Creamy Gochujang Pasta

5 from 6 votes

A plate of savory and deliciously creamy gochujang pasta with a thick and umami sauce soooo good you'll want to slurp it up like a soup!

Prep Time3

Cook Time12

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Fusion, korean

Servings: people

Calories: 515kcal

Author: Zen

3.5 oz dried spaghetti Substitute: other types of pasta. You can use 4 oz of spaghetti if you are not adding any side dishes.
Water and salt For cooking the pasta. Save 1 Cup after cooking for the sauce.

2 cloves garlic peel and mince. You can still make this dish without the aromatics, but it won't be as fragrant. Add a bit more of the chicken or seafood stock powder to make up for the lack!
¼ onion preferebaly red, peel and mince. Substitute: shallot
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1 red chili pepper minced, omit if you don't like spice
1 Tablespoon Korean Gochujang Paste You can use 2 if you like it spicier or add some gochugaru flakes
½ Cup heavy cream
½ Cup Pasta water from cooking the pasta
½ teaspoon seafood or chicken stock powder Optional. If you omit it, you may need to season with salt and a bit of sugar.

Cook your pasta as per normal, but for 2-3 minutes less than you usually do. (You want it undercooked so that it will still be al dente after simmering in the creamy sauce later.)
Once done, drain but save 1 Cup of the pasta water to add to the sauce later.

Whilst the pasta is cooking, melt the butter in a pan on medium heat. Next, stir in the onions, garlic and (if using) sliced chilies till soft and fragrant.
Note: remember that the water used to boil pasta should be well-salted: as salty as the sea!
Once the onions are translucent and aromatic, add in the gochujang and stir till well-mixed.
Note: Be careful not to let the garlic burn. If necessary, turn the fire down to low.
Pour in the cream and stir well.
Pour in the pasta water and, if using, the seafood or chicken stock powder.
Note: I find this combination salty enough, as pasta water is pretty salty already. However, do taste to see if you feel there's a need to season further. You can use light soy sauce instead of salt to season, if you wish.
If not spicy enough for you, add in more gochujang, gochugaru powder or sliced chilies.
Add in the pasta, stir and simmer till the pasta is cooked through.
Optional garnish: toasted sesame seeds, small pieces of seaweed, sliced green onions or a sprinkle of gochugaru chili powder.
Serve and enjoy!

You can also add other ingredients such as cherry tomatoes, SPAM or bacon. See the post for details on how to cook with these extras.

Note: the nutritional information is an estimate automatically calculated using the WPRM recipe maker and I am not responsible for its accuracy.