Kimchi paste substitutes

The real thing, five ingredients, and genuinely faster than going to the shop.

Best for

kimchi fried rice, kimchi jjigae and stews, quick cucumber or radish kimchi eaten the same day, marinades for pork and chicken, stir-fry sauces

Stir it into a paste and let it sit ten minutes so the gochugaru hydrates and turns glossy and deep red rather than dusty. This tastes brighter and sharper than a jarred kimchi base, which has usually been sitting long enough to mellow, and it will not have the slight sourness that comes from a fermented commercial paste. Add a teaspoon of rice vinegar if the dish wants that tang. For a vegan version, use 1 tablespoon soy sauce plus a small piece of rehydrated dried shiitake blended in, and expect it less deeply savoury.

The most likely thing to already be in your fridge, and workable once you correct for the sugar.

Best for

kimchi fried rice, stir-fries and noodle sauces, marinades, spicy soups

Gochujang is fermented chilli-and-soybean paste with a noticeable amount of sugar and glutinous rice in it, so it is thicker, stickier, sweeter and considerably less garlicky than kimchi paste, and it lacks any seafood note. A fried rice made with straight gochujang tastes rounder, sweeter and less pungent, and it can catch and caramelise in the pan where kimchi paste would not. The garlic and vinegar are the two additions that actually matter. A teaspoon of fish sauce closes the umami gap if you have it.

The stripped-down version when you have the Korean chilli flakes but nothing else.

Best for

seasoning kimchi fried rice at the end, soups and stews, dressing blanched vegetables, topping tofu or eggs

This hits the three loudest notes, which are chilli, salt and garlic, and skips the sugar and the ginger. The result is sharper, leaner and less rounded than proper kimchi paste, and without the sugar it can taste slightly harsh on its own, though that matters much less once it is in a hot pan with rice or pork. Gochugaru is essential here: ordinary crushed red pepper is far hotter and lacks the fruity, mildly smoky character, so use half as much if that is all you have and accept a duller red colour.

Backwards but effective, since finished kimchi contains everything the paste contained plus sourness.

Best for

kimchi jjigae, fried rice, pancakes and jeon, braises and stews

Chop it very fine or blitz it so it melts into the dish rather than sitting in shreds. Because the kimchi has fermented, this brings a distinct lactic sourness the fresh paste does not have, which is an improvement in a stew and a distraction in a marinade. It also adds cabbage bulk and liquid, so reduce other liquid slightly and expect a looser result. The older and more sour the kimchi, the better this works for cooking.

Wrong cuisine, right structure, and closer than you would expect once seasoned.

Best for

stir-fries, fried rice, marinades, when the pantry has Southeast Asian rather than Korean staples

Sambal oelek is a coarse fresh chilli mash with vinegar and salt, so it brings heat and acid but nothing sweet, no garlic and no ginger. Seasoned as above it lands in roughly the right place, though it stays hotter and sharper than kimchi paste, with a raw fresh-chilli bite instead of gochugaru's mellow fruitiness, and a brighter orange-red colour rather than deep brick. Cut the amount by a third if you are heat-sensitive, since sambal oelek is meaningfully hotter than gochugaru.

The least-good option, and worth knowing precisely how it falls short.

Best for

an emergency fried rice, a quick dipping sauce, nothing where the Korean character is the point

Sriracha gives you red colour, moderate heat, garlic and sugar, and that is where it stops. It has no fermented seafood depth, no ginger and none of gochugaru's particular fruity warmth, so a dish made with it tastes thin, sweet and generically spicy rather than savoury and pungent. It is also much more liquid, so it will not cling. If you have even a teaspoon of fish sauce or soy sauce, add it, because the missing umami is the biggest single gap.