Korean chili pepper

Not to be confused with Korean pepper.

Korean chili peppers or Korean hot peppers, also known as Korean red,^[1] Korean dark green,^[2] or Korean long green^[3] peppers according to color (ripening stages), are medium-sized chili peppers of the species Capsicum annuum. The chili pepper is long, slender and mild in flavor and spice. Green (unripe) chili peppers measure around 1,500 Scoville heat units.^[4]

Korean chili pepper
Green chili peppers
Species	Capsicum annuum
Origin	Korea
Heat	Low
Scoville scale	1,500 SHU

Names

In Korean, the chili peppers are most often called gochu (고추), which means "chili pepper".^[5] Green ones are called put-gochu (풋고추),^[6] and red ones are called hong-gochu (홍고추).

Introduction to Korea

Scholars claim different origins, stating that the Korea's gochu arrived at the Korean peninsula millions of years ago, having been spread by birds. It states that gochu has evolved for millions of years, therefore, we can infer that Korean gochu existed as a completely different variety.^[7] Proof of this is in documents such as “The Chapter of Dongyi in the Book of Wei, the records of the Three Kingdoms, 三國志魏志東夷傳” (years 233–297, Chen Shou)^[8]

Some other sources claim that Chili peppers, which originated in the Americas, were introduced by Portuguese traders to Korea, via Japan, in the late 16th century.^[9][10][11] The first mention of chili pepper in Korea is found in Collected Essays of Jibong, an encyclopedia published in 1614.^[12][13] Farm Management, a book from around 1700, discussed the cultivation methods of chili peppers.^[14]

The Collected Essays of Jibong or Jibongyuseol 《지봉유설》(芝峰類說) is a 20 volume Joseon era encyclopedia that came out soon after the Imjinwaeran Japanese invasions of Joseon Korea concerning the lives and customs of ancient Koreans with commentary on some foreign affairs of other countries.

The pertinent entry pertaining to a type of introduced chili pepper from Jibongyuseol 《지봉유설》(芝峰類說) 1614:

"Nammancho 남만초(南蠻椒: 고추) has a strong poison. Since it was first introduced from Waeguk (倭國: 일본 Japan), it is also commonly referred to as wae-mustard 왜겨자(일본고추), which has recently become more common to see farms that grow it. A tavern sold it along with soju, and many people lost their lives after consuming it."^[15]

Without that entry, they have no other historic documentation that some type of what was considered severely poisonous pepper or mustard was brought from Japan. In fact, when dug up, historical documents started to emerge from Japan stating the opposite.

‘Yamato Honjo,’ published in 1709, states “It was not in Japan in the old days, but during Hideyoshi conquest of Joseon, he brought seeds from the country. That’s why it’s called the Korai Koshaw [Goryeo gochu].”^[16]

The "namancho" mentioned in the Jibongyuseol is the "southern barbarian" ornamental aji Malagueta Capsicum baccatum pepper brought by the Portuguese, however it is a different species from the Capsicum annuum of Korean gochu. The Japanese never consumed the Portuguese introduced chili peppers but adopted the practice of the Portuguese sailors of using nanbancho "southern barbarian" aji chili peppers inserted into socks as a foot warming agent. ^[17]

Oddly, Japanese attribute bringing the chili pepper from Korea as the origin. A Japanese research paper examining the genetics of the shishito pepper theorizes a Korean origin.

“There is one possibility that the mutation resulting in pun14 occurred in Japan, and two possible theories have been proposed for the introduction of peppers to Japan. The first theory suggests that peppers were introduced to Japan in the 16th century from the Korean peninsula.”^[18]

Culinary use

Korean chili powder
Gochugaru (chili powder)
Korean name
Hangul	고춧가루
Revised Romanization	gochut-garu
McCune–Reischauer	koch'ut-karu

Gochugaru, also known as Korean chili powder,^[19][20] is chili powder or flakes used in Korean cuisine.^[21] The name gochugaru is derived from Korean gochutgaru, where gochu (고추) means 'chili pepper' and garu (가루) means 'powder'.^[22][5][23] In English, gochugaru usually refers to the seedless, Korean variety of chili powder. It has a vibrant red color, the texture may vary from fine powder to flakes, and the heat level from mildly hot to very hot.^[24][25] Traditionally made from sun-dried Korean red chili peppers (태양초, taeyang-cho), gochugaru has a complex flavor profile with spicy, sweet, and slightly smoky tastes.^[24] Gochugaru made from Cheongyang chili peppers is finer and hotter.

Gallery

•  
  Red (ripe) chili peppers
•  
  Green (unripe) chili peppers
•  
  Harvested green chili peppers
•  
  Red chili peppers tied with saekki (straw ropes)
•  
  Dried red chili peppers

See also

• Cheongyang chili pepper

References

1. Kim, Suna; Park, Jaebok; Hwang, In Kyeong (January 2004). "Composition of Main Carotenoids in Korean Red Pepper (Capsicum annuum, L) and Changes of Pigment Stability During the Drying and Storage Process". Journal of Food Science. 69 (1): FCT39–FCT44. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2621.2004.tb17853.x.
2. Newcomb, Karen (2015). The Postage Stamp Vegetable Garden: Grow Tons of Organic Vegetables in Tiny Spaces and Containers. New York: Ten Speed Press. p. 133. ISBN 978-1-60774-683-6. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
3. Reddy, K. Madhavi; Shivashankara, K. S.; Geetha, G. A.; Pavithra, K. C. (2016). "Capsicum (Hot Pepper and Bell Pepper)". In Rao, N. K. Srinivasa; Shivashankara, K. S.; Laxman, R. H. (eds.). Abiotic Stress Physiology of Horticultural Crops. New Delhi: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-81-322-2725-0_9. ISBN 978-81-322-2723-6. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
4. Baek, Sangkyung (16 March 2017). "[Consumer Journal] 辛맛에 빠진 대한민국". Maeil Business Newspaper (in Korean). Retrieved 10 July 2018.
5. "gochu" 고추. Korean–English Learners' Dictionary. National Institute of Korean Language. from the original on 29 August 2018. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
6. "put-gochu" 풋고추. Korean–English Learners' Dictionary. National Institute of Korean Language. from the original on 29 August 2018. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
7. Kwon, Dae Young; Jang, Dai-Ja; Yang, Hye Jeong; Chung, Kyung Rhan (2014-12-01). "History of Korean gochu, gochujang, and kimchi". Journal of Ethnic Foods. 1 (1): 3–7. doi:10.1016/j.jef.2014.11.003. ISSN 2352-6181.
8. Kwon, Dae Young; Jang, Dai-Ja; Yang, Hye Jeong; Chung, Kyung Rhan (2014-12-01). "History of Korean gochu, gochujang, and kimchi". Journal of Ethnic Foods. 1 (1): 3–7. doi:10.1016/j.jef.2014.11.003. ISSN 2352-6181.
9. Guide to Korean Culture: Korea's cultural heritage (2015 ed.). Seoul: Korean Culture and Information Service, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. 2015 [1995]. pp. 131–133. ISBN 9788973755714.
10. Park, Jae Bok (Spring 1999). (PDF). Chile Pepper Institute Newsletter. Vol. 8, no. 1. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 October 2018. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
11. Marianski, Stanley; Marianski, Adam (2012). Sauerkraut, Kimchi, Pickles & Relishes. Seminole, FL: Bookmagic. p. 45. ISBN 9780983697329.
12. Hui, Y. H.; Ghazala, Sue; Graham, Dee M.; Murrell, K. D.; Nip, Wai-Kit, eds. (2004). Handbook of Vegetable Preservation and Processing. New York: Marcel Dekker. pp. 190–191. ISBN 978-0824743017.
13. Yi, Sugwang. Jibong yuseol 지봉유설(芝峯類說) [Topical Discourses of Jibong] (in Korean). Joseon Korea – via Wikisource.
14. Hong, Manseon. [Farm Management] (in Literary Chinese). Joseon Korea. Archived from the original on 2017-03-28 – via DB of Korean classics by ITKC.
15. gochutruth (2021-05-17). "Jibongyuseol Encyclopedia and "Korai Koshaw"". GochuTruth. from the original on 2024-01-23. Retrieved 2024-01-23.
16. "'잃어버린 역사 되찾은 고추'". 통일뉴스 (in Korean). 2009-02-19. from the original on 2024-01-23. Retrieved 2024-01-23.
17. "Aji Pepper used as Japanese Sock Warmers =". WashokuMyth. 2021-05-17. from the original on 2024-01-23. Retrieved 2024-01-23.
18. Kirii, Erasmus; Goto, Tanjuro; Yoshida, Yuichi; Yasuba, Ken-ichiro; Tanaka, Yoshiyuki (2017). "Non-pungency in a Japanese Chili Pepper Landrace (Capsicum annuum) is Caused by a Novel Loss-of-function Pun1 Allele". The Horticulture Journal. 86 (1): 61–69. doi:10.2503/hortj.MI-148. from the original on 2021-05-18. Retrieved 2021-05-18.
19. Collins, Glenn (4 December 2012). "Sandwiches for Sandy Relief". The New York Times. from the original on 26 August 2017. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
20. Khaleeli, Homa (22 October 2013). "A global guide to pickles". The Guardian. from the original on 21 March 2023. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
21. Lamuye, Adebola (7 July 2017). "5 must-try Korean dishes". Evening Standard. from the original on 10 July 2017. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
22. "Gochutgaru" 고춧가루. Korean-English Learners' Dictionary. National Institute of Korean Language. from the original on 26 August 2017. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
23. "Garu" 가루. Korean-English Learners' Dictionary. National Institute of Korean Language. from the original on 26 August 2017. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
24. Smith, Kat (8 March 2017). "Gochugaru: The Hot, Sweet, Smoky Red Pepper Powder That is the Taste Behind Many Korean Foods". One Green Planet. from the original on 3 June 2021. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
25. Ried, Adam (17 February 2017). "Recipes: Korean soups with choose-your-adventure spiciness". The Boston Globe. from the original on 26 August 2017. Retrieved 27 July 2017.