CHAMCHAM - Green Chilli Ssamjang | Korean BBQ Dipping Paste | 265g

The one that steals the show at Korean BBQ

Ssamjang is the paste that lives in the middle of every Korean BBQ table — the one you smear inside a lettuce wrap before the pork belly goes in. Most of it is fine. Fine is the problem.

ChamCham's founders took their own jar of this to BBQ joints across Korea and kept ending up in the same situation: the house ssamjang sat untouched while theirs got passed around the table. That's not marketing, that's just what happens when a chef with nineteen years' experience ferments the soybean paste properly and then throws green chilli at it.

The flavour

Chunky and alive. First hit is deep fermented soybean — savoury, earthy, that proper doenjang backbone. Then it brightens hard: lemon, a lick of vinegar, sesame oil coming through warm and nutty. Green chilli arrives last and stays a while, grassy and sharp rather than blunt. Umami so thick you could stand a spoon in it.

Perfect on

Steak — one reviewer ditched their mustard for it and never went back. Korean BBQ meats and lettuce wraps, obviously. Roast pork. Beef short ribs. Lamb cutlets. Baked barramundi. Bibimbap. Eggs on toast. A tuna melt. Stirred through ramen. Roast veg that needs a personality. It also marinates lamb beautifully and adds depth to a stew without bullying it.

In the jar

Khaki-brown flecked with green chilli and sesame, properly chunky — this is a spoon-and-spread situation, not a pour. Thick, textured, a bit rustic. Heat sits around 6/10: medium-high, a clean green burn that climbs.

Why it's on our shelf

This is the ChamCham sleeper hit and the one our team fights over. It's the rare condiment that makes an expensive steak better and makes cheese on toast worth eating. Handmade in Port Melbourne, no shortcuts.

See the full range at ChamCham Sauce.

Ingredients: Korean soybean paste [water, soybean, salt, wheat flour, alcohol, koji starter], green chilli, red pepper paste [corn syrup, red pepper powder, water, salt, onion, garlic, soybean powder, glutinous rice, soybean], vinegar (sulphites), soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger, spring onion, sesame seeds, strawberry, citric acid, lemon juice, fruit pectin, sugar, L-glutamine sodium salt.

Allergens: Contains sulphites, soybean, wheat and sesame. Manufactured on equipment that also processes products containing eggs, nuts, milk, shellfish and fish.

Dietary: Vegan and nut-free (brand-stated) — always check the physical label.

Heat: Medium to high (6/10)

Size: 265g

Origin: Handmade in Melbourne, Australia.

Ingredients and allergen information can change — always check the physical label before eating.

The Rub Smuggler's Verdict

This is the paste that steals the show at Korean BBQ: fermented soybean depth, a lemon lift and green chilli that hangs around. Grill pork belly dusted with Smokes Seasoning Asian Spice BBQ Rub, wrap it in lettuce with a smear of this, and add a drizzle of Proud Phoenix & Co Mild Chilli Crisp Oil. One wrap leads to twelve. Nobody's counting.