i have been doing some light experimentation this winter with miso and gochujang and i can tell you now they are two of the best substances on this green earth. a quick list of ways i have used them so far:
spoonful of each in the broth where you cook the ramen (big for miso, small for gochujang), along with half the flavor packet and a 7-minute hard boiled egg
teeny tiny amount of gochujang (like, 1/4tsp per cup max) in hot chocolate to add richness, depth, and spice
miso in the water where you cook the red lentils, combined with a can of butternut squash soup and a can of coconut milk, big heaping spoonful of gochujang for warmth and heat
2tbsp brown sugar, 1tbsp melted butter, 1tbsp gochujang; mixture swirled into sugar cookie dough (this is from a nyt cooking recipe by eric kim) or whatever other baked goods could benefit from a little kick.
pal of mine mentioned maple syrup + gochujang as a condiment, which would be spectacular on many roasted veggies (carrots, brussels sprouts, potatoes, beets, etc), or as a ham glaze, or on fried chicken (fried chicken & cornmeal waffles with maple-gochujang sounds completely incredible)
my budget is tighter than usual this winter and i can tell you that having gochujang and miso to play with is really bringing joy to what would otherwise be a season of mac & cheese, ramen, very basic soups, etc.
update 1:
wherever a recipe has 1tsp sugar and red pepper flakes, substitute gochujang (which is just crushed chili pepper and rice sugar plus fermentation agents) for both. eg pasta sauces, pizza sauces, etc
