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This Korean BBQ sauce recipe gives you the sticky, sweet, spicy gochujang glaze from your favorite Korean BBQ spot in 17 minutes, in 1 saucepan, with zero blender action. Brush it on tofu, seitan, eggplant, or anything that's about to hit a grill, and watch it caramelize into a garlicky, lacquered mess you'll want to lick off the tongs.
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Recipe tips tailored to what matters most to you:
Two labels decide this one. Use tamari and not regular soy sauce, then check your gochujang, since plenty of brands thicken it with wheat flour. I use Trader Joe's since theirs is GF.
Using it as a marinade? Leave the cornstarch out. Thinner sauce soaks in better and you skip the slurry entirely. The whole thing takes under 17 minutes anyway.
This recipe gives you 1 ¼ cups of sauce for about 4 bucks, which stomps any bottled version. Don't want to buy gochujang and gochugaru? Sriracha and red pepper flakes cover it.
Coconut sugar swaps one for one in place of the refined stuff. Cut back on the oil if you need to. It's fine.
Easy-to-find sriracha subs for gochujang, it's just thinner. Gochugaru can be swapped out with crushed red pepper flakes (hotter, seedier) or hot paprika.
When sautéing the garlic and ginger in sesame oil, make sure it doesn't burn. Burnt garlic turns the sauce bitter. Keep the heat at medium and stir constantly.
The amount of gochujang or sriracha can be tweaked to your spice level. Start with less if you're unsure, and add more gradually until it suits your taste.
Before adding the cornstarch mixture to the sauce, make sure it's fully dissolved in water to avoid any lumps.
Oodles more tips, step-by-step recipe photos, info on weird ingredients, and FAQs are all still here. I just tucked 'em out of the way so you can start cooking sooner.
There's a jar of this sauce in my fridge at all times, and it vanishes faster than anything else in there. I brush it on crispy fried seitan, drizzle it over kimchi fried rice, and toss it with noodles like pad woon sen and mie goreng.
Scallion, garlic, and ginger sizzle in toasted sesame oil, then tamari, gochujang, brown sugar, and rice vinegar build a dark, sticky base. A quick cornstarch slurry turns it from a thin marinade into a glaze that actually clings to your food instead of puddling on the plate.
Grab your grill brush. Let's make some sauce.
Quick easy and super flavorful! Sweet salty heat meld together in a delicious sauce. I sautéd air fried tofu in some and served on crunchy bean sprouts, it was delicious!
Jump to:
- Recipe tips tailored to what matters most to you:
- Why you'll adore this gochujang BBQ sauce
- Korean BBQ sauce ingredients
- Korean BBQ sauce variations
- How to make Korean BBQ sauce
- Serving ideas
- Top tips
- Recipe FAQs
- You'll also love these saucy vegan recipes:
- Korean BBQ Sauce Recipe (Gochujang Barbecue Marinade)
Why you'll adore this gochujang BBQ sauce
🕰️Ready in 17 Minutes: One saucepan, one whisk, no blender. You'll be brushing it on stuff before the grill is even hot.
✊Vegan AF & GF: Not a single cow had to get grilled for this one, and like all my vegan sauce recipes, it's 100% plants. It's also one of my gluten-free vegan recipes, as long as you use tamari and a wheat-free gochujang.
🔥Glaze or Marinade: Keep the cornstarch in for a sticky glaze, or leave it out and you've got a thin marinade that soaks right into tofu and veggies.
Tested and Approved Worldwide: Like all my vegan recipes, this one went through my crew of over 1,000 recipe testers, including testers in Korea, who were not about to let me off easy.
I'm on my knees staring weirdly into your eyes, asking you in a soothing voice to be my taste-testing partner in crime. Sign up for the recipe testing crew and get early access to new recipes before they're published.
Korean BBQ sauce ingredients
Gochujang
Gochujang is a fermented Korean chili paste, and it's the backbone of this sauce: sweet, spicy, and funky in the best way. Any Korean grocery store has a whole wall of it. Out of gochujang? Homemade nam prik pao or sriracha can stand in, though the sauce comes out a little thinner.
Brown sugar
Brown sugar is what makes this sauce sticky and lets it caramelize on the grill. Coconut sugar swaps in measure for measure if you'd rather skip cane sugar.
Tamari
Tamari brings the deep, salty, savory backbone, and it's usually wheat-free, which keeps this sauce gluten-free. Korean soy sauce, dark soy sauce, or nama shoyu all work too, but most of them contain wheat.
Gochugaru
Gochugaru, Korean chili flakes, adds a fruity, slightly smoky heat. I use unsalted, coarse-grade gochugaru, the same stuff that goes into my vegan kimchi. No gochugaru? Crushed red pepper flakes work but run hotter, and smoked paprika makes a milder, smokier sauce.
Rice vinegar
Rice vinegar cuts through all that sugar and salt so the sauce doesn't taste like syrup. Rice wine vinegar is basically the same thing, and apple cider vinegar works in a pinch.
*See the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact quantities, nutritional info, and detailed cooking directions.
Korean BBQ sauce variations
Bulgogi sauce
Bulgogi sauce runs a little fruitier. Grate in some fresh nashi pear (or stir in a spoonful of applesauce), then go to town on my seitan bulgogi.
Hoisin-ginger BBQ sauce
Stir in 2 tablespoons of hoisin sauce, a teaspoon of freshly grated ginger, and a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds. The cooked ginger already in the sauce plays mellow, and the raw ginger brings the bite.
Smoked chili BBQ sauce
Add a big spoonful of minced chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. I used this version ALL THE TIME on my food truck, with an extra splash of toasted sesame oil to drive that smoky flavor into everything it touched.
How to make Korean BBQ sauce
This is a 6-step, 17-minute situation, and the only way to screw it up is by burning the garlic. The step photos are below, and the printable version lives in the recipe card.
Step One
Mince Upon a Time:
Mince the garlic and grate the ginger. A microplane gets the ginger extra fine, but a knife or a box grater works too.
Step Two
Sauté Night Fever:
Warm the toasted sesame oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the ginger, garlic, and minced scallion and sauté for 2 minutes, until fragrant, without letting the garlic brown.
Making bulgogi sauce? Add a few tablespoons of grated Korean pear at this point.
Step Three
Seoul Food:
Add the tamari, brown sugar, rice vinegar, gochujang, and gochugaru. Use more or less gochujang depending on how much heat you can handle.
Step Four
Slurry Up and Wait:
In a small bowl, whisk the water and cornstarch together until smooth.
Step Five
Thick as Thieves:
Once the sauce comes to a boil, whisk in the slurry. Keep cooking over medium heat for a few minutes, until the sauce thickens.
Step Six
Cool Your Jets:
Take the sauce off the heat and let it cool slightly. The flavors keep getting deeper as it sits.
Serving ideas
Brush this sauce on tofu, Chinese eggplant, king oyster mushrooms, or bok choy, then throw them on a charcoal or gas grill until the edges blister and caramelize. Pile everything over tom yum fried rice or khao pad and call it dinner.
It's also a sticky, ridiculous glaze for vegan fried chicken wings and tofu katsu, and a quick stir-fry sauce for bihun goreng. For something crunchy and sharp on the side, add a little dish of yamagobo.
Top tips
- Babysit the Garlic: Burnt garlic makes the whole batch bitter. Keep the heat at medium, use a heavy-bottomed saucepan, and keep stirring.
- Skip the Cornstarch for Marinades: Marinating tofu, seitan, or veggies? Leave the slurry out. The thinner sauce soaks in way better, overnight if you've got the time.
- Taste Your Gochujang First: Brands range from mild to face-melting. Start with less, taste, and add more until it bites back just enough.
Recipe FAQs
It is, as long as you use tamari and a gochujang made without wheat. Check the label, because plenty of gochujang brands contain wheat or barley.
Yes. Leave out the cornstarch slurry, then marinate tofu, seitan, or veggies in it for a few hours or overnight before grilling.
American BBQ sauce is usually tomato-based and smoky. Korean BBQ sauce is built on soy sauce, gochujang, garlic, ginger, and sesame, so it's saltier, spicier, and stickier, with way more savory depth.
Korean BBQ (gogi-gui) is the tradition of grilling at the table, and it exploded in South Korean restaurants after the Korean War, once tabletop grills turned dinner into a group activity. This sauce brings that sticky, smoky glaze to plants instead of short ribs.
🧊 In the Fridge: Keep it in an airtight container for up to 1 week, and give it a stir before using, since it can separate a little.
❄️ In the Freezer: Skip it. Freezing messes with the texture.
You'll also love these saucy vegan recipes:
Korean BBQ Sauce Recipe (Gochujang Barbecue Marinade)
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 scallion minced
- ⅔ cup tamari or other soy sauce of your preference
- ½ cup light brown sugar or coconut sugar
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons gochujang or sriracha
- 2 teaspoons gochugaru Korean chili flakes, or crushed red pepper flakes
- ¼ cup water
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
Instructions
- In a saucepan over medium heat, warm the toasted sesame oil. Add the freshly grated ginger, minced garlic, and minced scallion. Sauté for two minutes until fragrant, being careful not to burn the garlic.
- Add the in the tamari, sugar, rice vinegar, gochujang (or sriracha), and gochugaru (or crushed red pepper flakes). These ingredients contribute to the sauce's distinctive Korean BBQ flavor. Adjust the quantity of gochujang or sriracha according to your desired level of spiciness.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the water and cornstarch until smooth. This mixture will act as a thickening agent for the sauce.
- Once the sauce on the stove has come to a boil, pour the water-cornstarch mixture into the saucepan and stir well with a whisk. Continue cooking over medium heat until the sauce thickens to your desired consistency, usually a few minutes.
- Once the sauce has thickened, remove it from the heat and let it cool slightly. The flavors will continue to develop as the sauce cools.
Notes
Cooking Tips:
- To intensify the flavors, you can marinate your choice of protein or vegetables in a portion of the sauce for a few hours or overnight before grilling or cooking. If you intend to use this sauce as a marinade only, leave the cornstarch out. The thinner consistency allows the marinade to be more easily absorbed by vegetables or proteins.
- If you prefer a smoother sauce, you can strain it through a fine-mesh sieve to remove any ginger or garlic bits.
- Feel free to adjust the sweetness or spiciness of the sauce to your taste by adding more or less brown sugar or gochujang/sriracha.
- Store the sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week. Before using, give it a good stir as some separation may occur. Avoid freezing the sauce, as the texture and consistency may be affected.
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Jo says
Absolutely delicious ! Huge hit with the fam
Nick Harris says
with some tweaks we are entering this sauce in Memphis the World BBQ championship in less than 8hrs.
Thank you Adam Sobel for the direction!
Adam Sobel says
That's super exciting! Please let me know how that works out for ya ❤️
Stephanie says
This sauce is delicious and everything I hoped it would be. I did have to turn up the heat slightly and wait for it to come back to a boil after adding the thickening mixture in order for it to come to the desired thickness a few minutes afterwards, but that was just a thing on my part, I think. This recipe is so good and I’ve definitely saved it as a favorite. The spice level is perfect for me as is, not too spicy, just the slightest kick, but I also can’t handle spice too well, so if you want it spicier, I recommend just adding more of the two ingredients which make it spicy, as the recipe already mentions.
I made a double recipe for use on other things later and to give my roommates a sample. I’m sure they’ll love it too.
Adam Sobel says
I am so glad you fell in love with this one! Thanks for your kind words. The insight you shared about its spice level is probably really helpful to other readers too. ❤️
IR says
I’ve been looking for a recipe of Korean bbq sauce for so long, none seemed to be close to the real thing. I just made this one and oooooooh wow!!! Delicious and on point, in my opinion. Everyone loved dinner tonight ☺️
Thank you for sharing
Adam Sobel says
So glad you and your fam loved it!
Jasmine says
Can I use this to braise meat?
Adam Sobel says
I can't stop you from that. But as a vegan writer, harming animals is not something I really support.
Cheryl says
Quick easy and super flavorful! Sweet salty heat meld together in a delicious sauce. I sautéd air fried tofu in some and served on crunchy bean sprouts, it was delicious!