Can I make this in advance?

You can, but keep in mind that the pasta will keep absorbing the liquid as it sits so add a little water to the pasta when you’re heating it up. Heat it in the microwave for a couple of minutes, stirring a couple of times throughout, or on the stovetop.

I don't like a lot of spice - how spicy is this?

The pasta is medium in terms of heat - gochujang is a spicy paste, but if you’re worried about it, you can reduce the quantity. Try using half or 1 tablespoon of the gochujang, rather than 2. You can also add more cream, parmesan and sweet chilli to balance out the spice if you find it’s a little too hot at the end.

What pasta shape is the best to use?

I’ve used fresh orecchiette pasta here, but you can use whatever you have. Penne, rigatoni, and fusilli would all be lovely, and so would spaghetti or fettuccine. So really anything you have to hand!

I’d recommend just freezing the sauce, and then cooking the pasta when you want to defrost it. Pasta sitting in sauce doesn’t freeze very well (it tends to get quite gluggy). Follow the steps for the recipe, just skip adding the pasta water and add that when you cook the pasta when you’re ready to serve. You can defrost the sauce directly in a pan over medium heat, or overnight in the fridge.

What can I serve with the pasta?

You could up the protein content with some grilled tofu, shrimp or chicken , or add some grilled broccoli, broccolini, bok choi or green beans on the side. I’ll often stir some spinach leaves or kale into the sauce at the end, just to up the veggie content.

Creamy Gochujang Pasta

Name: Creamy Gochujang Pasta
Prep time: 3 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 15 min
Cuisine: italian
Ingredients: 1.5 tablespoons salt; 2 tablespoons olive oil; 4 garlic cloves, crushed; 2 tablespoon gochujang paste; 3/4 cup single cream (or crème fraiche, sour cream or vegan alternative); 1 cup parmesan, finely grated; 14oz/400g pasta of your choice (orecchiette, rigatoni, spaghetti, fettuccine are great); 1 lime, juiced (or use lemon or 1 tablespoon of bottled lemon juice); 1 tablespoon sweet chilli jam (or use honey or maple syrup); 1/2 cup coriander (cilantro) leaves, chopped; 3 scallions (spring onions), 2 chopped, 1 sliced into thin strips and popped into a glass of water (this will make them curl up for a pretty garnish); 2 tablespoons dukkah

Description

This gorgeous gochujang pasta is creamy, spicy, a little sweet and takes just 15 minutes. It’s a perfect quick and easy recipe that’s guaranteed to deliver on flavour every time. Think pasta alla vodka, but with gochujang.

Ingredients

Units Scale

1.5 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tablespoon gochujang paste
3/4 cup single cream (or crème fraiche, sour cream or vegan alternative)
1 cup parmesan, finely grated
14oz/400g pasta of your choice (orecchiette, rigatoni, spaghetti, fettuccine are great)
1 lime, juiced (or use lemon or 1 tablespoon of bottled lemon juice)
1 tablespoon sweet chilli jam (or use honey or maple syrup)
1/2 cup coriander (cilantro) leaves, chopped
3 scallions (spring onions), 2 chopped, 1 sliced into thin strips and popped into a glass of water (this will make them curl up for a pretty garnish)
2 tablespoons dukkah

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Instructions

Cook your pasta. Get a big pot of salted boiling water over high heat (you want it filled at least halfway up the sides). Add 1 tablespoon of salt to the water. Once the water is boiling, add your pasta and cook until al dente (you want the pasta to have a little bite still when you transfer it to the pan with the sauce to finish). Use your packet to guide you here but for dried pasta, it will take roughly 8 – 10 minutes to become al dente, while fresh pasta will only take a minute or two. If you’re using fresh pasta, cook the pasta after you’ve added the cream and parmesan to the sauce.
Make the sauce. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a large pan over low heat, then add the 4 cloves of crushed garlic along with 1 teaspoon of salt and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes, until the garlic starts to soften. Add the 2 tablespoons of gochujang paste and stir for 2 minutes more. Lower the heat, then add 1/2 cup of cream and half the grated parmesan. Stir to combine.
Mix the pasta with sauce. Once your pasta is al dente, transfer the pasta with a slotted spoon or tongs directly into the pan with the sauce, along with a 1/4 cup of the pasta cooking water. Toss the pasta through the sauce until it gets super thick and glossy. You want every piece of pasta to be coated in the sauce. Add the remaining grated parmesan, all but 1 tablespoon of the coriander leaves, the chopped spring onions, lime juice and 1/2 tablespoon of chilli jam to the pan, then toss to combine well again. PRO TIP: For a runnier sauce, add a little more pasta cooking water and to thicken the sauce up, add a little more grated parmesan. Keep in mind that the sauce will thicken up as it sits, so if you think it’s a little runny in the pan, it will most likely be perfect once you serve it up.
Garnish and serve. Divide the pasta between plates, then top with the remaining coriander, curly spring onion and the dukkah.

Notes

INGREDIENT NOTES: Gochujang is a sweet, spicy, fermented chilli paste from Korea. It’s becoming more readily available in supermarkets, and you can also pick it up from Amazon. If you can’t find it, use sriracha or another hot sauce in its place. If you’re worried about the pasta being spicy you can reduce the amount of gochujang paste you use. Cut it down to 1 tablespoon and you can also add more sweet chilli jam or honey at the end to balance out the spice. This pasta is at a medium level of heat so it’s not too spicy, but you can reduce the gochujang if you like.

SUBSTITUTIONS: This pasta is really flexible based on what you have to hand – you could use flat leaf parsley in place of coriander, sweet chilli sauce or honey in place of sweet chilli jam or crème fraiche, sour cream or a dairy-free alternative in place of the single cream.

STORAGE INSTRUCTIONS: As with most pasta, this recipe is best eaten right after cooking, but you can store it in the fridge and reheat it, it will keep for 4 days in a covered container. Either reheat it on the stovetop over low heat, or in the microwave. The pasta will keep absorbing the sauce as it sits, so you’ll want to add a little liquid when you heat it to help it loosen up. Start with 1 tablespoon of water. Freeze the sauce separately in a ziplock bag or container, then finish it off and cook your pasta to serve. You can defrost it in the pan.

Prep Time: 3
Cook Time: 12
Category: pasta
Method: stove top
Cuisine: italian

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 bowl

Keywords: spicy korean pasta, gochujang pasta, spicy pasta