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Linguine Kimchi Carbonara
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Kimchi Carbonara Linguine

Pasta carbonara, a bacon-rich Italian favorite, gets a cross-cultural makeover with kimchi, Korea's national dish.
Course Main Course, Pasta
Servings 2

Ingredients

  • 4 strips bacon
  • olive oil, if needed
  • 1 generous cup kimchi, finely chopped, plus 2 tablespoons juice from the kimchi jar
  • 2 medium shallots, or 1 medium yellow onion chopped
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
  • freshly ground black pepper and salt, as needed
  • 2 thinly sliced scallions for garnish
  • 8 ounces dried linguine, or other pasta, as desired
  • 2 tablespoons gochujang (Korean chili paste, optional—see Kitchen Notes)

Instructions

  • Start a large pot of water for cooking the pasta. Salt it with a light hand—the bacon, kimchi and Parmesan will bring plenty of salt to the dish. Cook the bacon, starting it in a cold, dry sauté pan, over medium flame. Cook until it is on the crisp side, then drain it on a paper towel-lined plate.
  • Cook the pasta according to package directions, to al dente. While pasta is cooking, sauté kimchi and shallots in the bacon fat, adding olive oil as needed (my bacon wasn't very fatty, so I added a tablespoon of oil). Stirring occasionally, cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Crumble the bacon and return it to the pan.
  • Whisk grated Parmesan and a generous grind of black pepper into the beaten eggs and set aside.
  • Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup of pasta water. Add pasta to pan with kimchi mixture, along with the kimchi juice, and remove from heat. Toss to coat pasta completely with the oil/bacon fat in the pan. If it looks dry, add a little pasta water and toss to coat.
  • Working carefully, stir in the egg mixture, tossing to coat the pasta and kimchi mixture. The goal is not to have the egg cook up like a scramble, but to just coat the pasta and create a velvety sauce that brings everything together.
  • Plate pasta, making sure each plate gets plenty of the kimchi mixture. Sprinkle with sliced scallions and serve immediately.

Kitchen Notes

Add a little heat. Gochujang, Korean chili paste, adds a little heat along with flavor. It is thick, savory, sweet and spicy—and again, another Korean staple. Try adding a couple tablespoons to the dish when you add the cooked pasta to the pan.