Dave Chang's Chili Crunch Carbonara Content

My team challenged me to create recipes on the fly based on random ingredients they bought, plus our Momofuku pantry products. That’s how this “carbonara” was born. It contains the base flavors of what’s traditionally in this dish, but I added Chili Crunch for more spice and kicked up the umami with Savory Seasoned Salt, parmesan, and eggs.

The end result reminds me of Malaysian Chili Pan Mee and my wife of Korean Buldak. Whether you want to call this Italian or Asian, all I can say is that it’s extremely delicious. That’s the essence of weeknight cooking — trust your gut and lean into the experimentation process.

Start off by rendering your pork in a pan. This traditionally calls for guanciale, but I prefer pancetta or pork belly. Let cook for 5 minutes. 

Grate parmesan into a bowl. Separate eggs and add the yolks to the bowl of parmesan.  I love yolks in food. It’s the best way to add richness, creaminess, and the feeling of luxury to a dish without being expensive.

Then, open however many Momofuku Soy & Scallion Noodle Packs you want based on how many people you’re serving. (At home, that number is usually about 3 for my wife, me, and our two young sons.) Boil Momofuku noodles for about 3 minutes. I personally like letting them cook a little longer for 4 minutes. 

Add pasta water to the egg-cheese mixture and stir vigorously to emulsify and prevent the eggs from scrambling. Add Chili Crunch and mix to incorporate, then dump most of the rendered pork into the bowl (saving some for later) and stir vigorously again. Add Momofuku Savory Seasoned Salt to taste.

When the noodles are cooked, use tongs to add them to the carbonara sauce. Stir together and plate. Top with the remainder of your crispy pork, and finish with more Chili Crunch and parmesan to taste.