Friday, February 12, 2021

Gochujang udon

 https://food52.com/recipes/84861-stir-fried-udon-recipe-with-bacon-parmesan-gochujang

This is a recipe designed by Hana Asbrink for Food52 that appealed to me because of its flavors, textures, clever mix of techniques, and the fact that I could easily halve it to make one serving with no awkward leftovers OR leftover ingredients. I don't know that it would appeal to everyone, but if you like udon, gochujang, and carbonara, it's swell.

Set a pot of water to come to a boil.

Over medium-low heat, low enough that it doesn't brown too fast, heat:

a little splash of oil (more fat will come from the bacon)

2 slices of bacon (or 1 if thick cut), sliced into 1/4 inch strips or lardons

2 scallions, thinly sliced (reserving some greens for garnish)

1 fat clove garlic, minced

Pinch of salt

Let the bacon fat render slowly, 5-6 minutes, until bacon is crisp-ish. Lower heat as needed so nothing browns too fast.

In a medium mixing bowl, mix to a thick paste:

1 egg yolk at room temperature

1/4 c grated parmesan cheese 

salt, pepper

  • Lower skillet's heat to low. Add
    ~1/2 t soy sauce
  • ~1/2 T (1 1/2 t) gochujang
  • "Fry" together and mix well to coat bacon mix with gochujang.
  • Cook for only 1 minute, even from frozen:
  • 1 block frozen udon noodles
  • Scoop the udon out and plunk it in the skillet, reserving the cooking water. Toss it all about and take the pan off the heat.
  • Add about a T of reserved cooking water to the egg/cheese paste to make a looser paste. Add the contents of the skillet, ready to toss it very quickly so that everything combines well and the egg doesn't curdle or scramble, but sets to a smooth velvety sauce. Season with:
  • salt, pepper, seasme oil, scallion greens.

1 comment:

Rebekka said...

Similar recipes are everywhere at the moment. Search Bon Appetit --> "kimchi udon with scallions" for Andy Baraghani's take. Halving the recipe makes two decent servings, and uses one frozen packet of udon. I ate it all tonight, but sort of regret that. Next time I'd split it and then add the egg yolk-- 1 for tonight's serving, and then add the egg yolk fresh after re-heating the leftovers.

2.5 T butter, divided
1/2 c chopped kimchi, 2 T kimchi juice
1 T gochujang
1/4 c chicken broth (I used water and a bit of Better than Bullion)
1/2 lb udon
2 large egg yolks (1 for each serving)
scallions, white and green parts
sesame seeds

Set water to boil your udon. This is the thing that takes the most time.

Heat 1T butter in a large skillet over med-high. Add finely chopped kimchi and gochujang, and cook, stirring occasionally, until kimchi is softened and somewhat caramelized, ~4 min. Add broth and kimchi juice. Simmer and reduce, ~3 min.

Transfer warmed noodles to skillet with tongs. Add 1.5 T butter at the same time. Cook, tossing, until sauce coats noodles, ~2 min. Divide into bowls. Each serving should be topped with an egg yolk, sesame seeds, and green onion. (The recipe says salt if needed, but mine didn't need any, and I didn't salt the udon water, either. I do use salted butter.)