Gochujang Carbonara

One of my go-to easy pasta dishes is spaghetti carbonara. It’s rich, creamy, and glossy with crispy bits of pancetta. But I often find myself craving something spicy to offset its richness (which is why I often eat carbonara with a side of spicy kimchi). So, I thought to myself, why not give my favorite pasta dish a spicy twist? Enter: gochujang carbonara!

Gochujang carbonara is the perfect marriage of Korean and Italian comfort food. Spicy gochujang (mixed with rice vinegar and honey) brings some heat, while the cheesy-eggy carbonara sauce keeps the noodles rich and delightfully decadent. The first slurp might make you think you are just eating creamy gochujang noodles, but the second slurp will remind you that it’s carbonara. Between the spice and richness, it’s a glorious eating experience.  

• Parmesan cheese: Parmesan cheese makes the carbonara delightfully cheesy and creamy. You can also use Pecorino Romano instead.
• Gochujang (Korean red chili paste): The secret ingredient that adds so much flavor and spice to a creamy carbonara. It’s important to cook out the raw taste of gochujang in the pork fat. 
• Rice vinegar: A little bit of acidity balances the spice of gochujang. Also, it’s not too harsh and has a slight sweetness. 
• Honey: Adds a nice sweetness to the sauce and balances the rice vinegar and gochujang. 
• Garlic: It’s unusual to add garlic to carbonara, but with the gochujang sauce (and especially once cooked in pork fat), it adds a beautiful layer of flavor without being too aggressive. 
• Scallions: Adds a much-needed oniony flavor to this creamy carbonara.
• Pancetta: Typically, you would use guanciale (cured pork jowl) to make carbonara, but I love the smoky taste of pancetta — especially when it gets really crispy. You can also use bacon instead. (We’ve written about the difference between pancetta and bacon if you need it!)
• Spaghetti: I usually go for spaghetti or bucatini for carbonara. But you can certainly use other shapes of pasta like rigatoni. 
• Egg yolks: Make for a creamy, cheesy, and glossy sauce. 

1. Make the gochujang mixture. Make the sauce by mixing gochujang, rice vinegar, and honey. 
2. Cook the pancetta. With a little bit of oil, cook the pancetta until it’s all crispy. Keep the residual pork fat. Set the pancetta aside for later. 
3. Cook the gochujang mixture in the skillet. Cook the gochujang mixture in the pork fat until it’s caramelized and bubbling. 
4. Cook the spaghetti. Cook the pasta until it’s al dente. Keep the starchy water for later. 
5. Make the cheese-egg yolk mixture. Mix grated Parmesan cheese, egg yolks, salt, and pepper.
6. Toss the spaghetti with the cheese-egg yolk mixture. Add the cooked spaghetti directly to the skillet with the gochujang mixture, then add the cheese-egg yolk mixture and the crispy pancetta. Toss the pasta vigorously until it comes together — it should be glossy.
7. Serve and garnish. Serve with extra cracks of black pepper and freshly grated Parmesan cheese on top.

• Caramelize your gochujang in the skillet. Gochujang has a little bit of a rough, raw taste to it, so be sure to cook it thoroughly to bring out a wonderful rich, caramelized taste, which makes the silky carbonara taste so much better. 
• Garnish with another egg yolk to make it extra rich. I love to top individual serving bowls of carbonara with an extra egg yolk on top. It not only makes the dish stand out more (and it’s a great way to impress yourself!), but an extra yolk adds another layer of richness as it coats the still-warm pasta sauce.