Spicy Gochujang Noodles

Gochujang, fermented Korean chili paste. It is made from chili powder, glutinous rice, fermented soybean, barley malt powder, and salt. One of very common cooking ingredients across the Korean. You can easily find a pot of gochujang in any Asian grocery stores.

I love this bright red thick paste (a bit like tomato paste), is sweet, spicy with a bit of savory. Great for stir-fry and prefect to use up any vegetables and meat in your fridge.

The only seasoning for this dish is comes from the paste with a dash of light soy and some sugar. This is all you need. It is so quick, simple and easy to prepare. Prefect to make on a busy weekday night. Must give it a try!

Make 2 people

Ingredients

200g Rice noodles

2 -3 tbsp Gochujang paste (adjust to your taste, add more if you like spicy)

2 tbsp of cooking oil

1 cup mushroom of your choice

1/2 cup shredded carrot

1 stick of celery, peeled and thinly sliced

1/2 medium size onion, thinly sliced

1 red or yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced

1 piece ginger, finely sliced

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

Toasted sesame seeds for garnish (optional)

spring onion, finely chopped for garnish (optional)

Seasoning:

2 tbsp light soy (adjust to your taste)

1 tsp sugar

2 tbsp water

Method

- Prepare all above ingredients.

- Whisk the seasoning ingredients together. Add 2 tbsp of gochujang paste to start with, taste if you want to add more. If the sauce is too thick, just add a bit more water to dilute it.

- Before you start to cook, put noodles in a large heat proof bowl, add enough boiling water to cover the noodle. Let it on the side while cooking other ingredients. (or cook the noodles according to package instructions)

- Heat oil in a large frying pan or wok. Add in ginger, garlic and onion. Cook until they just soften.

- Add in shredded carrot, celery, pepper and mushroom. Cook until just soften. Drain the noodles and add them in with others. Give it a good stir. Now pour the sauce mixture in with the noodles. Stir to combine over a medium-low heat.

- Garnish with some toasted sesame seeds and spring onion. Enjoy when it hot!

Note: You can use any type of noodles you have in your storage cupboard (rice noodles, egg noodles, mung bean noodle, ramen noodles or PASTA!) Also, you can add some mince meat into the dish too. Just create your own and have fun with it!