To make GoChut GaRu (고춧가루), remove the stems of red hot peppers and open them to get rid of the seeds inside. Wipe them dry and then grind them to make powder. Depending on the purpose, the coarseness of the crushed flakes is different. You can use real fine hot pepper powder for a spice, or red pepper paste. Medium-fine powder can be used for napa kimchi or radish kimchi. Course powder is used for summer kimchi, 열무김치. Make sure the powder is well sealed to lock in the nutrients. Two big nutrients of hot peppers are vitamins A and B.
- Use:
Kimchi, Seasoning- Storage:
Keep in the cabinet.
For long-term storage, keep it in the freezer.- Types:
For Kimchi: Course
For Red Pepper Paste: Medium-Fine
For other Cooking: Fine
Short Korean Lesson
- GOhu (고추) = Hot Pepper or Chilly Pepper
- Garu (가루) = Powder
Hi Aeri!
Are we suppose to use fresh red pepper to make this? Can I used the dried ones?
Hi, Eleana
You mean.. to make red pepper powder ??? We dry red hot pepper…and ground it later to make powder.. thanks 🙂
Aeri, can we use the dried red pepper like the ones in your ‘Easy Napa Cabbage Kimchi’ recipe?
Hey Aeri, I want to buy some hot pepper powder but there’s so many kinds! o_o Is there specific type for making kimchi or soup?
hi Susan,
Yes… how fine it is….and how spicy it is will be big differences between them. For normal cooking.. you will need fine powder…and for kimchi… it will be less fine than the other one.. depending on your taste you can chose how spicy you want… thanks
Is there a way to buy pre-made Hot pepper powder? If so, what brand do you prefer?
hi Michael,
Yes… you can buy this hot pepper powder in Korean or Asian grocery stores.. any Korean brand will work good. Just make sure that there are different types of pepper powder .. some for kimchi..and some for normal dish.. thanks
Can you use gochujang instead of the dried red pepper?
I don’t know if my first comment went thru…I didn’t receive an acknowledgement. Can you use gochujang instead of the dried red pepper for this dish?
hi Dianna,
well… sorry but you can’t use gochujang instead of dried red pepper..not only the texture but the flavor are different..
Hi Aeri!
Do you use the fine red pepper powder for panchan, such as the pickled cucumber side dish and the spicy radish side dish? And to you find that most people only use the medium coarse powder for kimchi? which do you prefer for the panchan?
hi amyskitchen,
yes.. I use fine red pepper powder for side-dish.. but for kimchi.. yes.. I prefer to use the medium coarse powder.. for side-dish.. the medium coarse powder works good too.. since you asked me which one I prefer for side-dish..I will say.. fine one.. thanks
Can you please clarify what’s the difference between GoChut GaRu (고춧가루) and GoChu GaRu (고추가루) in your article? I couldn’t help noticing that the 2nd character is different. 😀
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hi Kimchi lover,
it’s same meaning.. just 고춧가루 is right way to write down.. ^^ thanks
Hi Aeris,
i bought the fine gochugaru. is it fine to use it for cooking? it seems like you use the coarse powder for cooking.
hi Michael,
That is Korean brand? If it is, I can say it is fine to use for Korean cooking. Since I’m not familiar with other country hot pepper powder I say this. 🙂 My gochugaru is from Korea. My mother ground it at mill and sent me here, that’s why it is more like coarse powder.
I can never find any red pepper powder “spicy”. All the packages in the markets only show in Korean. What’s “spicy” in Korean character? Can you write it down? So I can finally buy myself some super spicy red pepper powder. Thanks! 🙂
hi Chi Lu,
Depends on brand..they will use different word to describe their red pepper powder is super hot.. so I will give you different words for it.
basically “spicy” is “MaeWon= 매운” in Korean.. but some might use “TaeYangCho= 태양초” ..that is.. extra spicy kind of red pepper they used to make their red pepper powder. thanks
Could you use crushed red pepper instead of red pepper powder? I’m trying your kimchi recipe, but the only things I could find was crushed red pepper and an assorted chili pepper powder (it has chili pepper, orange peel, black and white sesame seed, seaweed, Japanese pepper, and ginger). I am uncertain if this would work at all… 🙁 What would you suggest?
hi Samantha,
Sorry for late reply. I saw your kimchi post..it looked good.. I wonder how it turned out. 🙂
hi Aeri! I’m from Malaysia and I really love to watch your channel. I really love your recipe of napa cabbage kimchi. I wanna try it somedays. However, it’s hard to find korean hot pepper powder here. so can I use other brands produced here instead of using the Korean pepper powder? Will my kimchi taste good? My last question, can I use the normal salt in kimchi preparation? thanks Aeri. Keep making the tasty food. Love from Malaysia. 🙂
hi awan,
Depending on the kind of hot pepper powder, the taste of kimchi can be very different. I already heard from many others who used their own country hot pepper powder and it did’t work well for Korean kimchi.. since I don’t know what kind of hot pepper you are going to you, I can’t tell you the result well..but hopefully it will turn out good. Yes, you can use normal salt too..just make sure adjust the amount… the salt water should be.. salty water.. ^^:;
Hello Aeri. I really love your Youtube channel, Thank you so much for teaching us how to cook Korean food at home. I really love Korean food, especially the spicy ones like 떡볶이, 된장찌개, and 재육 !
hi Kim Dong Ryeong,
You are very welcome. 🙂 I also like all of them you like. lol Thanks for your comment. ^^
hi Aeri 😀
i really love your videos
i just want to know if i can use fine red pepper powder for kimchi it is a korean brand
thank you love you 😀
hi elisa,
Thanks for your message. I’m so happy to hear that you like my videos. hehe.. Yes, you can use that red pepper powder you found for your kimchi. Thanks