Can I use Ssamjang just as a dipping sauce for vegetables?

Yes. It's excellent as a dipping sauce for raw vegetable sticks like carrots, cucumbers, and paprika. If it's too thick, add a little sesame oil or water to adjust the consistency. It's also good with bibimbap or sliced raw fish (hoe).

← Ingredients

Ingredients

Ssamjang

A Korean-style ssam (wrap) sauce made by mixing doenjang (soybean paste) and gochujang (red chili paste) as a base with minced garlic, green onions, sesame oil, and sesame seeds. It is an essential national dipping sauce for K-BBQ that accompanies meats like Samgyeopsal or Bulgogi when wrapped in lettuce or perilla leaves.

Flavor

It features a salty and rich umami flavor that combines the savory taste of doenjang with the sweet and spicy kick of gochujang, enhanced by the nutty aroma of garlic and sesame oil. It cuts through the richness of fatty meats and balances them out with vegetables.

Brands

Haechandle, Chung Jung One, CJ Haechandle Ssamjang — usually comes in a green container.

Where to buy

In the sauce/paste section of Asian grocery stores like H-Mart, or Amazon.

🛒 Amazon

This site earns commissions from Amazon on purchases made through links on this page.

Substitutes

If you don't have the finished product, you can make it yourself by mixing 2 tablespoons of doenjang, 1 tablespoon of gochujang, and a little bit of minced garlic, minced green onion, sesame oil, and honey. If substituting Japanese miso for doenjang, it will be sweeter, so increase the ratio of gochujang slightly.

Storage

After opening, be sure to keep it airtight and store it in the refrigerator. As it is a fermented paste, it does not spoil easily even if kept for a long time, but covering the surface to prevent it from drying out helps maintain its flavor for longer.

Used in

Samgyeopsal, Bulgogi ssam, Jeyuk-bokkeum ssam, Ssambap, and veggie stick dipping.

FAQ

Q. Can I use Ssamjang just as a dipping sauce for vegetables?
A. Yes. It's excellent as a dipping sauce for raw vegetable sticks like carrots, cucumbers, and paprika. If it's too thick, add a little sesame oil or water to adjust the consistency. It's also good with bibimbap or sliced raw fish (hoe).