Kimchi Spaghetti with Pork Belly
What do you do when you have too much kimchi crowding the fridge? No, seriously, what do you do?
I’ve heard of kimchi spaghetti, but never had it until this recipe. I don’t know why I didn’t think it would work, I like the taste of kimchi and carbs are always welcomed.
There are variations of kimchi pasta, including ones that use cream and tomatoes. This recipe is as simple and fast as it gets, just a few ingredients and tons of flavor.
Servings: 1
Ingredients:
1 large garlic clove, minced
½ cup of kimchi, chopped
Handful of shimeji or enoki mushrooms, trimmed (optional)
1 strip of thin-cut pork belly, sliced into ½” pieces
½ tbsp of gochujang (Korean red pepper paste)
½ tbsp of vegetable oil
1 serving of spaghetti
1 sprig of scallion, chopped for garnish
Directions:
1. Prep your ingredients: Mince one large clove of garlic. Trim a handful of shimeji or enoki mushrooms. Slice one strip of thin-cut pork belly (more if you would like a meaty dish). Chop scallion and set aside for garnish.
2. Heat vegetable oil over medium high heat. Fry garlic until fragrant.
3. Add pork belly slices and fry until most of the pink is gone.
3. Add the chopped kimchi and trimmed mushrooms. Continue to cook until pork belly is done.
4. Stir in the gochujang. Make sure the paste evenly coats the pork belly and mushrooms.
5. Turn the heat to low. Add a single serving of cooked and drained spaghetti. Stir to coat spaghetti with the gochuchang.
6. Garnish with chopped scallion. Enjoy!
Notes:
If you would like more pork belly in your dish, feel free to add more.
Most of time you salt the water when cooking pasta to flavor the pasta. I don’t think it’s necessary for this recipe.
Everyone has their own tricks to cooking al dente pasta. I don’t have any tricks, I just keep testing the pasta until I think it’s right usually burning myself during the process.
Sometime, depending on the brand, the gochujang can be really thick and difficult to evenly stir into your dish. If you find that’s the case, after you stir in the cooked and drained pasta, add the pasta cooking water a spoonful at a time until the gochuchang is evenly distributed.