Homemade Creamy Gochujang Pasta
This TikTok gochujang pasta is creamy, spicy, sweet, and a little tangy, and goes great with whatever type of noodles you enjoy!
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Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 8 oz. pasta dry weight
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil alt. butter
- 3 cloves garlic minced (alt. 1 tablespoon garlic paste)
- 2-3 tablespoons gochujang more is spicier
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- ⅓ cup sour cream alt. ¼ cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup alt. any liquid sweetener
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon minced chives alt. 2 teaspoons chopped green onion
- ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika optional
- ⅓ cup grated parmesan cheese optional, for topping
Instructions
- Set pasta water to boil with salt & oil, then start measuring your ingredients. Once you've finished prepping them, your pasta water should be about ready, so add your raw noodles and set a timer, keeping an eye on them in the background.
- Cook the garlic in the toasted sesame oil over medium-low heat for 2 minutes, until starting to brown, and then add the gochujang and cook for 1 more minute.
- Next, turn the sauce's heat to low & slowly pour in the heavy cream, stirring as you go so they combine easily.
- Once all the heavy cream is in, add your sour cream and mix well, raising the temperature to medium-low and cooking everything for 2 minutes to flavor the fat. Keep an eye on it, but this is a good time to grate the parmesan, if using.
- Then stir in your chives, maple syrup, salt, and smoked paprika, and cook for 1 more minute.
- Your noodles should be done by now, so strain your pasta, turn the heat off under the sauce, and then add the pasta and stir well, until the noodles are fully coated in the gochujang pasta sauce.
Notes
Making it Gluten-Free: double check that your gochujang is gluten-free (traditional Korean brands aren't usually), and the only other swap you need to make is using a gluten-free pasta.
Customizing the Heat Level: While this creamy gochujang pasta may look spicy, that actually depends more on how hot your gochujang is. In Korea there are 5 different grades of heat at which gochujang is sold, so the heat in a level 1 paste will be barely detectable compared to a level 5. I recommend buying a level 3 if you're good but not great with heat. And if you're completely new to cooking with gochujang, I suggest starting with just the 2 tablespoons the first time you make this (and trust me, you'll wanted make it again & again!). How Long to Store: this creamy gochujang pasta sauce can keep in the fridge for up to five days in a well-sealed container (or on cooked pasta), though I wouldn't try to freeze it.
Customizing the Heat Level: While this creamy gochujang pasta may look spicy, that actually depends more on how hot your gochujang is. In Korea there are 5 different grades of heat at which gochujang is sold, so the heat in a level 1 paste will be barely detectable compared to a level 5. I recommend buying a level 3 if you're good but not great with heat. And if you're completely new to cooking with gochujang, I suggest starting with just the 2 tablespoons the first time you make this (and trust me, you'll wanted make it again & again!). How Long to Store: this creamy gochujang pasta sauce can keep in the fridge for up to five days in a well-sealed container (or on cooked pasta), though I wouldn't try to freeze it.