Gochugaru vs Gochujang: Differences and Swaps

Gochugaru and gochujang share a chile, and that’s about where the resemblance ends. Gochugaru is dried Korean red chile, sold as coarse flakes or a finer powder: a spice you sprinkle. Gochujang is a fermented paste in which red pepper powder is just one ingredient, alongside grain, salt and water, and Codex allows it up to 55% moisture.¹ Gochujang can stand in for gochugaru in a soup or stew if you cut back the salt; going the other way is the harder swap.

Side by side

	Gochugaru	Gochujang
What it is	Dried red chile, ground; Maangchi says the flakes are “always coarse and chunky”²	A red or dark red fermented paste¹
Chile	Capsicum annuum, as Codex names it for kimchi seasoning;³ family Solanaceae	Red pepper (Capsicum annuum) powder is a basic ingredient;¹ Maangchi says the fine powder is mainly used for making gochujang²
Native range of the chile species	Southern United States to Brazil and the Caribbean	Same chile
Ingredients	Chile only	Basic: grains, red pepper powder, salt and water. Optional: powdered meju, soybeans, sugars, fish sauce and others¹
How it is made	Chiles are dried and ground; one type is sun-dried taeyangcho²	Grain starch is saccharified with powdered malt or Aspergillus cultures, salted, fermented and aged, then mixed with red pepper powder¹
Water	Dry	Up to 55.0% moisture under Codex¹
Heat	Varies widely; sold in mild and hot versions² (lab figures below)	Codex minimum of 10.0 ppm capsaicin;¹ no survey of retail heat found
Other components	None	Codex minimum of 4.0% crude protein¹
Flavor	Ripe red pepper, fruity, sometimes faintly smoky; PepperScale also calls it fruity with a touch of smoke⁴	Sweet, salty, savory and hot, with the depth of fermentation; PepperScale credits most of the flavor to the chiles and fermented soybean paste⁵
Storage after opening	Maangchi: in the freezer for up to 6 months, with a small jar in the refrigerator for daily use²	Maangchi: in the refrigerator, used within 3 months⁶
Typical uses	Kimchi, side dishes, soups and stews	Adds spiciness, color and sweetness to many Korean dishes; glazing meats and filling lettuce wraps;⁷ PepperScale adds bulgogi marinades, salad dressings and a dip for fried chicken⁵
Price	No dated, sourced comparison found	No dated, sourced comparison found

For the full profile of the dry chile, see gochugaru.

The differences that change a dish

Water and texture

Codex allows gochujang up to 55% moisture,¹ so a spoonful is largely water. It dissolves into soups, stews and sauces, but you can’t sprinkle it, and it won’t stay in separate red flecks the way flakes do. Gochugaru adds color and heat without adding liquid. That’s the main reason the two aren’t interchangeable in kimchi seasoning, dry rubs or garnishes.

Salt and sugar

Salt is a basic ingredient of gochujang under Codex, and sugars are among the optional ones.¹ It adds sweetness as well as spiciness and color. Gochugaru brings neither. Chili Pepper Madness says to add less salt to a dish when gochujang stands in for gochugaru, because the paste is already somewhat salty.⁸ Keep an eye on gochujang glazes and marinades over high heat, too; the sugar in sweetened pastes can scorch.

Fermentation

Gochujang is fermented and aged, and Codex lists powdered meju, soybeans and fermented soybean paste among its optional ingredients.¹ PepperScale notes that the fermentation can take months.⁵ It brings a savory depth dried chile doesn’t have. Matt Rodbard, writing in Saveur, calls it “the strongest, most assertive ingredient used in Korean cooking” and says to use it sparingly.⁷

Heat

Neither one has a single heat level. Each figure below belongs to its own samples and method:

Scope	Figure	Source
20 Korean red peppers, by HPLC (1994)	7.0 to 75.9 mg capsaicinoids per 100 g	Chai et al.⁹
Commercial red pepper powders by variety (2000)	Highest: ‘Chungyang’ variety, 126.1 mg per 100 g	Choi et al.¹⁰
Korean gochu, as described by Kwon et al. (no samples or method in the abstract)	Under 1,000 SHU	Kwon et al.¹¹
Gochugaru as a category (no samples or method stated)	About 1,500 to 10,000 SHU; elsewhere 4,000 to 8,000 SHU	PepperScale, two articles that disagree⁴¹²
Gochujang, Codex minimum	10.0 ppm capsaicin	Codex¹
Gochujang, retail (descriptive, no figure)	Most range from mild to moderately hot	PepperScale⁵

The Codex figure is a floor in a product standard, not a measurement of typical tubs, and the chile studies measured dried peppers, not paste. PepperScale’s gochugaru ranges are its own published ranges, with no method given. PepperScale also notes that gochujang packaging may carry a numbered heat level, with 3 for moderate and 4 for very hot.⁵ You can’t use these rows to say which is hotter. Maangchi uses mild gochugaru in kimchi so she can add a lot for color without making it too spicy.² With either product, taste a little from a new bag or tub before you commit a whole recipe to it.

A shared history

Chile is an American plant: Capsicum annuum is native from the southern United States to Brazil and the Caribbean. The oldest surviving Korean record of chile is Jibong yuseol of 1614,¹³ and the long-standing account is that it reached the peninsula around the Imjin War, the Japanese invasion that began in 1592. Kwon and colleagues reject that account and write that Koreans have grown gochu for 1,500 years;¹¹ Weekly Kyunghyang, surveying the debate in 2026, says the native-chile theory is hard to call mainstream.¹⁴ See gochugaru for the full story.

Can one stand in for the other?

The gochugaru substitutes page covers the first direction in detail.

Gochujang in place of gochugaru. Chili Pepper Madness says gochujang gives you the taste of gochugaru with a different texture.⁸ PepperScale agrees it can work in soups and sauces and also warns about the added salt.¹² It works best where the paste can dissolve: stews, soups and sauces. It works poorly in kimchi seasoning, rubs and garnishes, where the water, salt and sweetness change the result. Ratio (Method): Start with an equal amount, cut back on salt and on salty seasonings like soy or fish sauce, and taste.
Gochugaru in place of gochujang. This is the harder swap. Gochugaru gives you the chile, but not the grain sweetness, salt, fermented depth or body.¹ Ratio (Method): Try about 1 teaspoon of gochugaru per tablespoon of gochujang, loosened with a little water, plus a pinch of sugar and a little salt or soy sauce, then taste. Expect a thinner, less savory result.
Making gochujang. Maangchi notes that the finer red pepper powder, not the coarse flakes, is what’s mainly used to make gochujang.² Codex describes a process of saccharifying grain, then fermenting and aging,¹ so homemade gochujang is a project, not a quick fix.

Kwon and colleagues take the strictest line, writing that kimchi and gochujang fermented only with Korean gochu “can be eaten.”¹¹ That’s their opinion, not a tested result.

What isn’t known

We found no survey of how hot retail gochujang runs; Codex sets only a minimum,¹ and PepperScale describes the range only in words.⁵
We found no dated, sourced price comparison.
Recipes and labels differ in which optional ingredients a gochujang uses, so sweetness and saltiness change from tub to tub.

Regional Standard for Gochujang, CXS 294R-2009, Codex Alimentarius. fao.org · Standard ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵
Maangchi, Korean hot pepper flakes (Gochugaru), Maangchi.com. maangchi.com · Publication ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷
Standard for Kimchi, CXS 223-2001, Codex Alimentarius. fao.org · Standard ↩
Matt Bray, What Is Gochugaru? The Story Behind The Spice, PepperScale, 2023. pepperscale.com · Publication · PepperScale is also owned by Matt Bray, the editor of this site. ↩ ↩²
Matt Bray, What Is Gochujang? The Story Behind The Spice, PepperScale, 2023. pepperscale.com · Publication · PepperScale is also owned by Matt Bray, the editor of this site. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶
Maangchi, Hot pepper paste (Gochujang), Maangchi.com. maangchi.com · Publication ↩
Rodbard, How to Cook With Korean Jangs, Saveur. saveur.com · Publication ↩ ↩²
Hultquist, Gochugaru: What It Is and How to Use It, Chili Pepper Madness. chilipeppermadness.com · Publication ↩ ↩²
Chai et al., Relationships Between the Content and Sensory Evaluation of Pungent Principles in Red Pepper, Analytical Science and Technology, 1994 (abstract). accesson.kr · Peer-reviewed ↩
Choi, Jeon and Park, Comparison of Quality of Red Pepper Powders Produced in Korea, Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology, 2000 (abstract). koreascience.kr · Peer-reviewed ↩
Kwon, Jang, Yang and Chung, History of Korean gochu, gochujang, and kimchi, Journal of Ethnic Foods, 2014 (abstract). agris.fao.org · Peer-reviewed ↩ ↩² ↩³
Matt Bray, What’s A Good Gochugaru Substitute?, PepperScale, 2022. pepperscale.com · Publication · PepperScale is also owned by Matt Bray, the editor of this site. ↩ ↩²
Kim Jong-deok and Ko Byung-hee, A study on the etymology of gochu, Korean Journal of Medical History. koreascience.kr · Peer-reviewed ↩
Jeong Yong-in, 김치는 언제부터 빨개졌을까 (When did kimchi turn red?), Weekly Kyunghyang, 2026. weekly.khan.co.kr · Publication ↩

Also drawn on

Standard for Dried or Dehydrated Chilli Pepper and Paprika (CXS 353-2022, amended 2025), Codex Alimentarius Commission, FAO/WHO. fao.org
Capsicum annuum L., Plants of the World Online, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. powo.science.kew.org

Gochugaru vs. Gochujang: Dry Korean Chile Against Fermented Chile Paste