While this is a quick way to pimp up cheap instant noodles, turning them into a pasta dish that feels fancy, this buttered gochujang sauce can also be used to elevate any kind of pasta.

Ingredients (single serving):

  • 1 pack of instant noodles
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 2 big tablespoons of salted butter
  • 1 big teaspoon gochujang paste1
  • 1 tablespoon of sherry or rice vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • scallions (optional)

Preparation:

Pasta

  • put the instant noodles in boiling water
  • cook to your desired consistency

Sauce

  • press2 the garlic first
  • melt the butter in a pan
  • as soon as the butter starts sizzling, add the garlic and mix
  • add the gochujang, vinegar, and honey
  • bring to a boil while mixing then let rest while waiting for the pasta to be ready

Assembly

  • add the noodles and a splash of pasta water to the sauce
  • add one teaspoon of butter
  • mix on high heat until well coated
  • transfer to a bowl
  • optionally sprinkle diced scallions on top

Credits:

This is my take on Eric Kim’s Gochujang Buttered Noodles (see also here for a video of the recipe).

  1. Not sauce, which often include additives like sugar and vinegar. ↩︎

  2. You could dice it finely, but a garlic press is a great way to extract a maximum of flavor out of a given quantity of garlic. ↩︎