The perfect fusion of Italian x Korean that hits on the spice/cheese factor. This dish is perfect for a quick and easy date night or any night for that matter!
Yes, this isn't your traditional carbonara. But then again, what kind of carbonara has kimchi to begin with! I was thinking of ways to combine two loves (one being Italian pasta and the other, kimchi). My inspiration for this dish comes from the classic Italian dish called Pasta Carbonara.
While traditional carbonara is made with eggs and parmesan to create the wonderful sauce that coats the noodles, mine is made similar to a basic alfredo sauce. Heavy cream, kimchi and parmesan cheese simmer to thicken. Once you add the soba noodles to the dish, it "screams" comfort to all Koreans/Italians-alike.
The heat you get from the gochugaru, the cheesy sauce from the cream/parmesan and the funky pickling of kimchi flavor.. This fusion dish is one I wasn't sure how it would taste, but I am so glad I took this risk!
I topped mine off with even more bacon, gochugaru and some chopped scallions. This dish is perfect for a rainy day or if you want to make a quick/easy date night dinner with your partner! Highly recommend!
Kimchi "Carbonara"
Ingredients
32 oz of water to boil
8 oz Soba Noodles
4 oz of thick cut bacon (Roughly 4-5 strips, diced into bite-size pieces)
1/2 Vidalia onion, sliced thin
8 oz of heavy cream
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 TB gochujang
1 TB gochugaru (adjust amount for spiciness)
1 cup of kimchi, chopped
2/3 cup of shredded parmesan cheese
Optional: chopped scallions, black sesame seeds, extra bacon and gochugaru flakes for garnish
Method
In a large sauce pan, bring water to boil.
Mise en place by dicing/slicing/mincing/chopping/shredding the bacon, onion, garlic, kimchi and cheese. Set aside. If you use optional scallions, add this to your mise en place now.
In large frying pan, over medium heat, cook and render bacon until crispy.
Once cooked to your preferred crispiness, place on a paper towel-lined plate, reserving about 2 TB of the bacon fat in the frying pan.
In the same frying pan, with the bacon fat, cook onions until they begin to soften/become translucent. About 4-5 minutes.
Add the chopped kimchi to the frying pan and continue to cook. Caramelizing the onion/kimchi mixture for an additional 4-5 minutes.
Add minced garlic to the onion/kimchi mixture and cook for additional 2-3 minutes until garlic is fragrant.
At this time, add your soba noodles to the boiling water (You can cook noodles and strain ahead of time, if you want to). Cook until al dente, about 7-8 minutes.
Reduce heat of the frying pan to medium-low, add heavy cream and stir to combine.
Add gochujang and whish that into the sauce. Then, add the gochugaru.
Sprinkle in the shredded parmesan cheese and whisk to thicken.
Add your bacon back into the pan, reserving 1-2 TB for garnish.
Add your soba noodles directly to the pan and toss to coat the sauce onto the pasta.
Remove from heat and plate, garnishing with your optional bacon, scallions, black sesame seeds and a sprinkle of gochugaru.
Serve immediately and enjoy!
Make it? Love it? Tag @TonzKitchen on Social to let me know!