Gochugaru Noodles – Original Recipe!
This noodle dish is sooo good (seriously).
And it was invented by accident - like all great things!
I had spicy paste leftover from our Jeju Island Gogi Noodles Recipe.
I was planning to use it for a spicy fried rice.
But when I opened up my rice cooker, there was no rice left (ugh - the worst feeling, lol!)
Feeling my hunger, I scavenged through my pantry and found Chinese Lacey Noodles that I had used for Mala Xiang Guo (Spicy Numbing Stirfry).
[Note: “Lacey Noodles” is known in Chinese as Dao Xiao Mian (刀削面)]
I boiled the Lacey Noodles and stir-fried it with our Signature Gochugaru Paste.
The result was amazing!
It had the perfect combination of spicy, savory and succulence! And the texture of the slippery yet slightly chewy noodles was just to my liking.
(Though I will confess, I ended up cooking a batch of rice anyway – as I wanted to eat it alongside the spicy noodles - lol!)
Now, I can feel my mouth water already - just typing about this…
Cooking Tips for Gochugaru Noodles!
For these stir-fried noodles, keep it simple – less ingredients equals focused taste!
All you need is a handful of mushrooms & thinly sliced pork belly.
For pork belly - we’re using Korean “Daepae” Samgyeopsal (대패 삼겹살).
Daepae is different from the common Samgyeopsal (that you see at Korean BBQ houses) because it’s thinly shaved.
Makes it great for stir-fries – plus, it’s cheap.
Note: We tried this recipe with beef (rather than pork) – but beef tends to dry out in stir-fries. So I highly recommend pork.
The key flavor variable for this Gochugaru Stirfry Paste is Saeu-jeot (fermented & salted baby shrimp). This packs the saltiness with plenty of umami.
Also, we’ll use a few tablespoons of instant broth. Mix a few pinches of Chicken Stock Powder with hot water or even better, use Dashida (Korean Beef Stock Powder).
This hot broth will slightly cook the gochugaru chili flakes – releasing a deeper flavor.
Note: If you have Chicken Stock Powder in liquid form, that’s fine too. Just heat it up in the microwave before adding.
Alrighty ya’ll! I hope these noodles brings you as much joy as it did to us 😉
If you make it, show us on IG – we get energy from seeing your dishes!
(P.s. If you’re cooking alone, don’t get bored. Consider listening to our latest podcast episode while you cook!)
-Daniel out 🕺
Ingredients
Fresh Ingredients for Stir-Fried Noodles
- Handful of Chinese Lacey Noodles
- Large handful of Thinly Sliced Pork Belly (aka Daepae Samgyupsal - 대패 삼겹살)
- 4-5 Wood Ear Mushrooms (or use any local mushroom)
- 2 Shiitake Mushrooms (or use any local mushroom)
- Small handful Brown Beech Mushrooms (or use any local mushroom)
Gochugaru Spicy Paste
- 2 Tablespoons Gochugaru Flakes
- 1 Tablespoon Minced Garlic
- 1 teaspoon(!) Saeujeot (Salted Baby Shrimp)
- 1 Tablespoon Mirin
- 1 teaspoon(!) Soy Sauce
- 5-6 cracks Black Pepper
- 2 Tablespoons Stock Broth (See Recipe Below)
Stock Broth
- ½ Cup Water
- ⅓ teaspoon(!) Chicken Stock Powder (or Dashida Beef Powder)
Stir-fry Noodle & Seasoning
- 4 cloves Garlic
- Few pinches Salt (for seasoning pork)
- ½ Tablespoon Minced Ginger (for seasoning pork)
- 1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce
- 1 Tablespoon Oyster Sauce
- 1 Tablespoon Spicy Gochugaru Paste (recipe above)
- 1 Soup Ladle of Noodle Water (leftover from boiling)
Instructions
Prep Ingredients
- Cut 4 cloves of garlic into small, thin slices. Set aside for stir-fry later.
- Mince a piece of ginger - set aside ½ Tablespoon worth for stir-fry later.
- Prep each mushroom - cut off the stem and dice if needed. Set them aside.
Make Gochugaru Spicy Paste
- Take out a mixing bowl and stir together: Gochugaru Flakes (2 Tablespoons), Minced Garlic (1 Tablespoon), Saeujeot (1 teaspoon!), Mirin (1 Tablespoon), Soy Sauce (1 teaspoon!), Black Pepper (5-6 cracks). We're not done with the paste yet - see next step!
- Now let's make stock broth quickly to finish our paste: Pour ½ cup of water into a pot. Then add in Chicken Stock Powder (⅓ teaspoon!). Place on high heat and bring to a boil.
- Add 2 Tablespoons of this hot stock broth to the mixture. Give everything a thorough mix and finish your paste.
Boil Noodles & Make Stirfry
- On one stovetop, fill a pot with water and start to bring it to a boil.
- On another section of your stovetop, let's stirfry: Place some oil into a wok or frying pan. Once the oil is hot, add in the sliced garlic. Once the garlic starts to sizzle, add in the thin pork belly slices.
- Now if your pot of water has come to a boil - add in the dried lacey noodles. Set a timer for 2 minutes. Back to the stirfry!
- Season the pork belly with a few pinches of salt. Then add in the Minced Ginger (½ Tablespoon). Stir-fry until the pork belly pieces get slightly crispy on the outside.
- Once it does, add in Soy Sauce (1 Tablespoon) and Oyster Sauce (1 Tablespoon). Stir-fry everything around.
- By now, the noodles will be about done. Carefully scoop-up the noodles from the boiling water and transfer them directly into the stir-fry. (Important: Don't throw away the water - we'll use in the next step.)
- Now, add-in Spicy Gochugaru Paste (1 Tablespoon). Followed by 1 soup ladle's worth of the residual water. (This water will melt the paste and coat the noodles)
- Then use a pair of chopsticks and vigorously stir the paste into the noodles - until everything is well coated. If you need slightly more water, add some in!
- Turn off the heat. Plate and enjoy!
Magda says
Sounds really lipsmacking to me! But when do you add in the mushrooms?