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    Home » Vegetables

    Asparagus with Gochujang Sauce

    Published 03/22/2015. Updated 03/13/2021

    Jump to Recipe

    A quick and easy Korean side dish (banchan) made with asparagus and gochujang (Korean red chili pepper paste).

    DSC 0815 - Asparagus with Gochujang Sauce

    Here’s a quick and easy Korean side dish you can make with spring asparagus. Simply blanch (or steam) the asparagus and dress with a sweet and vinegary gochujang (Korean red chili pepper paste) sauce, called cho-gochujang (초고추장). Cho is a short form of sikcho, which is vinegar. 

    Dishes seasoned with a vinegary sauce is often called cho muchim, so you can call this dish “asparagus cho muchim” or simply “asparagus muchim”.

    You can also serve the gochujang sauce on the side as a dip along with blanched/steamed asparagus or other vegetables like blanched/steamed broccoli. Soaked miyeok (aka wakame) is excellent with this sauce as well. 

    Cho-gochujang is also popular as a dipping sauce for and seafood such as squid and raw fish (saengseon hwe, 생선회).

    Everyone makes the sauce a little differently, but the key ingredients are gochujang, vinegar, and sugar (or corn syrup). Adjust the amount of vinegar and/or sugar to your taste.

    If you like sweet and vinegary gochujang sauce, you may also like my Saewu ganghwe (spring onion tied shrimp and asparagus) and Ojingeo muchim (spicy squid salad). 

    DSC 0733 1 - Asparagus with Gochujang Sauce

    For more Korean cooking inspirations, follow along on YouTube, Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

    DSC 0733 1 e1651347035125 300x300 - Asparagus with Gochujang Sauce

    Asparagus with Gochujang Sauce

    4.24 from 51 votes
    Servings: 4
    Print Recipe

    Ingredients

    • 1 pound asparagus
    • 1 tablespoon salt

    Sweet and sour gochujang sauce (Cho-gochujang)

    • 2 tablespoons gochujang Korean red chili pepper paste
    • 2 tablespoons vinegar - more if you like
    • 1 tablespoon sugar - more if you like
    • 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
    • 1 teaspoon sesame oil
    • 1/2 teaspoon sesame seeds

    Instructions

    • Remove the tough ends of the asparagus. Cut into about 2-inch lengths.
      DSC 07331 e1427081463868 - Asparagus with Gochujang Sauce
    • Blanch the asparagus in salted boiling water until softened, about 1 to 3 minutes depending on the thickness. Remove with a strainer, and shock in icy cold water. Drain very well.
      DSC 0756 e1427081585727 - Asparagus with Gochujang Sauce
    • Mix the sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Pour over the asparagus, and toss well to mix.
      DSC 0765 e1427081697975 - Asparagus with Gochujang Sauce
    Tried this recipe?Mention @koreanbapsang or tag #koreanbapsang!

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Carol Mcbride says

      January 23, 2024 at 8:50 am

      Do you have to cook the sauce 😗

      Reply
      • Hyosun says

        January 25, 2024 at 4:05 pm

        No, not for this sauce.

        Reply
    2. Mitch says

      March 22, 2022 at 4:30 pm

      5 stars
      Comes together lightning fast. Used rice vinager. Absolutely my new favorite way to eat asparagus.

      Reply
    3. Stella says

      September 08, 2020 at 4:45 pm

      5 stars
      Loved this! Spicy and flavorful. Very delicious 🙂

      Reply
    4. Justin says

      March 28, 2020 at 4:48 pm

      5 stars
      I have bought cho-gochujang as a prepared sauce, but now I’m very happy to be able to make it by myself. I love it on lightly cooked vegetables such as asparagus and broccoli.

      Reply
    5. Joanna says

      January 03, 2020 at 1:22 am

      can you store the asparagus? for how long?

      Reply
      • Hyosun says

        January 05, 2020 at 11:22 pm

        Blanched asparagus should be okay for 4 to 5 days.

        Reply
    6. SAndy Brown says

      March 12, 2019 at 5:14 pm

      Made this for my Korean mother and she loved it. Thank you!

      Reply
      • Hyosun says

        March 16, 2019 at 12:40 am

        Happy to hear that! Another Korean mom approved!

        Reply
    7. Dave says

      February 05, 2019 at 2:42 pm

      Wonderful recipe! Thank you for sharing.

      Reply
    8. Andreas says

      June 04, 2015 at 5:00 pm

      At this time of the year It’s “Spargel” Season in Germany again ….
      and I just love this recipie. Although I substitute the sugar by honey.
      In my opinion rice vinegar is the way to go (I get the vietnamese one here, don’t know if there are any differences) the destilled one is much stronger – at least to my taste.

      Reply
      • Hyosun says

        June 08, 2015 at 11:25 pm

        Oh that’s the German name for Asparagus? I learned something new today. Yeah I prefer rice vinegar in most of my recipes. Thanks for coming by and for the feedback!

        Reply
        • Tony says

          August 31, 2017 at 9:00 pm

          Hi Hyosun, I haven’t made this yet but I had some Korean style green beans the other night day and was wondering if this sauce would work with them.

          On a side note have you ever heard of milk powder cookies? I found a recipe in Korean on YouTube that I took a bunch of screenshots of and had them translated. They were incredible. They seemed very French to me. Very light and flakey.

          Reply
          • Hyosun says

            August 31, 2017 at 9:43 pm

            Hi Tony – Yes it will. But, what you tried probably is braised in a sauce. It can be done mild or spicy. No I haven’t heard of milk powder cookies, but they sound so good!

            Reply
            • Tony says

              August 31, 2017 at 10:16 pm

              https://youtu.be/T7_vQkmLcCU

              Here is the link

    9. marti says

      March 31, 2015 at 5:03 pm

      Hi Hyosu n…just tried this dish last night, and we looooved it!! Another definite keeper! Thank you for creating this wonderful food blog on Korean cooking.

      Reply
    10. Ginger and Scotch says

      March 24, 2015 at 3:37 am

      Made this recipe today – delish!

      Reply
      • Hyosun says

        March 25, 2015 at 7:41 am

        Awesome! Thanks for letting me know.

        Reply
    11. Tim says

      March 23, 2015 at 11:39 pm

      ‘Twas delicious.. thank you for the recipe! Finally I can make some good chojang!! 😀

      Reply
      • Hyosun says

        March 23, 2015 at 11:44 pm

        Wow that was fast! Happy to hear that, and thanks for taking the time to let me know. Cheers!

        Reply
    12. Jerry says

      March 23, 2015 at 10:54 pm

      is it rice vinegar or regular distilled vinegar.

      Reply
      • Hyosun says

        March 23, 2015 at 11:30 pm

        Either one is fine. I used rice vinegar. Enjoy!

        Reply
    13. Nathalie says

      March 23, 2015 at 7:05 pm

      This look very good! I note the recipe, I’m gonna try this for sure! ☺

      Reply
      • Hyosun says

        March 23, 2015 at 10:03 pm

        Thank you, Nathalie! Enjoy!

        Reply
    4.24 from 51 votes (48 ratings without comment)

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    Hi! I'm Hyosun, and I am a Korean-American mom of two wonderful grown-up children. Here, you will learn how to cook Korean dishes the way we Koreans traditionally eat at home. Read More...

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