Gochujang crispy chickpeas are a sticky, spicy delight   

I love this Korean-style crispy chickpea dish, perfect for a meat-free night.

PREP TIME: 10 mins
COOKING TIME: 35 mins
DIFFICULTY: easy
IDEAL FOR: vegetarian, midweek meal
BUDGET: £

Gochujang

If you don’t have gochujang (pronounced go-CHEW-jang red chilli paste.

Then get some in your cupboard.

It’s a staple in some Asian cookery.

And gives your dishes a wicked sweet, spicy, unique flavour.

You can usually find it in any supermarket.

Otherwise, it’s easy to find online.

Korean-style crispy chickpeas

I found this recipe on Bold Beans website.

It’s straightforward to make and super tasty.

It is packed full of flavour with garlic, ginger, and gochujang paste.

Ingredients

  • 1 jar Queen chickpeas (I use Bold Beans), drained or 2 x 400 g tinned chickpeas
  • 3 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 tbsp gochujang paste
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp runny honey or maple syrup
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 2 tbsp grated ginger
  • 250g cooked white rice, to serve

Sesame cucumber salad

  • 2 cucumbers, sliced
  • 1 large garlic clove, minced
  • 1 red chilli, finely sliced
  • 1½tbsp rice vinegar or white wine vinegar
  • 2 tsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
  2. Cucumber salad: Trim the ends of the cucumbers. Use a rolling oin and gently smash the cucumbers until they split (you’ll get more flavour doing this), then slice into small chunks and put into a sieve set over a bowl.
  3. Sprinkle with a good pinch of salt and toss to coat. Leave to allow some of the cucumber water to release.
  4. Rinse the chickpeas, pat dry and tip into a baking dish. Toss with two tablespoons of oil and season with salt and pepper.
  5. Roast for 25-30 minutes until crispy -toss halfway through.
  6. Tip the cucumber into a salad bowl, then add the rest of the salad ingredients. Combine everything and set aside.
  7. In a saucepan, on medium heat, add the gochujang, soy sauce, honey (or maple syrup), garlic and ginger mix together and bring to gentle simmer – stir constantly for approx.. 2-3 minutes until fully combined and smelling fragrant.
  8. Remove the chickpeas from the oven and stir into the saucepan. Keep stirring and reduce the sauce until it thickens slightly and looks nice and sticky.
  9.  Serve on rice with the cucumber.
Korean-style crispy chickpeas

For more tasty meat-free recipes, visit, here