Creamy Gochujang Pasta Recipe (고추장 파스타)
Incredibly creamy gochujang pasta with shrimp and bacon. The perfect fusion between Korean and Italian cuisines! This recipe uses authentic Korean ingredients to make an easy and delicious spicy pasta dish.
Ingredients
- 2 cups rigatoni pasta *
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil *
- 1 shallot
- 5 garlic cloves
- 2 slices thick cut bacon (or pork belly) *
- 2 tablespoons gochujang paste (Korean red chili paste)
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes)
- 1 teaspoon seaujeot (fermented shrimp paste) *
- 2 cups shrimp, fresh or frozen *
- 1 cup shiitake mushrooms *
- ½ cup pasta water (reserved from cooking pasta)
- salt, to taste
- pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons parmesan, finely grated
Optional garnish
- 2-3 scallions, cut lengthwise or bias
- chives
- roasted seaweed flakes
Instructions
- Start by preparing the ingredients. Cut the shallots into thin slices, dice or mince the garlic, cut the bacon into thin strips. Cut the shiitake mushrooms into thin slices and devein or defrost the shrimp if needed.
- Separately, cook the pasta al dente or as indicated on the cooking instructions. Add 1 tablespoon of salt per 1 litre of water. After cooking, reserve ½ cup of pasta water.
- In a large pan or skillet, heat up sesame oil over medium heat. Once sizzling, add in the shallots and garlic. Cook for 1-2 minutes until slightly caramelised.
- Add in the bacon strips and fermented shrimp paste and cook for 1-2 minute or until the bacon is half cooked.
- Add in the gochujang paste and combine it with the rest of the ingredients in the pan.
- Pour in the heavy cream and mix to combine it with the gochujang paste. Sprinkle in the gochugaru flakes and mix once more to combine.
- Toss the shrimp into the sauce and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add the shiitake mushroom slices and mix to combine.
- Pour in ½ cup of pasta water to make the sauce creamy and smooth.
- Lastly, add in thec ooked rigatoni pasta and mix well to combine.
- Serve with freshly grated parmesan and optionally scallions, chives or fresh basil.
Notes
- I don’t recommend using olive oil for this recipe, because it has a strong flavour that doesn’t go well with gochujang. Use either sesame oil or sunflower/canola oil.
- Adjust spiciness level to personal taste. 2 tablespoons will make the dish mildly spicy, add more only if you can tolerate hot food.
- Gochugaru should only be added if you can tolerate spicy food. For a mild flavour, only use 1 teaspoon or less.
- Fermented shrimp paste can be left out or replaced with 1 teaspoon of dashi miso paste.
- If using frozen shrimp, allow them to thaw for 30 minutes or place in warm water for 10 minutes.
- You can replace shiitake mushrooms with chestnut mushrooms. Enoki mushrooms can also be used, but only cook them for 1-2 minutes maximum.
- Other types of pasta can be used, as long as the shape can hold sauce. For example penne, conchiglie (shells) or orecchiette are ideal for this recipe.
Nutrition
Calories: 844kcal
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