Cheesy Kimchi Linguine with Gochujang Butter Recipe
By Lara Lee
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Easy
"There are pasta dishes; there are kimchi dishes. Then there’s Cheesy Kimchi Linguine with Gochujang Butter, a dish that flies the flag for sweet-spicy-salty-umami-fermented flavour. It’s rich, loud, crimson and glossy.
That it comes together in just 15 minutes with store cupboard ingredients makes it even more special. Key to balancing the dish are the garnishes: flakes of crispy seaweed and spring onions are sprinkled on top, layered with a squeeze of lime and a crispy fried egg whose all-important runny yolk is broken into and tossed together with grated Parmesan for a bowl of sheer decadence.
Like wine, the quality of your kimchi can make or break a meal. A good-quality kimchi is paramount to the flavour of the dish, anchoring the sour funk that is so vital to the noodles’ flavour, so look for the fresh, artisan varieties and buy the best you can afford."
A Splash of Soy, by Lara Lee is out now, published by Bloomsbury, £22.
Read Lara's exclusive Q&A with Sous Chef about the ingredients that inspire her.
Ingredients for Kimchi Linguine
- 200g dried linguine or spaghetti
- 120g kimchi, roughly chopped
- 30g unsalted butter, cubed
- 40g gochujang paste
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed, or 2 tsp garlic paste
- 2 spring onions, sliced into thin matchsticks
- 2 eggs
- 1 tbsp flavourless oil, such as sunflower or grapeseed
- fine sea salt, to taste
- 2 tbsp crumbled crispy seaweed (such as nori sheets or seaweed flakes),
- lime wedges, to serve
- 20g Parmesan, grated
How to Make Kimchi Linguine
- Bring a pan of water to a boil, add the pasta and cook according to the packet instructions (usually 8–12 minutes).
- While the pasta is cooking, prepare your ingredients. Place the kimchi, butter, gochujang, soy, garlic and half the spring onions in a large, cold non-stick frying pan (don’t worry about mixing it for now).
- Drain the pasta, reserving a little of the pasta water. Put the pasta straight into the frying pan with 2 tablespoons pasta water on a high heat. Cook, tossing everything together, for about 3 minutes, or until warmed through and well coated. Remove from the heat and transfer to serving bowls.
- To fry the eggs, wipe out the pan. Add the oil on a medium-high heat. Once the oil is shimmering, crack the eggs into it. Cook for 2–3 minutes until the whites are partially cooked and the edges are becoming crispy. Turn the heat down to medium-low and continue cooking until the whites are cooked through but the yolk is still runny (or cooked to your liking). Season with a pinch of salt.
- Top each pasta bowl with the crispy seaweed, the remaining spring onions and the fried eggs. Squeeze a wedge of lime over each bowl. Dust with the grated Parmesan and serve with extra lime wedges.
