Yesss, we’re kickin’ it back with another exciting Korean-Italian fusion recipe! This one is also an original recipe that I’ve always had in my head very early on but never got a chance to try it. Now, it’s one of my wife’s all-time favorites and one of our go-to weeknight dinners. Introducing my Creamy Dwenjang (된장) Pasta! Sooo DwenjANG good, haha.
Why Trumpets?
I absolutely love trying all different kinds of new pasta shapes and sizes. This one was very new and different. I came across this one from Sfoglini called “Trumpets“, as a gift from my wife’s friend. It’s an organic pasta made from American grain. I love how it’s shaped perfectly to hold the sauce in well so I decided to give it a shot for my recipe and it tasted amazing!
Dwenjang Sauce
My thought process for this dish was to come up with a new recipe that my wife would love and enjoy. I thought she would love a creamy-type sauce and so I started from there. After hours of brainstorming and countless notes jotted down in my phone, I produced a delicious final product. I actually love how dwenjang tastes and I’m fascinated by how versatile it is to use in many different sauces and dishes. It provides such a unique, salty/earthy/savory flavor that is unmatched. The rest of the recipe was to simply provide a good balance and texture to the sauce.
This is the PERFECT dish to make if you’re pressed for time on a weekday and you want a nice home-cooked meal. It only takes less than 30 minutes to make and it’s so darn delicious. Even if you’re not Korean, you will still be able to appreciate the depth of flavor in this dish. The dwenjang really is a game-changing X factor that works perfectly in this sauce. I highly recommend giving it a try! You won’t regret it. So what are you waiting for? Let’s get it!
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Pasta – I usually love using fresh egg pasta (either noodles or rigatoni), but you may use whatever pasta you like as long as it can carry the sauce well (for this post, I used Trumpets).
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Pancetta – Provides great salty & fatty flavor
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Dwenjang (Soybean Paste) – Main component of the sauce, provides earthy + savory + umami flavor
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Onions – For the base/sauce
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Garlic – Aromatic
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Cremini Mushrooms – Provides texture and a nice savory and earthy element
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Butter + Heavy Cream – Creamy sauce
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Parmesan Cheese – To be added into sauce and for extra flavor
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Shrimp – My choice of protein (optional). It just pairs well with this creamy & savory sauce.
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Scallion – for garnish, freshness and texture
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Roasted Dry Seaweed – For garnish, texture, and elevated flavor
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Hot sauce + Lemon Zest – for kick + acidity (optional)
Creamy Dwenjang (된장) Pasta
It’s creamy, it’s savory, it’s so dwenjanggg delicious! This oh so smooth and creamy dwenjang pasta is the perfect quick and easy weeknight dinner!
Ingredients
- 8 oz Pasta of your choice, cooked 2 min before al dente
- 2 oz Pancetta, cubed
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 small onion (2 oz), chopped
- 1 cup (4 oz) cremini mushrooms, chopped
- 2 tbsp butter, divided in 2 parts
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1.5 tbsp dwenjang (Korean Soybean Paste)
- 1 cup fresh parmesan cheese, grated for sauce & for garnish
- 1 cup protein of your choice (optional: chicken, shrimp, or tofu)
- 1 scallion, finely chopped
- 1 roasted dry seaweed sheet, thinly sliced for garnish
- Hot sauce (optional)
- Lemon zest, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
First, start by bringing 5 cups of water to a boil in a 4-6 qt stock pot.
While that’s working, prep your veggies: rinse & chop mushrooms and peel, rinse, & dice onion (sliced if using long noodles for pasta). Mince your garlic cloves & set aside.
Either buy a thick slab of pancetta & chop them into small cubes or buy pre-packaged cubed pancetta & weigh out 2 oz (the latter is more cost effective and less work, plus you only need a small amount for this recipe)
Add salt & olive oil to boiling water & throw in your choice of pasta (I love using noodles & rigatoni, but for this recipe, I’m using Trumpets). Cook just until 2 minutes before al dente, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.
Next, in a separate large skillet, add half of the butter on medium-high heat and cook the pancetta first until fat is rendered (~2 minutes).
Quickly add in your onions & sweat them down until translucent in color (~2-3 minutes). Then, add in mushrooms & garlic and cook for about a minute until beautifully fragrant.
Turn heat down to medium and add heavy cream, soybean paste & cheese. Stir until a nice homogenous sauce is obtained throughout (~3-5 minutes). Taste & season, as needed.
Add the pasta & some reserved starch water to the skillet & cook for about 2 minutes until al dente.
This part is optional, but you can throw in your cooked protein now. I’m using frozen shrimp that I thawed out in the beginning.
Add in your scallions right after the shrimp, just before turning off the heat.
Heat a sheet of dry seaweed paper on open flame for about 5 seconds on both sides & thinly slice.
Plate your pasta with sauce, garnish with freshly ground black pepper, roasted seaweed slices, hot sauce and lemon zest and enjoy!
Please let me know what you think in the comments section below. And don’t forget to tag me on instagram @yang.yummm when you share your finished product!
Thank you! See you next time. Yummmy!
