SPICE IT UP

with Noodles!

STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY NATALIE FINDLAY

As the temperatures plummet it is natural to crave warming foods. To kick up the heat on your internal thermostat, these spicy noodle dishes will have you warmed up in no time. The heat from peppers actually comes from the amount of capsaicin that is in the white pith/inner wall of the pepper. The seeds themselves do not contain heat but they can be covered with capsaicin, so that is why we want to remove the seeds as well as the pith if you are using fresh peppers.

What makes us sense the heat in the capsaicin? The capsaicin binds to pain receptors on the tongue which sends a signal to your brain telling it that you are experiencing a burning sensation. The brain sends a signal that says, pain, pain, pain. And now your mouth feels like it is on fire.

Just like fire trucks come to put out actual fires, thankfully we can call upon milk to put out the fire in our mouth. The casein in dairy binds with capsaicin and helps reduce the burn.

This Spicy Gochujang and Sweet Pepper Pasta uses both a mix of sweet peppers and spice from Korean gochujang paste along with nduja sausage to impart a deeper layer of umami and a pleasant hint of heat you can enjoy throughout the whole meal.

The spice starts strong but does not build so each bite is spicy and delicious. Gochujang, a deeply savoury, fermented chili paste made from glutinous rice, soybeans, and gochugaru (Korean chili powder), brings gentle heat and a touch of sweetness. Nduja uses Calabrian chili peppers for its distinctive flavour and fiery heat.

Spicy Gochujang and Sweet Bell Pepper Pasta

Serves 4-6

454 g rigatoni or other favourite pasta

½ tsp salt, plus salt for cooking pasta

2 Tbs butter, divided

1 small red onion, peeled and thinly sliced

½ small red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced

½ small orange bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced

½ small yellow bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced

½ small green bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced

200 g nduja sausage

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 Tbs (45 mL) gochujang paste

1 Tbs (15 mL) tomato paste

1 cup (250 mL) puréed or strained tomatoes

½ cup (125 mL) cream

Garnishes: chives, parsley, Parmesan cheese

1. Bring 8 litres of water to boil in a large pot. You may add ½ tablespoon of salt to the water if desired. Add pasta and cook, stirring often until al dente.

2. Reserve ½ cup (125 mL) of cooking water and drain the rest. Return the pasta to the pot.

3. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat.

4. Add the red onion and sweet peppers and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Remove from pan and reserve.

5. Add the nduja sausage and sauté 3 minutes or until browned. Drain fat. Add the garlic and cook another 30 seconds.

6. Stir in the gochujang and tomato paste and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.

7. Stir in tomatoes and cook 5 minutes. Stir in the cream. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

8. Add ¼ cup reserved cooking water to the sauce and combine. Add the reserved red onion and peppers along with the sauce to the pasta and toss to combine. Adjust consistency with additional reserved cooking water as needed.

9. Garnish as desired.

Dan Dan Style Noodles

Serves 4

These Dan Dan Style Noodles look to chili oil for its intense (but controllable) heat. If you don’t appreciate as much heat then you can remove or reduce the amount of chili oil used. This recipe seems complicated with all the steps but it is easy, plus you can make some parts ahead of time.

Step 1: Chili Oil

Makes ½ cup (125 mL)

2 Tbs Sichuan peppercorns (can substitute ½ black peppercorns and ½ coriander seeds)

1- 4 cm cinnamon stick

2 star anise

½ cup (125 mL) avocado oil

2 Tbs crushed red pepper flakes

1. In a small pot, add the Sichuan peppercorns, cinnamon stick, star anise, and oil. Over medium low heat, slowly heat for 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and wait 6-7 minutes, then remove the peppercorns, cinnamon stick, and star anise.

2. Add the crushed red pepper flakes and allow them to steep in the hot oil. It should start smelling fragrant, almost like popcorn. Allow the oil to cool.

The oil can be made ahead of time and stored in a glass container.

Step 2: Meat Mixture

3 tsp (15 mL) oil (split)

1/3 cup (80 mL) preserved mustard greens (sui mi ya cai)

500 g ground pork

1 Tbs (15 mL) hoisin sauce

2 tsp (10 mL) shaoxing wine (or sub with dry sherry or sake)

1 tsp (5 mL) dark soy sauce

1 tsp five spice powder

1. Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a sauté pan over medium heat, and sauté the preserved mustard greens for 1 minute. Set aside.

2. In a sauté pan, heat the remaining 2 teaspoons of oil over medium heat, and brown the ground pork. Strain any residual liquid (if any) and return to the pan.

3. Add the wine, dark soy sauce, and five spice powder. Cook, stirring consistently until all the liquid is evaporated. Set aside.

Step 3: Sauce

2 Tbs (30 mL) sesame paste (tahini)

3 Tbs (45 mL) soy sauce

½ tsp five spice powder

3 Tbs (45 mL) prepared chili oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

¼ cup (60 mL) hot cooking water from the noodles (next step)

Mix together all the ingredients in a bowl. Taste and adjust seasoning if you like. You can thin the sauce with more hot water as desired.

Step 4: Assembly

240 g fresh or dried noodles

8 small baby bok choy (or other green as desired)

Garnishes: sliced scallion, sautéed mushrooms, corn kernels

1. Cook the noodles according to package directions. Remove noodles from water and reserve.

2. Then blanch the greens in the noodle water, and drain.

3. To assemble, divide among four bowls - the sauce, the noodles, the meat and preserved mustard greens and any garnishes you would like. Drizzle with more chili oil if you really want to turn up the heat.