The fusion pasta force is strong with this one: tangy, spicy kimchi interweaves with glossy, cheesy spaghetti. Italian-Korean alchemy at its finest.
300g (10.5 oz) spaghetti
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
200g (7 oz) guanciale or speck, cut into lardons
½ cup kimchi, drained, chopped (try my homemade kimchi recipe)
3 eggs
2 egg yolks
1 cup finely grated parmesan, plus extra to serve
cracked or freshly ground (coarse) black pepper
2 spring onions (scallions), thinly sliced
Cook the pasta in a large saucepan of heavily salted boiling water until al dente.
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the speck and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until lovely and golden. Now add the chopped kimchi to the pan and cook for a couple of minutes to let it soak up all that porky goodness. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Use a fork to whisk the eggs and yolks in a medium bowl. Stir through the parmesan and season well with black pepper.
Once the pasta is still al dente (we want it to finish off the cooking in the pan), use tongs to transfer it to the pan with the cooled bacon and kimchi mixture, reserving the pasta water. Pour in the egg mixture. Turn the heat to low and, using tongs, toss everything to combine.
Pour in a ¼ cupful of the reserved pasta water and continue to toss over very low heat until thick and glossy. It can take around 5 minutes so be patient – you don’t want to scramble those eggs! Taste and season with salt if necessary.
Divide the pasta among serving bowls. Sprinkle with extra parmesan and the spring onion.
