Creamy Spicy Korean Pasta (Print Version)
# Ingredients:
→ Core Ingredients
01 -
4 cups (1 liter) of water
02 -
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
03 -
1 teaspoon of salt
04 -
1 tablespoon of olive oil
05 -
260g of rigatoni pasta
06 -
1 beef stock cube, broken into small pieces
07 -
200g creamy full-fat cream cheese
08 -
4 tablespoons Parmesan, shredded
09 -
2 tablespoons of gochujang spicy paste
→ Toppings
10 -
A small pinch of dried chili flakes
11 -
1 teaspoon parsley, dried
12 -
Extra Parmesan cheese for sprinkling on top
13 -
Some freshly ground black pepper
14 -
2 green parts of spring onions, sliced thinly
# Instructions:
01 -
Warm up olive oil in a skillet. Toss in the garlic and stir gently on low heat until it smells delicious. Pour in water, crumble the stock cube, and mix with salt. Crank up the heat to get it bubbling.
02 -
Drop the pasta into the boiling liquid and cook for five minutes. Take out some of the hot pasta water, mix in the gochujang paste until smooth, then stir it back into the pot of pasta.
03 -
Keep cooking until the rigatoni is firm but cooked (al dente), and most of the liquid is gone. If there's too much liquid left, drain it but keep about 120ml (½ cup) to use for later.
04 -
Stir cream cheese with the remaining gochujang mixture. Slowly add it to the pasta while keeping the heat super low. If it seems too thick, pour in some reserved water. Add more spice, if that fits your taste.
05 -
When the heat's off, mix in the Parmesan and sprinkle parsley. Add a good dose of black pepper. Place the spring onions on top for garnish, and serve right away with a bit more Parmesan.
# Notes:
01 -
Want it less spicy? Reduce the gochujang. Remember, the sauce thickens as it cools.