Dadaegi Sauce (다대기)

We put this on EVERYTHING. Dadaegi sauce refers to a chili sauce that goes in soups and mixed noodles. There are many different versions that all carry the same name, but the gist is a spicy, semi-sweet paste made out of red pepper flakes.

What I like about dadaegi is that it adds just the right amount of sweet and heat, and is somehow spicy and refreshing that the same time. We use this sauce on cold noodles mainly, but have found that it goes well in pretty much anything, like mixed in with fried rice and veggies (like bibimbap), or any not-spicy soup that you want to become a spicy soup. A little goes a long way.

Make a bunch and store in the fridge - it's a quick and easy addition to spice up almost any dish.

A few things to note:

The recipe calls for sprite - If you have hard cider, or sprite, it does add a lot. I've even added a bit of lager. For one, it adds liquid which helps everything blend. I'm not sure of the science, but the fizz also adds something. Finally, it adds a bit of sweetness and acidity which help the whole thing come together.

When I'm making this sauce, I usually use a food processor because I'm lazy and don't want to mince everything by hand. A blender would also work, but I find a blender chops things too small and it becomes too watery.

INGREDIENTS:

1 Asian pear (or two apples)

1 medium onion

2 tbs minced garlic

3/4 cups of red pepper flakes (gochugaru)

1/4 cup vinegar

1/4 cup of rice wine / mirin

3 tablespoons of gochujang

2 tablespoons of soy sauce

2 teaspoons of sugar

2 tablespoons of fish sauce

1/4 cup of Sprite (add more sugar if you don't add cider or sprite)

DIRECTIONS:

1) Peal Asian pears and add to food processor with onion, and garlic. I like to quarter the pear and onion first. If you prefer, you can mince yourself.

2) In a medium bowl, combine gochujang, vinegar, mirin, soy sauce, sugar, fish sauce. Mix well with a spoon until everything is combined.

3) Add pear, onion, and garlic mixture to bowl and combine by mixing with spoon.

4) Add in your Sprite, or cider and you're done!

We keep what we don't use in the fridge - It never lasts long, but we've kept it for as long as a month with no problems.

This is an adaptation of a recipe I found on a Korean cooking site