Fusion · main

Gochujang Carbonara with Crispy Bacon

Gochujang Carbonara with Crispy Bacon reads umami 6.9, salinity 6.7 and richness 6.5 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Fusion main, about 25 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

• Umami & Savory — 7.9 / 10
• Sweet & Fruity — 2.6 / 10
• Sour & Bright — 1.1 / 10
• Bitter & Earthy — 3.4 / 10
• Rich & Fat — 7.1 / 10
• Aromatic & Spice — 4.2 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Umami 6.9 · Salinity 6.7 · Richness 6.5 · Allium 3.6 · Smoke 3.1 · Funk & Ferment 3.1 · Heat 3.1 · Sweetness 2.6 · Herbaceous 2.2 · Warm Spice 1.9 · Nutty 1.8 · Sourness 1.1 · Bitterness 0.8 · Earthy 0.7

What's in it (10)

• thin spaghetti — 454 g
• salt — 30 g
• salt bacon — 170 g
• garlic — 9 g
• gochujang — 30 g
• eggs — 200 g
• egg yolk — 300 g
• parmesan cheese — 114 g
• freshly cracked black pepper — 5 g
• scallions — 200 g

Time & effort: about 25 min · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 182.3 kcal, 10.1 g protein, 12.7 g fat, 6.5 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat · Contains dairy · Contains egg — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (10 steps)

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and stir in the kosher salt. Add the spaghetti and cook until al dente, 10-11 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. While the pasta cooks, cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until deeply browned and crisp, 7-9 minutes; transfer the bacon to a paper-towel-lined plate, leaving the rendered fat in the skillet.
3. Add the garlic to the bacon fat and cook over medium-low heat, stirring, until fragrant but not browned, 30-45 seconds; remove the skillet from the heat.
4. Whisk the gochujang into the warm bacon fat and garlic until smooth, then set the skillet aside off the heat.
5. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg yolks, Parmesan, and black pepper until completely smooth.
6. Just before the pasta is done, ladle out and reserve 1 1/2 cups of the starchy pasta water. Whisking constantly, slowly drizzle 1/2 cup of the hot pasta water into the egg mixture to gently warm it, which keeps the eggs from scrambling later.
7. Drain the spaghetti and add it directly to the skillet with the gochujang bacon fat. Toss over low heat until every strand is coated, about 30 seconds.
8. Remove the skillet from the heat completely, then pour in the tempered egg mixture, tossing the pasta constantly with tongs for about 2 minutes and adding reserved pasta water a splash at a time, until the sauce turns glossy and thickly coats the noodles.
9. Fold in the crispy bacon and toss to distribute; if the sauce looks tight, loosen it with another splash of pasta water until it ribbons off the tongs. Taste and adjust salt and pepper.
10. Divide the carbonara among warm bowls, scatter with scallions and extra Parmesan, and serve immediately.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

• Farmhouse Stir-Fried Pork (Nong Jia Xiao Chao Rou) — Chinese · Hunan
• Caldo Gallego — Spanish
• Migas — Spanish
• Sausage, Kale, and White Bean Pasta — Italian-American
• Loaded Baked Potato Soup with Crispy Bacon — American

Keep reading: what umami, salinity, richness mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.