Ssamjang is a Korean sauce for eating uncooked vegetables.
There are people who say it is a Korean barbecue source, which is wrong information.
Meaning of the word Ssamjang
Ssamjang is a word that combines Ssam and Jang.
Ssam is
It talks about wrapping other foods with vegetables.
When eating vegetables with wide leaves, put other food on top of these wide leaves and wrap them with leaves.
Jang is
Jang is simply a sauce.
However, the difference from regular sauce is that it is a fermented sauce.
It will be easy to understand if you think of Gochujang(Korean red pepper paste) and Doenjang(Korean soybean paste).
What is Ssamjang
As mentioned above, ssamjang is a sauce for eating uncooked vegetables.
When we wrap it with vegetables with wide leaves (lettuce, perilla leaves, etc.), we wrap it with ssamjang.
Or dip cucumbers, peppers, onions, etc. in ssamjang when we just eat them.
In other words, it is a sauce to add to the taste of vegetables.
Ssamjang does not specifically cook or ferment.
If you mix Gochujang and Doenjang, it is ssamjang.
In order to further enhance the taste, various ingredients such as Chamgireum, garlic, and onion are also added.
If Gochujang and Doenjang itself taste good, just mixing Gochujang and Doenjang makes it a great taste of ssamjang.
It’s the best if you add sesame oil to add flavor.
If Gochujang and Doenjang itself taste not good, add several things.
Since ssamjang is a mixture of Gochujang and Doenjang, you can feel the salty, sweet, and savory taste.
Because of these various tastes of ssamjang, it tastes good just with steamed rice and ssamjang.
It is a highly utilized sauce.
How to made Ssamjang
One Spoon of Gochujang
One Spoon of Doenjang
One Spoon of Chamgireum
And mix it well.
Then it’s ssamjang.
The ratio of Gochujang and Doenjang varies depending on the maker.
The ratio varies depending on the taste of Gochujang and Doenjang, and Chamgireum can also be added depending on the taste.
If you think it lacks taste, slice garlic or red pepper and add it.
Ssamjang, Korean Barbeque Sauce?
Koreans’ favorite pork, especially Samgyeopsal, is grilled without seasoning.
Grill Moksal or Hangjeongsal without seasoning.
This grilled pork meat goes so well with ssamjang.
As Koreans’ eating habits change, the number of times they eat ssamjang to eat pork meat is increasing rather than the number of times they eat ssamjang to eat vegetables.
In particular, the frequency of young people eating vegetables is decreasing.
That’s why ssamjang is known as a Korean barbecue sauce.
But as mentioned above, ssamjang is a sauce for eating uncooked vegetables.
Middle-aged and elderly people in Korea eat ssamjang when eating vegetables.
Ssamjang for foreigners
Gochujang(Red pepper paste) is the main ingredient, so it can be spicy.
If you have visited Korea, you can easily access ssamjang at a Gogigip(meat restaurant).
Usually, the sauce next to sliced galic is ssamjang.
Overseas, you can buy ssamjang through Internet shopping malls.
I recommend you to buy it once and taste it.
If you grilled pork without seasoning, I recommend you to dip it in ssamjang.
