Guides

Gochujang vs sriracha고추장 · 스리라차

고추장gochujang

Short answer

Gochujang is a thick, fermented chili paste made with grain and soybeans — sweet, savoury and deep. Sriracha is a pourable chili-garlic sauce with sugar and vinegar — bright and tangy. Both are hot, but they don’t swap one for one.

What the US labels say

Two gochujang tubs and the best-known sriracha bottle, side by side. Labels change, so check yours.

	Gochujang CJ bibigo, US tub	Gochujang O’Food (Daesang), US tub	Sriracha Huy Fong, US bottle
What it is	Thick paste	Thick paste	Pourable sauce
Ingredients on the label	Wheat flour, corn syrup, water, hot pepper powder, salt, wheat, alcohol (2% or less, for freshness), defatted soybean powder, wheat koji [1]	Water, tapioca syrup, brown rice, red pepper powder, salt, alcohol (to preserve freshness), garlic, onion, soybean — listings put water or tapioca syrup first [3][4]	Chili, sugar, salt, garlic, vinegar (listed as acetic acid or distilled vinegar), potassium sorbate and sodium bisulfite or metabisulfite as preservatives, xanthan gum [6][7][8]
Allergen statement	Contains wheat, soy [1]	Contains soybean. Listings disagree on wheat; not labelled gluten-free [3][4]	Contains sulfites [7]
Sweetened with	Corn syrup [1]	Tapioca syrup [3]	Sugar [6]
Fermented?	Yes — CJ calls it a fermented chili paste [1][2]	Yes — Daesang’s description says fermented [5]	The label text we found doesn’t say
Sodium per teaspoon	Not on the maker’s page	150 mg per 1 tsp (6 g) [3][4]	70 mg per 1 tsp (5 g) [6][7]

Which to use

Gochujang goes into the cooking: stews, tteokbokki, bibimbap sauce, marinades. It thickens and sweetens as well as adding heat. See our gochujang page for the 1–5 heat grade on Korean tubs.
Sriracha is mostly a finishing sauce: noodles, eggs, burgers, dips.
Want gochujang you can squeeze? bibigo’s Gochujang Sauce (Hot & Sweet) comes in a bottle. It lists wheat and soy, and 45 calories and 230 mg sodium per tablespoon. [9][10]

These are serving ideas, not makers’ directions.

Is gochujang fermented?

Yes. The international Codex standard for gochujang, adopted in 2020, describes it as a red or dark red fermented paste. Korea’s agriculture ministry says the standard recognizes gochujang as a fermented food distinct from chili sauce. [11][12][13]

Questions

Is gochujang fermented?

Yes. The Codex standard for gochujang, adopted in 2020, describes it as a fermented paste, and CJ and Daesang both call their gochujang fermented.

Is sriracha fermented?

Huy Fong’s label text and product descriptions we found don’t call it fermented or say it isn’t. We couldn’t check Huy Fong’s own website.

Can I use sriracha instead of gochujang?

For heat, yes; for the dish, not quite. Sriracha is thinner, tangier and more garlicky. In a sauce, a little sugar or honey and a spoon of doenjang or miso bring it closer to gochujang’s sweet, savoury body. That’s a kitchen tip, not a maker’s recipe.

Which has more sodium?

Per teaspoon, the gochujang we could check has more: O’Food gochujang lists 150 mg per 1 tsp (6 g), Huy Fong sriracha 70 mg per 1 tsp (5 g).

Where to buy

Gochujang on Amazon (US): search results Affiliate link
Huy Fong sriracha on Amazon (US): search results Affiliate link

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. It doesn’t change what we write.

Sources

Checked October 27, 2026.