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Tteokbokki Inspired Sweet and Spicy Gojuchang Pasta

This gojuchang pasta is inspired by Tteok-bokki, Korean simmered rice cakes and made of rigatoni and a rich, vibrant sauce that is sweet, spicy, and sticky. This is a super easy one-pan recipe and a great way to turn the beloved Korean street food into a satisfying meal!


Have you ever had Tteokbokki? Tteokbokki is a very popular Korean street food made of soft, chewy rice cakes, stir fried in a sweet and spicy gojuchang sauce and simmered with ramen noodles, fish cakes, cheese, eggs, and other ingredients. It is absolutely one of my favorite dishes ever, not just within Asian food!


Sadly though, it is not always so easy to find the right kind of rice cakes to make this street food so I modified the traditional tteokbokki recipe into a vegan pasta dish! I used the big, short pasta rigatoni because it best resembles the shapes of rice cake and made the sauce using a combination of Korean chili paste gojuchang (of course!) and tomato sauce.

I also made a video of how I made this pasta and you can find it on my Instagram @veganbunnychef, come hang with me!


INGREDIENTS:

1 cup dry rigatoni
2 scallion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoon chopped kimchi
1 cup tomato sauce
1 cup reserved pasta water
1-2 tablespoon Gojuchang paste, depending on preference for spiciness
1 teaspoon syrup
Oil for cooking
Sesame seeds for garnishing

TO MAKE:

- Salt a pot of water and bring to boil, cook the pasta for about 14 minutes till al dente, reserve a cup of the starchy pasta water;
- Chop the scallions, mince the garlic, and chop the kimchi, set aside;
- In a large nonstick pan, heat a large drizzle of cooking oil over medium-high heat, add the garlic first, cook for 1-2 minutes till aromatic and slightly golden;
- Add the scallion and kimchi to the pan, cook for another 2-3 minutes;
- Slowly add in the tomato sauce, gojuchang paste, and syrup, stir to loosen the thick paste and mix well with the rest of the ingredients;
- Pour in the pasta water, stir and bring to a boil, then lower the heat to medium-low;
- Transfer the cooked pasta into the pan, coat the pasta evenly with the sauce and let simmer for 5 minutes;
- Serve immediately with extra kimchi, scallion, and sesame seeds, enjoy!

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