listeriosis, tularemia, and meningitis are only a few illnesses that may end result from human ingestion. It’s uncommon, but it surely occurs. One thing to bear in mind subsequent time you brew that uncooked, no-boil ale!
Amahl Turczyn is affiliate editor of Zymurgy.
Gallery: Making Gochujang
Batch Quantity: about 3 qt. (2.84 L)
EQUIPMENT
- 6-liter kettle (for barley wort)
- BIAB mesh brewing bag (non-obligatory)
- giant mixing bowl
- lengthy wood spoon (for mixing in powders)
- giant onggi or comparable fermentation vessel (about 3 L capability)
- mesh or material cowl, or devoted gochujang fermentation lid
- oven or different temperature-controlled area
INGREDIENTS
- 500 g (1.1 lb.) milled pale barley malt (yeotgireum)
OR the equal quantity of unhopped diastatic pale malt extract - 500 g (1.1 lb.) glutinous rice powder (chapssal garu)
- 250 g (0.55 lb.) fermented soybean powder (meju garu)
250 g (0.55 lb.) coarse sea salt (cheonilyeum) - 500 g (1.1 lb.) fine-ground crimson Korean chile (gochu garu), divided
- 250 g (0.55 lb.) finely milled barley or wheat malt (non-obligatory)
PROCESS
Mash sufficient filtered brewing water with the pale barley malt in a mesh bag to realize 4 liters of 1.036-gravity wort at 50°C (140°F). (Alternately, use sufficient pale diastatic malt extract to realize the identical quantity and gravity.) Stir within the glutinous rice powder and proceed to carry the identical temperature till conversion of starches is full, about two hours. Take away spent grains and convey mash kettle to a boil. Scale back quantity to about 2 liters. Cool concentrated wort to beneath 50°C and dissolve a lot of the salt into it, reserving a number of tablespoons to sprinkle on high of the completed gochujang previous to fermentation.
Wait till the combination cools to 100°F (38°F) or much less, if essential, and add the fermented soybean powder and floor chile. Add the finely milled malt powder, if utilizing. Mix effectively. Combination needs to be very thick. If peaks fall again into the gochujang, add extra chile.
Sanitize the onggi or fermentation vessel. Spatula the gochujang in, sprinkle the floor liberally with the rest of the salt, and canopy with a material or breathable glass lid. Ferment in a cool place 2 to six months, checking sometimes for mould or different microbial development. As with miso fermentation, if mould kinds, scrape it off, wipe with a food-grade ethanol resembling Everclear, and sprinkle the realm with extra salt to stop regrowth. When gochujang reaches a passable taste, it needs to be saved in hermetic containers within the fridge to be used.
