You’ll love this quick and creamy gochujang pasta, ready in only 10 minutes! Spicy and satisfying, use the base recipe for an almost effortless meal, or amp it up with chicken or veggies to make it go even further.
In This Post You’ll Learn
Why We Love This
This easy gochujang pasta has all the flavours you know and love from other Korean dishes like tteokbokki or Korean army stew in a super simple and extra creamy pasta sauce.
It’s so quick to prepare – just 10 minutes to whip up the creamy cheesy gochujang sauce – so you can enjoy it any day for lunch or dinner.
Leftovers are equally amazing the next day, so feel free to cook up an extra big batch.
Try the base gochujang pasta recipe below or amp it up with extra protein or veggies to make it go even further!
Related: Tantanmen Ramen Noodles / Creamy Sausage Pasta
What is Gochujang Pasta?
Gochujang pasta is a quick and easy recipe perfect for lunch or dinner. It’s made with freshly cooked pasta tossed through with a creamy, cheesy gochujang sauce.
This isn’t a traditional Korean recipe but is an East meets West creation all of our own. It combines our love of Korean flavours, delicious pasta and quick prep meals all in one amazingly simple pasta sauce. Enjoy!
What You’ll Need
- Pasta – You can use any pasta shape you like. Today we’re using fettuccine but also love making this with penne, spirali or shells too. You can sub with noodles if you prefer (why not try with homemade udon noodles, ramen or konjac noodles for a lighter calorie option).
- Dashi Stock – This adds extra savoury / umami flavour to the gochujang pasta sauce. You can sub with chicken or vegetable stock, or pasta water if you prefer.
- Homemade Gochujang Sauce – Made with classic Korean seasonings, this flavour packed sauce is so easy to make! See our full recipe for gochujang sauce. We love to keep some on hand in the fridge so it’s ready to go for dishes like this. Otherwise, you can use bibimbap sauce, or regular gochujang paste along with a splash of soy sauce, sesame oil and a clove of garlic if you prefer.
- Cream – Use thickened cream / heavy cream for a thicker and creamier sauce. Sub with a milk and extra cornstarch / cornflour slurry if you don’t have cream on hand.
- Parmesan Cheese – This adds extra cheesy flavour AND helps the sauce stick to the pasta. Keep some in reserve to garnish over the top! Sub with tasty or cheddar cheese if you prefer – or use all three!
- Cornstarch / Cornflour – You may like to add a slurry (cornflour / cornstarch mixed with cold / room temperature water) to thicken the sauce.
Wandercook’s Tips
- Storage – Store for 2-3 days in an airtight container in the fridge. If you plan to freeze this dish, keep the pasta and sauce separate so you can thaw the sauce in the fridge overnight first, then slowly reheat to avoid the cream breaking.
- Lumpy Sauce – If you have too high heat, or add the cornflour without adding it to cold water first, use a whisk to get through any lumps and get your sauce nice and smooth again.
FAQs
Gochujang paste is made from fermented Korean red peppers. You can read more about gochujang and its uses here! It’s usually added to other dishes to bring a slightly sweet and spicy tomato-like flavour.
Gochujang sauce includes gochujang paste mixed with gochugaru red pepper flakes, doenjang (fermented soybean paste similar to miso), soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, sugar and rice wine vinegar.
Surprisingly, because the peppers in gochujang have a tomato-like flavour, it actually ends up tasting like a spicy tomato based rose sauce. The best part is, because of the added ingredients like dashi and soy sauce, you end up with a dish that has a much bigger depth of flavour than it’s pure Italian counterpart. Cool, hey!
Variations
- Add Protein – Try it with prawns or thinly sliced chicken. Fry separately in olive oil or vegetable oil until just browned, then finish off in the pasta sauce to keep it nice and juicy.
- Make It Vegetarian – Use tofu (and kombu only dashi stock) for a vegetarian friendly version instead. You’ll also need to leave out the doenjang (or use miso paste instead) from the gochujang sauce as many brands contain fish for added umami flavour.
- Add Veggies – We love this with spinach or kale tossed through the sauce. You could add broccoli or bok choy / gai lan for extra greens. Or why not try it with homemade kimchi for even more flavour too.
- Optional Garnishes – Sprinkle with extra Parmesan cheese, aonori seaweed flakes or bonito flakes for extra umami. You can also add a splash of rayu chilli oil, shichimi togarashi or gomashio sesame salt.
Looking for more new food ideas? Try these next:
★ Did you make this recipe? Please leave a comment and a star rating below!
Ingredients
- 200 g pasta 7 oz fettuccini, spaghetti or penne work well, 100 g / 3.5 oz per person
- 1/2 cup dashi stock 125 ml / 4.2 floz
- 2 tbsp all purpose gochujang sauce sub just gochujang
- ⅓ cup thickened cream / heavy cream 80 ml / 2.7 floz
- 3 tbsp parmesan cheese plus extra for garnish, sub tasty or cheddar
- 3 tsp cornstarch / cornflour dissolved in 3 tsp cold water to make a slurry for a thick sauce
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to packet directions. Drain.200 g pasta
- Meanwhile, pour dashi stock into a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add gochujang sauce and stir to loosen. Add thickened cream / heavy cream and bring to a simmer.1/2 cup dashi stock, 2 tbsp all purpose gochujang sauce, ⅓ cup thickened cream / heavy cream
- Add cornstarch / cornflour slurry and stir through to thicken, around 1-2 minutes.3 tsp cornstarch / cornflour
- Reduce heat to low and stir in the parmesan cheese until melted, about another minute.3 tbsp parmesan cheese
- Pour the sauce over the drained pasta, toss together and serve.
- Optional – Garnish with extra parmesan cheese and/or aonori flakes.
Recipe Notes
- Storage – Store for 2-3 days in an airtight container in the fridge. If you plan to freeze this dish, keep the pasta and sauce separate so you can thaw the sauce in the fridge overnight first, then slowly reheat to avoid the cream breaking.
- Lumpy Sauce – If you have too high heat, or add the cornflour without adding it to cold water first, use a whisk to get through any lumps and get your sauce nice and smooth again.
- Add Protein – Try it with prawns or thinly sliced chicken. Fry separately in olive oil or vegetable oil until just browned, then finish off in the pasta sauce to keep it nice and juicy.
- Make It Vegetarian – Use tofu (and kombu only dashi stock) for a vegetarian friendly version instead. You’ll also need to leave out the doenjang (or use miso paste instead) from the gochujang sauce as many brands contain fish for added umami flavour.
- Add Veggies – We love this with spinach or kale tossed through the sauce. You could add broccoli or bok choy / gai lan for extra greens. Or why not try it with homemade kimchi for even more flavour too.
- Optional Garnishes – Sprinkle with extra Parmesan cheese, aonori seaweed flakes or bonito flakes for extra umami. You can also add a splash of rayu chilli oil, shichimi togarashi or gomashio sesame salt.
Nutrition
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