I'm interested in trying out a few Turkish recipes that call for red pepper paste (biber salçası). This is the only ingredient I can't seem to find at any local stores.
Are there any good substitutes for this? I would imagine gochujang is probably not a good fit (it's too sweet) and that other pepper sauces (sriracha, tabasco, etc.) probably have the wrong flavor profiles.
If you're wanting to make some different Turkish foods, I'd hazard a guess you enjoy cooking, so why not make your own? I found a recipe classed as 'Easy', taking 1 hour to prepare and 50 minutes to cook. I read it has the consistency of tomato paste (contains no tomatoes) and looks to be from the photo.
Among the list of ingredients is bullhorn peppers. Perhaps a local name but when I looked up what they were, they looked exactly like Hungarian sweet peppers. The name 'bullhorn' comes from their shape as they curve and taper to a point like horns. Here's a photo: 
Give it a try! If you really enjoy the Turkish recipes you make, you'll likely want to make them again so having some biber salçası around will come in handy. http://www.sbs.com.au/food/recipes/pepper-paste-biber-salcasi
As a substitute, you could use red pepper flakes and soy sauce. This is basically gochujang without adding the sugar. The flavor profile will be a bit different but you'll still get some of that heat + umami.
You can also pick up some of what you are looking for on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Tamek-Pepper-Paste-Biber-Salcasi/dp/B005WKG4JY
Lastly, you could make some yourself!
