Turn Up The Heat On Homemade Fries With One Korean Seasoning

Homemade fries rank highly as far as comfort food goes. Once you've figured out how to get the perfect recipe down without disappointing results, the next trick is getting the seasonings in order. You will find endless possibilities for leveling up your fries, but if you live life on the spicier side, then a sprinkle of one Korean seasoning may be the key to the perfect batch of fries. Gochugaru, Korea's chili flake or chili powder seasoning, is the secret to tastier and spicier fries that ramps up the heat factor. Gochugaru is a bright red spice that is used to make the chili paste known as gochujang. Both the powder and the paste are often found in soups, stews, kimchi, and more recently, have turned up in the very best plates of fries. 

Gochugaru is packed with flavor because it is made from sun-dried peppers. As far as spice levels go, gochugaru ranges from mild to fiery with a welcome hint of sweetness for those who enjoy spices with depth.  Korean recipes will often distinguish whether the finer version of the spice (powder) or the coarse version (flakes) will be needed. Opting for gochugaru in flake form will add the right amount of texture and versatility that will upgrade your plate of fries. When you toss gochugaru flakes into your fries you enliven the flavors on the plate and add just a hint of crunch. 

For the best results, coat your freshly cooked fries in gochugaru seasoning right away to ensure that the flavors seep into the potatoes. To properly distribute the seasoning, place your fries in a large bowl and mix in about a tablespoon of gochugaru, or as much as your heat tolerance calls for. You can go one step further with your gochugaru-topped fries by layering on the deep and complex spicy flavors with gochujang, gochugaru's chili paste sibling. Gochujang is a tangy, fermented increasingly-popular condiment that contains high amounts of gochugaru. The smoky undertone makes it a perfect seasoning for barbecue-based sauces, as it's commonly used in Korea, and it's great with fries as well. Alternatively, you could combine gochujang with a garlicky homemade aioli sauce – a winning combination that is perfectly creamy.

If you're trying to maximize the flavors of your fries, you can play around with switching up the potatoes as well. Substituting potatoes for crispy sweet potato fries, cassava fries, or other root vegetables will complement the complex flavors of gochugaru and keep things interesting. The sweet, starchy, and nutty flavor of sweet potatoes pairs well with the heat of gochugaru (one Korean dish that proves this is candied sweet potatoes, or goguma mattang, which features gochujang in the recipe). However you top or prepare your fries, a little gochugaru in the mix will take the heat and flavor up a notch.