Recall the Taste Of Mama Kim's Authentic Pasta
Published: 04 Jan. 2003, 19:45
A few good ideas on how to salvage the dish may come from any experienced Korean cook: make kimchi stew, patties or fried rice with it.
Variations on kimchi can be more creative if you join the trend of fusing culinary styles. Here, Korean traditional food meets authentic Italian pasta. The pungent flavor of well-fermented Chinese cabbage in various condiments and fish sauces goes surprisingly well with ripe tomato paste. Kimchi can add a chewy and spicy zest to an otherwise ordinary Italian dish. The secret of the Korean-Italian dish is that the older the kimchi, the better it tastes!
How to make Pasta Koreana:
Ingredients for four servings: 500 grams of well-fermented cabbage kimchi, a 10-ounce can of Italian tomato paste or six ripe medium-size tomatoes or 10 plum tomatoes (peeled), four cloves of fresh garlic (thinly sliced), three tablespoons of olive oil, one fresh red pepper or two teaspoons of dried red pepper, three leaves of fresh basil or one teaspoon of basil powder, five tablespoons or more of grated parmesan cheese, 3-4 tablespoons of white wine or any leftover table wine, one regular bag of spaghetti or spaghettini, and 1/2 cup of natural salt.
1. Boil two liters of water in a large pot.
2. Rinse kimchi in a bowl of water to remove excess spices. Slice the cabbage into thin strips. Set aside.
3. If using fresh tomatoes, blanch the tomatoes in boiling water for two minutes and drain quickly. The skin will come off very easily. Cut the tomatoes into smaller pieces and set aside.
4. In a medium-size skillet, heat olive oil on high heat. When the oil is hot, add sliced garlic and pepper.
5. When the garlic turns bright yellow, not brown, add the tomato paste. Cooking fresh tomatoes will take more time than using ready-made tomato paste.
6. When the fresh tomatoes turn soft, after 10-15 minutes, add the wine, followed by the kimchi.
7. Cook the sauce on a medium flame for ten more minutes and add basil. Here, the timing to cook the pasta and the temperature of both sauce and the pasta are crucial. You can leave the sauce on low heat for a little longer time in order to get the perfect pasta.
8. When the water boils again for cooking the pasta, add a generous amount of salt and pasta. Stir occasionally and cook according to the package directions - about 11 minutes for spaghetti. When the pasta is cooked al dente, drain it in a large strainer.
11. Put the tomato sauce over the pasta while hot and serve with parmesan cheese.
by inaescho
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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