This sauce is sweet, a little spicy, and oh, so nutty!

Ssam sauce is a flavorful marinade for chicken, steak, pork, or tofu. I make this sauce in bulk and keep it stored in the fridge. It’s a quick marinade for any protein and tastes great in any stir fry. It’s pretty much good on anything!

The caramel burnt orange color comes from a mixture of gochujang and doenjang, both of which are used in making Ssamjang. Are you still following me?? Yeah, that’s a lot of jang for one sentence. So, let’s rewind. I’ve used gochujang in my gochujang caramel corn and most recently in my gochujang aioli so you’re pretty familiar with it. Doenjang is another commonly used Korean condiment that is made from fermented soybeans. It’s thick and pasty in texture and salty and almost nutty in flavor.

Ssamjang is a paste made from combining gochujang and doenjang. It’s always served with Ssam, a popular Korean meal where leafy lettuce is wrapped around rice and bite sized meats and topped off with Ssamjang. This was the inspiration behind this sauce. I wanted to boost up the flavor and thin out the texture to make it easy to pour on anything!

The secret flavor boost ingredient??? Wait for it…Roasted garlic! It doesn’t take long and it really adds a richness that raw garlic cannot. Plus, any leftover can be used as a garlic-y spread for bread or as a yummy addition to a tomato sauce. No garlic will ever be wasted….just have an altoid nearby!

I use this Ssam sauce in future recipes so I wanted it to take centerstage today. It’s a wonderful sauce to have on hand. It’s sweet and nutty and slightly spicy. Combine 5 ingredients in a food processor and voila, Ssam sauce! Make it, taste it, love it!