Kimchi Carbonara, the ultimate comfort food

(This post is sponsored by Nellie’s Free Range.)

This kimchi carbonara is kimchi fried rice in a noodle form – the ultimate comfort food! With rich and creamy Nellie’s Free Range Egg yolks and flavorful kimchi juice coating the pasta, you’re going to want seconds. Nellie’s hens are Certified Humane Free Range, which means they live happy lives outdoors. And happy hens make more delicious eggs with thick shells and golden yolks, the key to a delicious carbonara.

I like to use thick pasta noodles for this recipe because they remind me of udon noodles.

If you tried this kimchi carbonara, I would love to hear from you!

Also, check out Miso Butter Noodles.

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Kimchi Carbonara

This kimchi carbonara is kimchi fried rice in a noodle form – the ultimate comfort food!

Course Main Course

Cuisine Fusion

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Servings 3

Author whiteblankspace

Ingredients

• 12 oz bucatini or spaghetti pasta
• 3 Nellie’s Free Range Egg yolks at room temperature
• 4 slabs of bacon chopped
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 cup chopped napa cabbage kimchi
• 2~3 tbsp kimchi juice
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
• optional toasted sesame seeds

Instructions

1. Cook pasta per package direction. Save 1/2 cup of pasta cooking water and drain. Set aside.
2. In a bowl, beat the egg yolks until smooth.
3. In a large pan, cook bacon until crispy. Discard excess oil
4. Add garlic and kimchi. Cook until kimchi is tender, about 5 minutes.
5. Add cooked pasta and toss to combine.
6. Turn off the heat. Add egg yolks, kimchi juice, and parmesan cheese. Toss quickly so the residual heat can cook the egg yolks. Add some pasta cooking water if the pasta is dry.

7. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top and serve.

Let’s Test Out This Recipe

I am happy to have an eager recipe tester, Kalya, on board, who tried out this recipe and shared her feedback. Kayla is a rookie home cook, understandably, still attending high school. I’m excited to have Kalya’s feedback, as I’m sure some of the readers here are also just learning to cook. I hope you find this section helpful and relatable.

Kayla: “I have to say, I absolutely love any creamy pasta. If there is any creamy pasta, send it my way! I also love kimchi, but I have never heard of combining the two together. The creamy pasta alongside the spicy kimchi made an excellent fusion food to try out. The bacon also adds a crunch that goes well with the textures of the pasta. Although bacon is naturally oily, the kimchi cuts right through to create a fresh flavor that pairs well with this dish. If you’re feeling adventurous and want to expand your palette into different cultures, this kimchi recipe might just be your next comfort food! It incorporates a traditional pasta and egg recipe with Korean cuisine. Exploring different cultures can certainly be intimidating, yet fusion food like this recipe can ease you into new and dynamic flavors!

For starters, I chose fettuccine instead of spaghetti noodles because I tend to like thicker noodles for my pasta. However, you can choose whichever pasta type you want. I mean, can you ever go wrong with pasta? Because pasta is so versatile, you can add so many different toppings to fit your liking. This includes pepper flakes, udon noodles, other vegetables, and much more. The list is pretty much endless. 

In this recipe as well, measuring everything out beforehand really helped me out because once I started adding the egg yolks, kimchi juice, and cheese, everything started to cook pretty quickly. Personally, being able to add all the measurements swiftly was beneficial throughout this recipe. In addition, after cooking and adding the toppings, the pasta ended up being too dry. However, once I added water, the pasta was as good as before!

The “toppings,” as I might say, of garlic, kimchi, bacon, and cheese were a pretty good combination. The crunch from the bacon went well with the kimchi and the cheese pulled the dish together to create a smooth pasta. After making this pasta, I think I would cut the kimchi piece smaller. With the medium-sized kimchi piece that I had used, the kimchi flavor seemed to overpower the other ingredients that I would have loved to taste more of in this dish. For instance, with the smaller pieces of kimchi, I think there would have been a better balance between the kimchi and the bacon plus garlic. 

The flavors went very well together and the texture was a mix of crunchy and soft. Whether you are looking to explore Korean food or simply looking for a good pasta recipe, this recipe is a great starting point for whatever you are looking for!”