Korean Fire Noodles
Units
Temperature
Servings
Ingredients
Sauce
- 30 g gochujang rounded
- 15 g gochugaru rounded
- 4 garlic cloves, minced rounded
- 20 g sugar rounded
- 20 ml soy sauce rounded
- 15 ml neutral oil rounded
- 10 ml toasted sesame oil rounded
Noodles and topping
- 2 Korean instant ramyeon noodle blocks, seasoning packets discarded rounded
- 80 g mozzarella, shredded rounded
- 10 g toasted sesame seeds rounded
- 10 g scallion, thinly sliced rounded
Method
Method
- Bring a pot of water to a boil. Cook the noodle blocks for 1 minute less than the package instructs, until still quite firm. Drain, reserving a small cup of the starchy cooking water.
- While the noodles cook, whisk the gochujang, gochugaru, garlic, sugar and soy sauce together in a small bowl to form a thick paste.
- Heat the neutral oil in a wide skillet or wok over medium heat. Add the sauce paste and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until fragrant and slightly darkened. This toasts the gochugaru and is what builds real depth rather than flat chili heat.
- Add the undercooked noodles to the pan along with a few tablespoons of the reserved noodle water. Toss constantly over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes, adding a little more noodle water as needed, until every strand is coated in a thick, glossy sauce and the noodles are fully cooked.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the sesame oil.
- Scatter the mozzarella over the noodles. Cover the pan and let sit off the heat for 1 to 2 minutes, until melted.
- Top with sesame seeds and scallion and serve immediately.
Notes
- Toast the sauce paste in oil before the noodles go in. Raw gochugaru stirred straight into noodles tastes dusty and one-dimensional; a minute or two in hot oil blooms it into something rounder and more complex.
- Loosen the sauce with starchy noodle water, not plain water. The starch is what lets the sauce actually cling to every strand instead of running off and pooling; plain water just dilutes the flavour without helping it stick.
- Undercook the noodles before they meet the sauce. They finish cooking as they absorb it, which is part of how they end up coated rather than just wet.
- This is meant to be seriously spicy. Cut the gochugaru back by a third for a milder version without losing the technique.
Ingredient substitutions
- A drizzle of condensed milk stirred through at the end is a common way to round out the heat, in the spirit of the original instant version.
- Crumbled seaweed snacks scattered on top add crunch and a nod to the classic packet.
- A soft-boiled or fried egg on top turns this into a heartier meal.