Cheesy ravioli with buttery gochujang sauce

If I’m pressed for time, I’m make pasta. I know that might not sound intuitive, but a good pasta dish doesn’t take a lot of time when you have your method down and you’re using the best ingredients. This cheesy ravioli with buttery gochujang sauce sounds fancy, looks fancy, and tastes fancy, and it definitely is, but it takes only a few minutes to make. In fact, I’ve made this pasta dish in 15 minutes several times, so you can optimize it to fit your busy schedule. 

What is gochujang?

Gochujang (pronounced gow choo jang) is a popular Korean hot pepper condiment that is used in marinades in meat and hearty vegetable dishes or to add flavor to soups and stews. It’s a thick paste made from red chilies, glutinous rice, salt, and fermented soybeans. 

The first written record of gochujang was in the 1720s by a royal physician. It was invented after Europeans bought chili peppers from the Americas and exported them to Asia in the 16th century. Since its inception, gochujang has become a staple in Korean cuisine. 

Yields 4 servings

Prep time: 10 minutes | Cook time: 10 minutes | Total time: 20 minutes

Ingredients 

• 2 packs of store-bought ravioli (8 ounce packs with your favorite flavor. I am using ravioli stuffed with cheese for this recipe) 
• 10 cloves of garlic 
• 1 bunch of scallions (6 stalks, using both green and white parts)
• 1 tablespoon of gochujang
• 2 tablespoons of butter 
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil 
• 2 teaspoons of raw honey 
• ½ cup to ¾ cup of pasta water (add gradually) 
• ½ lime (fresh juice) 
• 1 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper 
• 1 teaspoon of freshly grated parmesan cheese
• Fresh Thai basil or cilantro for garnish (optional) 

Instructions

1. We’re going to start this dish by prepping our veggies. Mince 10 cloves of garlic. If you want it less pungent, you can reduce the number of cloves. Once minced, set aside. 
2. Next, thinly slice a bunch of scallions (green onions). I like to use both the green and white parts, and I save a bit of the white with the roots to regrow in my windowsill garden. Once chopped, set aside. 
3. Once the veggies are chopped, I fill a deep pot with filtered water and boil it. When the water reaches a boil, sprinkle a few large pinches of salt, you want this to be salty like the ocean. We’ll also use this water for our pasta sauce later. Once you’ve salted the water, carefully drop in your ravioli. Boil per your package instructions. In my case, my pasta cooked within 4 minutes, which is just enough time to make the sauce.
4. In a separate skillet, heat your pan to medium heat. Then add a tablespoon of butter and oil to the pan. As the butter gets foamy, add in your scallions and garlic, coat everything in the butter and oil, making sure the garlic doesn’t burn. As everything cooks, add in your freshly ground black pepper, this gives the dish an additional layer of heat. 
5. Once the veggies get soft, this should take a minute or two, add in your gochujang paste to the pan and use a wooden spoon to help break up the paste. Next, add a ladle of pasta water, you’ll need to use your intuition for this, to help create your pasta sauce. 
6. Start with 1 ladle of water and add to the pan, the contains will sizzle, that’s good! Mix everything together on medium high heat. You can use a whisk to help the sauce come together more easily. The water should start thickening and creating your sauce while dissolving the gochujang paste. I usually add 3 ladles of pasta water to my skillet to create my sauce. I also bump up the heat to bring the pasta sauce to a vigorous simmer. 
7. Also, please note that I’m not adding any additional salt to this dish. That’s because the pasta water is salty, and if you add parmesan at the end of the dish, you really don’t need to add any other salt to this dish. 
8. Once the sauce thickens up, you will add in your honey and your remaining butter to the sauce. The honey helps balance the heat of the gochujang. And the butter adds a rich, velvety dimension to the pasta sauce. 
9. Next, add in your pasta. Since we’re using ravioli, you want to make sure you don’t mix too much so you don’t break up the pasta. 
10. Get your pasta coated in the sauce, then plate it up. I like to garnish with parmesan shavings and some sprigs of Thai basil. 

I hope you enjoy this recipe! If you make this dish, let me know how you like it in the comments below.