Fusion Spicy Kimchi Carbonara Linguine

Quick, easy, and delicious!  This recipe is exactly that.  You can whip this up in well under 30 minutes and with a bit of garnishing, no one would guess how easy this was!  Recently I have gotten into a fusion kick.  Carbonara linguine is one of my favourite pastas so I wanted to give it an Asian twist by adding kimchi.  Kimchi is so versatile, it balances the creaminess of carbonara by adding some acidity and spiciness.  The kimchi and onions are still crunchy and give the dish extra texture.  I hope you give this simple recipe a try and if you do, don’t forget to let me know! 🙂

I tried a healthier alternative by replacing the cream with milk or Greek yoghurt.  The milk version wasn’t quite creamy enough while the Greek yoghurt had a chunky thick texture.  You can definitely try them for yourselves but my favourite is still cream.

Difficulty Level: 1/3
Cost: Approx. 120 HKD (organic ingredients)
Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Portion: 2 people

Ingredients: 

1 small pack of cubed pancetta (~60 g)
1 medium-sized yellow onion
200 g kimchi
~150 ml whipping cream
1 tablespoon Korean chilli paste
Linguine pasta
4 pieces spring onion
shredded seaweed
2 egg yolks

Timer: 0 minutes

1. Preparation

Vertically slice the onion into 1 cm thick wedges
Finely chop the spring onions (for garnishing)
Cut up the kimchi finely
Boil water

Timer: 5 minutes

2. Heat up your pan on med-high heat and saute the pancetta until they sizzle, brown, and release oil into the pan

*high heat squeezes fat (oil) out of meat, so we can utilize the fat from the pancetta to cook the onions 

Timer: 11 minutes

3. At this time, put the pasta into the boiling salted water so that it will just be 80% al dente when the sauce is ready.

*how to prevent burning linguine?  Turn the heat on low temporarily until all the linguine has submerged into the water or else the fire may burn the ends still sticking out of the pot.

4. Add the onions in and saute until slightly gold and transparent

4. Add the kimchi and continue sauteing

5.  Turning the fire on low, add the cream (adjust amount to your liking) and Korean chilli paste and let it simmer for 1 minute

*Since I like to keep the crunchy texture of the onion and kimchi, I wouldn’t cook this sauce for too long

*don’t worry if the sauce looks thick, we will smooth it out with the pasta water

Timer: 17 minutes

6. The linguine should be just about 80% al dente now.  Add the linguine and some pasta water.

*Pasta water can help to smooth out the sauce without thickening it

Let the pasta finish cooking in the sauce and absorb the excess water.  Add crushed black peppers to taste.

*I like to stop cooking when the pasta is 90% al dente because by the time it’s served and actually eaten it will have absorbed more moisture and be perfectly al dente

The sauce should be creamy and smooth, slightly spicy and acidic, and the kimchi and onions still a bit crunchy, and linguine al dente.

Plate up and leave a small well on top of the pasta for the egg yolk.  The yolk will add extra smoothness to the pasta.

Garnish with the shredded seaweed and spring onions.  And that’s it!

Timer: 25 minutes

Mix in the egg yolk before eating.

I hope you enjoy!  Don’t miss any new recipes by subscribing below to receive new posts by e-mail!

Like kimchi?  Check out my other recipe using kimchi:  Chewy Kimchi Fried Rice Cakes.

Be in love with life.

Much Love,

CC