Creamy Gochujang Pasta
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Make this creamy gochujang pasta in just 15 minutes! Inspired by penne alla vodka, this fusion dish is the perfect comfort food dinner.
You’ve probably seen this fusion pasta concept all over TikTok and Instagram the past few months, so we’re not going to pretend like this was an original idea. However, we wanted to make our own spin on a Korean inspired gochujang pasta that you can easily make in just 15 minutes with simple, flavorful ingredients, inspired by penne alla vodka.
The final result? A creamy, smooth tomato sauce with the pungent flavor of gochujang balanced by a touch of lemon juice and salt that clings to penne pasta the way any creamy sauce should. With just a little heat to it, this spicy pasta dish is the perfect comfort food dinner for winter.
What This Recipe Entails
Can you really beat a comforting pasta dinner that can be made in only 15 minutes? It doesn’t get much easier.
- Prep time: 3 minutes
- Cook time: 12 minutes
This recipe is based on a classic penne alla vodka but with a spicy gochujang twist.
What Is Gochujang?
Gochujang is a highly concentrated chili paste with a pungent flavor thanks to fermented soybeans. It’s a staple ingredient in Korean cooking that’s often used for marinades, sauces, or adding flavor to soups or stews. As for adding gochujang to pasta, think of it as basically just red chili peppers in paste form, which adds a unique heat and creamy consistency to traditional pasta sauce.
Creamy Gochujang Pasta Ingredients
Here’s a list of the major ingredients you’ll need to make our creamy gochujang pasta recipe:
- Penne pasta – You’ll also need some of the pasta water to stir into the sauce at the end. The starches in it help thicken the sauce to make it super creamy and help it cling to the pasta.
- Aromatics – Minced garlic and yellow onion add a depth of flavor to the sauce.
- Fire roasted crushed tomatoes – We like to use fire roasted crushed tomatoes for their sweet and smoky flavor – it’s a great complement to the gochujang! If you don’t have these, you can substitute with regular canned crushed tomatoes.
- Gochujang – This is where the flavor comes from. The spicy chili paste turns this Italian dish into a flavor-packed fusion delight.
- Heavy cream – The heavy cream gives the sauce its rich and smooth texture that you want from a vodka sauce.
- Vodka – Just like penne alla vodka, the vodka helps to enhance the flavors of the sauce. So don’t skip it unless you want to make an alcohol-free version, then skip it entirely.
- Chives – Don’t skip the chives! The bright and fresh flavors help cut through the rich and creamy sauce for a well balanced pasta.
How To Make Creamy Gochujang Pasta
Since you can prepare the creamy gochujang pasta sauce during the time it takes the pasta to boil, you can make this simple recipe in under 15 minutes! Here’s how:
- Cook the pasta.
- Bloom the aromatics and then add in the crushed tomatoes.
- Stir in the heavy cream, gochujang, grated parmesan, and vodka. Simmer while the pasta finishes cooking.
- Add pasta water to the sauce before draining.
- Finish the sauce with lemon juice and a pinch of sea salt. Stir well to combine, taste, then adjust lemon juice and salt as needed.
- Finally, add the pasta to the sauce. Serve hot, topped with minced chives.
The gochujang sauce comes together as easily as a traditional tomato based pasta sauce. All you really have to do differently is add in the gochujang, and do a quick taste test to adjust the acid and salt before stirring in the pasta.
The lemon juice serves two purposes: one, to brighten the overall flavor of the dish; and two, to tone down the gochujang. Gochujang has a punchy flavor that requires an acid to balance it out. So if you taste test the sauce and it’s a little too spicy or not quite balanced, try adding a little bit more lemon juice or salt – or both – and see how the flavor changes.
Gochujang Pasta Serving Suggestions
We recommend serving gochujang pasta like you would serve any traditional creamy pasta – with a side of fluffy bread and a glass of wine!
You can use fresh bread to sop up any extra sauce on your plate, or simply enjoy it plain or with butter as a palate cleanser between bites. Like we said, this gochujang pasta is super thick, creamy, and heavy, so it’s nice to have a side that you can snack on between bites of pasta.
This dish would also go great with a simple side salad, like some dressed greens or a garden salad.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
If you’re a fan of unique fusion recipes, you’re going to love this Korean-Italian fusion gochujang pasta! It’s like a spicy, funky penne alla vodka that’s so creamy you won’t want to stop eating it. The perfect dish for a cold winter night when you’re craving some comfort food.
Try our creamy gochujang pasta recipe and let us know what you think – would you make this unique pasta recipe? Rate, comment, and share below, and sign up for our email newsletter here to find out what next month’s pasta will be!
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Creamy Gochujang Pasta
Ingredients
- ½ pound penne pasta
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon minced garlic
- ¼ medium yellow onion minced
- 14.5 ounces canned fire roasted crushed tomatoes
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons gochujang
- 1 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese
- ¼ fluid ounce vodka
- ¼ cup pasta water
- ¼ medium lemon juiced
- 1 pinch sea salt
- 1 tablespoon chives minced
Instructions
- First, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the penne pasta and cook until al dente.
- In the meantime, heat the olive oil and garlic in a large sauté pan over medium heat until fragrant, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add the onion and sauté until translucent, about 2 to 4 minutes, then stir in the crushed tomatoes and lower the heat to a simmer.
- Next, stir in the heavy cream, gochujang, grated parmesan, and vodka. Simmer while the pasta finishes cooking, about 8 minutes or so. When the pasta is just about done, add pasta water to the sauce. Finish with lemon juice and sea salt, stirring well to combine. Taste and adjust lemon juice and salt as needed.
- Drain the pasta and then add it to the sauce. Stir until the pasta is completely coated, then remove from heat. Serve hot, topped with minced chives.
Notes
Nutrition
If you have any questions regarding the information presented in this post, please refer to our Nutrition Disclaimer here.
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