Bulgogi Kimchi Pasta is a simple and quick Korean pasta dinner (for one or for many) with very few ingredients but packed with flavor!!
Bulgogi Kimchi Pasta was something my sister #3 has been telling me to try for some time but somehow I just could not get myself to make it. I think I kind of have a mental block when it comes to Korean fusion… But last Christmas when my sister and her family came to visit, she made this recipe and Myeongranjeot Pasta 명란젓 파스타 (aka Japanese Mentaiko Spaghetti) for dinner one night and they were amazing!!
Growing up, I remember my parents always commenting about how my sister #3 had a talent for choosing the most delicious items on the menu when ordering at a restaurant. Everyone in my family (all 7) was such a foodie that when we went to restaurants, all of us always had a very hard time deciding what to order. Because we are always torn between just too many things we want to eat!! So quite often, there were some serious deal making going on at the table, trying to team up together to order different dishes and share from the menu so that we could enjoy 3 different dishes instead of just 1.
So I trust my sisters (and brother) when it comes to food. And this Bulgogi Kimchi Pasta was the perfect dish to have after a full Christmas dinner the day before. It was after a huge festive meal of great shrimp boil, boiling crab and steak (for my husband) so we were all not wanting to eat a heavy meal and was craving something Korean but not really feeling for a full Korean meal either. Also, my sister and I was just not wanting to cook a lot so this Bulgogi Kimchi pasta was the perfect dish to make; a genius combination of Korean bulgogi and kimchi tossed with the always so yummy Italian pasta with minimal cooking involved.
BULGOGI KIMCHI PASTA is a GREAT SIMPLE RECIPE for SINGLES
I know many of you have been asking for great simple recipes for singles and here is one. This can be a REALLY simple dish to prepare for singles (or for busy mom) if you have the bulgogi made in advance. I had some leftover bulgogi frozen in the fridge so all I had to do was to thaw it and then it was a breeze to make. For singles, marinate 1 – 2 lb bulgogi at once and then divide into small portions and freeze them separately.
BULGOGI
Here’s my bulgogi recipe in case you want to make it now. BTW, bulgogi is my #1 ranking post for my blog, every day of the year so I hope you will use my bulgogi recipe to make this pasta.
What if I don’t have the right Bulgogi meat?
If you don’t have a Korean market nearby or just don’t have the right bulgogi meat (top sirloin, tender loin), you can buy just beef stew meat (hopefully with a bit of fat) and slice it thin or just buy steak sandwich meat.
KIMCHI
Can I use store bought Kimchi? Of course!! Just make sure it is fully ripe or a little sour. See my No Crazy Kimchi post if you don’t know how to ripen kimchi.
What if I want to make my own? Be my guest!! Here is my Easy Mak Kimchi recipe if you want to make your own. But be aware, it takes time to make and also few days for it to ripen fully to be used for this recipe. 😉
Bulgogi Kimchi Pasta Recipe (Make GF by using Gluten-Free Pasta)
Servings: 2 Prep Time: 5 min (if bulgogi is already made) Cook Time: 15 min.
Ingredients
- 6 oz bulgogi (3/4 cup)
- 2/3 cup cabbage kimchi, fully ripened, sliced
- 6 oz dry pasta (spaghetti or linguine), use gluten free if you’d like
- 1 Jalapeno peppers, sliced
- 1 Tbs vegetable oil
- 1 tsp soy sauce (jin ganjang)
- 1/2 tsp sesame oil (optional)
-
Extra – add some mozzarella cheese and fresh basil for extra cheesy pasta
Ingredients for Bulgogi Kimchi Pasta
- Marinate bulgogi if you haven’t already done so. Follow my bulgogi recipe but you can omit green onions if you are going to chop them in. If using a blender, you can just blend everything together. Better if you have bulgogi marinated for few hours to overnight but also OK if you make it right now.
- Start boiling water for pasta. Add some salt and oil before adding pasta.
- Cook pasta to package directions but reduce cooking time by 1 min or so to keep it very al dente.
- While pasta is cooking (usually 7-9 min), get fully ripened cabbage kimchi and cut them into strips. If you don’t have fully ripened kimchi, you can probably use it with a drizzle of vinegar.
- Cut bulgogi into thin strips or smaller pieces.
- Cut Jalapeno peppers into thin slices.
- When pasta is cooked, drain. Rinse one time in water. Although rinsing is not recommended for most pasta recipes, for this one I found it’s better to do because there’s no sauce and can lack a bit of moisture. Rinse is especially recommended for gluten free pasta as they come out quite sticky.
- Heat a non-stick pan on medium high heat. Add 1 Tbs oil.
- Add kimchi and saute for 2 min. until they become limp.
- Add bulgogi to pan and saute kimchi and bulgogi until bulgogi is mostly cooked.
Sauteeing Kimchi and Bulgogi for pasta - Add pasta and lower heat. Toss and mix pasta with kimchi and bulgogi.
- Add 1 tsp soy sauce. Mix again.
- Taste and add more soy sauce to taste. Add more kimchi liquid or sprinkling of water if your pasta is too dry. Optionally add 1/2 tsp of sesame oil if you like the flavor of sesame.
- Add in Jalapeno peppers and mix one last time. Turn heat off.
- Serve right away.
Bulgogi Kimchi Pasta with Gluten Free spaghetti
Using Gluten Free Pasta
I tried this recipe with both gluten free spaghetti, penne and regular linguine. They all came out delicious!! One caution with gluten free pasta is to quickly rinse it under running water once before adding to pan because it can become a bit too sticky if you don’t do that.
Bulgogi Kimchi Pasta (Spaghetti or Linguine)
Ingredients
- 6 oz bulgogi (3/4 cup / 750 ml)
- 2/3 cup cabbage kimchi (fully ripened, sliced)
- 6 oz dry pasta (spaghetti or linguine, use gluten-free if you'd like)
- 1 Jalapeno peppers (sliced)
- 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp soy sauce (jin ganjang)
- 1/2 tsp sesame oil (optional)
Instructions
- Marinate bulgogi if you haven't already done so. Follow my bulgogi recipe but you can omit green onions if you are going to chop them in. If using a blender, you can just blend everything together. Better if you have bulgogi marinated for few hours to overnight but also OK if you make it right now.
- Start boiling water for pasta. Add some salt and oil before adding pasta.
- Cook pasta to package directions but reduce cooking time by 1 min or so to keep it very al dente.
- While pasta is cooking (usually 8-10 min), get fully ripened cabbage kimchi and cut them into strips. If you don't have fully ripened kimchi, you can probably use it and add a drizzle of vinegar.
- Cut bulgogi into thin strips or smaller pieces.
- Cut Jalapeno peppers into thin slices.
- When pasta is cooked, drain. Rinse one time in water. Although rinsing is not recommended for most pasta recipes, for this one I found it's better to do because there's no sauce and can lack a bit of moisture. Rinse is especially recommended for gluten free pasta as they come out quite sticky.
- Heat a non-stick pan on medium high heat. Add 1 Tbs oil.
- Add kimchi and saute for 2 min. until they become limp.
- Add bulgogi to pan and saute kimchi and bulgogi until bulgogi is mostly cooked.
- Add pasta and lower heat. Toss and mix pasta with kimchi and bulgogi.
- Add 1 tsp soy sauce. Mix again.
- Taste and add more soy sauce to taste. Add more kimchi liquid or sprinkling of water if your pasta is too dry.
- Add in peppers and mix one last time. For extra yummy flavor, add some shredded mozzarella cheese and garnish with some fresh basil. Turn heat off.
- Serve right away.
Tips & Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Watch my video on how to make Bulgogi Kimchi Pasta quickly and easily!
XOXO ❤
JinJoo
WOW I Like This Kimchi. Thank You Very Much.
Thank you!
Wow, that looks so tasty. Love this recipe.
Thank you! It’s easy and simple to cook too!
You are very welcome dear~ 😍
Never tried bulgogi pasta before. This looks delicious. Would love to try some day. You got a big family! How nice! I think I am the biggest food in my family. I can imagine your family get-togethers must be full of yummy food!
Me neither until this past Christmas! Yes, I do have a big family and we do end up making way too much food when we get together. Thank you for leaving me a comment. 😉
My husband would love this! Thank you for sharing 🙂 Kamsahamnida~!