Take a cheesy cream sauce to the next level by introducing heat, acidity and fermented funk! A fusion pasta dish that keeps meal prep interesting by putting in a Korean spin.

Time: 4/5
Anything sous vide takes time, but it’s a hands-off process.

Effort: 3/5
The sauce has no business being so good, for how easy it is to make.

Seoul Good

My recent trip to Seoul inspired me to try some new flavours in my cooking. Korean cuisine is full of savoury, pickled, and fermented flavours that always keeps food interesting. And that sort of variety is what helps prepped meals feel fresh and exciting.

I’ve used gochujang before to make some killer Gochujang Hot Honey Chicken Thighs before, so it’s just a skip and a hop to turn it into a cheesy cream sauce like the Crab Alfredo Pasta. I decided to serve it with some sous vide chicken breasts for the lean protein to balance out all the richness. And since I’m already boiling water to make pasta, I might as well blanch some broccoli while I’m at it. Always eat your veggies!

I’m really happy with how this turned out. The gochujang was spicy and funky, the kimchi juice brought in some tartness, and nobody ever complained about cream and cheese in a pasta sauce. For the amount of effort it took, this dinner hit well above it weight class.

The gochujang behaves almost like tomato paste or purée does in other cream sauces, by adding a vibrant colour and sharp flavour. To counter all that richness, I served the pasta with some sous vide chicken breasts and blanched broccoli.

Saucy pasta dishes like this are also great for meal prep, so after enjoying this scrumptious dinner I have more meals to look forward to for the coming week. I’d say this is a successful case of fusion home cooking, and I’m even more proud of the fact that I am native to neither of the combined cuisines!

Posts since the last recipe that was actually served with rice: 1

Dramatis Personae

Served 6. 

• 150ml cream
• 150ml kimchi juice
• 200g kimchi, chopped fine
• Few cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp gochujang
• 2 tbsp maple syrup or honey
• 50g shredded Parmesan 
• 500g penne pasta 
• 1kg chicken breast
• 3 heads of broccoli
• Salt and pepper to taste

Executive summary

1. Sous vide chicken breasts with salt and pepper at 63C/145F for 2 hours from frozen, or 1.5 hours defrosted.
2. Cut and clean the broccoli, and ready the rest of the ingredients.
3. Bring salted water to a boil. Blanch the broccoli and reserve.
4. Cook pasta according to package instructions and reserve.
5. Combine cream, gochujang, kimchi, and kimchi juice in a pan. Stir on low heat until combined.
6. Add pasta back into pan, and toss to coat with sauce.
7. Switch off the heat, add the Parmesan, and stir it in. Serve hot.

Play by Play

Always eat your veggies! If the sous vide chicken is happening on the same day, I can use the warm water for that to get a head start. I’m cutting and blanching the broccoli first, so I have some hot water ready to go for the pasta.

It’s super quick to bring the broccoli water back up to boiling once the broccoli is done.

I cooked the chicken sous vide yesterday, and cut them up while the pasta boils. I cut my garlic too, while I was at it.

Here is where I need you to do what I say, not what I do. When making the sauce, save the Parmesan until everything is in the pan and let it melt in the residual heat. I added the cheese while the sauce was still simmering, and it split the cheese somewhat.

Here’s the finished sauce – a beautiful fiery orange, creamy and cheesy, slightly spicy, and plenty savoury.

The final step is tossing the pasta with the sauce to make sure everything is well combined.

Dinner is served! Nobody ever complained about pasta in a cream sauce, and I’m not about to start doing so now.

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