Spicy vodka sauce wishes it could be this good...
Penne alla vodka was one of the first meals that I learned to make as a kid. My mom has a great story about leaving a bottle of vodka on the counter for me to make dinner and my baby-sitter having a lot of questions. Its base of tomato paste and cream is very versatile and can be customized in a slew of ways. When I first started to use gochujang, which is a fermented Korean pepper paste, its viscosity reminded me of tomato paste. I love putting lots of red chilli flakes in my penne alla vodka, so I thought gochujang would be a delicious swap for the tomato paste and chilli flakes in a pink sauce.
If you have never worked with gochujang before you might have a lot of questions. Where can I buy it? What does it taste like? What can I use it for? Is this going to be a condiment that sits on my shelf and only gets used once a year?
Gochujang is sold at almost every grocery store now (look in the Asian foods aisle).If your regular store doesn’t sell it, you will certainly be able to find it at an Asian market or online. More times than not it comes in little tubs, but a few brands sell them in squeeze bottles. The flavor will vary between brands, but the main taste is sweet, salty, and spicy. In my opinion, the paste is mild so if you are spice adverse this is a great product for you. I suggest mixing a spoon full of the paste into sauces, soups, dips, and dressings. As we approach the summer season, gochujang is the perfect product for mixing into meat marinades. The fermented flavor adds an extra layer of depth and the sugar helps meat to caramelize on the grill. Given the paste is fermented it can last for up to two years before it expires (big bonus points!). —Patrick Wong
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