Gochujang Buttered Noodles

Many thanks for including instructions for a single serving. The onesies of the world salute you, Eric!

It’s midnight and I’m a couple drinks in. Because I just got home from a trip I had everything except the Gochujang paste (had to substitute Gochujang sauce, which I know, it says get the paste!). Regardless, it was delicious. I used stale limpy cilantro but I would have preferred scallions, or fresh cilantro. I used somen noodles and they were perfect. Chopped some nuts for crunch/protein and it was a hit. Smashed it.

Spicy, sweet, delicious, and easy. The one (unintentional) change is we planned to make a full batch of sauce and save half; we promptly forgot and mixed in the half pound of pasta directly. We actually liked the double sauce because the sauce was so good. Added the pasta to the pan with sauce instead of the opposite. Also not sure it’s a main dish unaccompanied unless it’s midnight and you’re a couple drinks in in which case get after it.

If you want to see Eric Kim make this recipe with ramen noodles instead of spaghetti go to this youtube video and scroll to 10:35. If you want to have even more fun, watch the entire video for four other great ramen noodle inspirations. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pFTJN1tF8A

Make the sauce in a skillet. Transfer the cooked pasta directly from the water into the skillet with tongs; the clinging water will thin the sauce about right. If not, add a bit more. This is how we do it in Italy, where colanders gather dust in the back of the cupboard.

Frankly, 1/4 c (i.e. 4 tbsp) honey was too much for us. The heat was great, and it was perfectly savory, but just had too much sweetness. We will go with 2 or even 1 tbsp next time. Green onions as a topper gave the perfect fresh / allium crunch. Ultimately it was a very tasty recipe, we would just turn down the sweet.

Added a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds and a dash of sesame oil once the noodles were plated. Delish!

I would follow Eric kim to the ends of the earth. Made this between terrifying tornado storms in the mid-south tonight. Just the right amount of concentration needed to be a welcome distraction. supremely comforting.

This was easy and delicious. If anyone is wondering if it can be made vegan, I substituted maple syrup for honey and Earth Balance for butter and it was perfect.

Super tasty and easy to make. It's got a good amount of heat but adjust gochujang up or down to your preference. As-is was perfect for me, a bit too spicy for my wife. We had it with sliced scallions, as suggested, and after a few bites I chopped up some roasted salted peanuts and threw those on and it really added something so I'd strongly recommend it.

I added some mukimame (shelled edamame) to the pasta water at the end of the noodles cooking to add some protein. Also, some matchstick carrots along with the scallions to add crunch. Yum.

If I'm going to use some pasta water to enrich the sauce, why not cook the pasta in a smaller amount of water in a skillet, so the pasta starch is more concentrated in the water?

This is such a fabulous twist! I personally recommend using bucatini and leaving the sauce thicker (no pasta water). I added sesame seeds and a small drizzle of sesame oil with scallions. WOWIE! So. Good.

I'm amazed at the lack of notes describing modifications to this recipe. Unusual for our crowd (and I'm one that enjoys/appreciates/learns from reading all of the comments and ideas) and a true tribute to Eric Kim. Looks like this recipe just works and I can't wait to try it!

The pasta is more likely to be sticky/gluey if it doesn't have a lot of water to roam around in.