This beefy and pasta-licious Gochujang Stroganoff is made with crème fraîche instead of sour cream. Its satisfying comfort-foodiness is amplified by mushrooms and Parmesan.
Gochujang Stroganoff
Course: Dinner6-10
servingsIf you’re making your own crème fraîche, you’ll need to do it a day ahead of time.
Ingredients
1 lb. extra wide egg noodles (perhaps tagliatelle or pappardelle)
1 Tbs olive oil
2 shallots, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb. lean (90/10) beef (see notes)
4 oz. mushrooms, finely chopped (see notes)
2 Tbs butter
6 Tbs gochujang
5.25 oz. (⅔ cup) cream
5.25 oz. (⅔ cup) crème fraîche
2 Tbs honey (or maple syrup)
¼ cup grated Parmesan (see notes), plus more for serving
Salt and pepper
Minced parsley, for serving
Lime wedges, for serving
Directions
- Cook pasta in salted water, according to package directions. When draining, reserve 1 cup of the pasta water.
- Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over a medium flame (setting 4 out of 9). Add the shallots and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, 3 minutes. Add garlic and continue to cook for 1 minute. Add the beef and mushrooms, and scramble until no pink remains in the beef, about 5 minutes.
- Add the butter and gochujang, and stir until the butter is melted. Lower the heat (setting 2) and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the cream and crème fraîche. Stir until well blended; bring to a simmer. Continue to simmer until the sauce is thick, about 5 minutes. Off heat.
- Add honey and Parmesan. Stir. Season to taste with salt (perhaps 2 tsp) and pepper (lots).
- Once the pasta is drained, return it to the (empty) pot you boiled it in. Scrape the sauce into the pasta. Add the reserved pasta water. Heat over a medium flame (setting 4) and toss constantly until the sauce coats the pasta nicely. Correct seasoning. Serve with parsley, lots of Parmesan, and a squeeze of lime.
Notes
- Beef: substitute pork or a mixture of beef and pork. In that case, you may have to drain off excess fat once the meat is scrambled.
- Mushrooms: button mushrooms are fine, but an earthier medley of something like cremini, shitake, and oyster will increase the umami.
- Parmesan: as a substitute, try soy sauce or tahini, to taste.
Social Learning
Note that some gochujangs are spicier than others. The one I used says “hot,” but I think it’s more on the medium side.
Because the noodles will soak up liquid over time, you may want to reserve ALL the pasta water, moisten the leftovers with it as you reheat them. Here’s what you do: spoon the leftover stroganoff into a flat-bottomed, sealable container. Once it’s been completely refrigerated, dump it out onto a cutting board. It should come out like a solid brick; it helps if the container is somewhat flexible. Use a chef’s knife to slice the brick into cubes the size of single servings, but don’t separate any of them. Slide the container back over the brick, and use the knife to hold it there while you flip it right side up. Now, you’ll be able to use a fork to stab a serving, lift it out of the container, and move it to a bowl. Give each serving two splashes of the pasta water, if you saved it, or tap water. Don’t stir. Reheat it in the microwave. Once it comes out of the microwave, that’s when you stir it.
This dish is similar to Korean Bolognese (see NYT, and Skinny Kitchen Secrets. Skinny adds spinach, which sounds interesting.) But the addition of cream makes this dish into something much more like Stroganoff, with crème fraîche subbing in for the more-tradional sour cream. Note that if you decide to use sour cream instead of crème fraîche in this recipe, you’ll need to understand their differences and modify the cooking method accordingly.
The Backstory
The inspiration for this dish came from Sepp_Eats. I seem to be on a quest to deveganize his interesting cuisine. Sorry, Sepp … but at the same time, thank you!
Gochujang Stroganoff is quite filling, so I recommend small servings with something light on the side, like a green salad and sparkling water.
Although it looks something like Beef Stroganoff, it tastes nothing like that. Indeed, it’s difficult to describe the taste. It’s unlike anything in my common taste vocabulary. It has an earthiness to it, but it’s very mild. It’s quite satisfying. It has a subtle spiciness that you notice only as an aftertaste … but it can build up to something noticably hot. The lime brightens it up, and the Parmesan garnish provides an important hit of boldness.
I know, six-to-ten serving is a wide margin. This dish is very filling, and I’m satisfied with a tenth of it as a serving. However, a tenth of it in a dish looks smaller than what most people would expect to be served, filling or not. The serving size that I’ve posted in these photos is a sixth. I ate it after photographing it, and didn’t finish it. And I’m glad I didn’t, because I also didn’t feel like I needed to take a nice long nap afterward.
Gochujang Stroganoff
Credit for images on this page: Make It Like a Man! unless otherwise credited. This content was not solicited by anyone, nor was it written in exchange for anything. Thank you, Kesor.
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This sounds and looks amazing. I will definitely be giving this a try very soon. You’ve outdone yourself again Jeff!
Thanks so much, Lori!
Oh this looks and sounds delicious! I am going to try this soon!
Thank you!
A very clever and delicious idea of using gochujang!! It looks wonderfully delicious.
angiesrecipes recently posted…Recycling Old Bread – Spelt Bread Rolls with Old Bread
Thanks, Angie!
My daughter-in-law is Korean so I’m familiar with gochujang. I believe that stroganoff is originally a Russian dish, so this must be an interesting combination of Korean and Russian flavors! I like the extra spiciness that the gochujang sauce gives this dish- I’m always on the lookout for ideas that give more heat to my dishes!
Yeah, I guess that is an interesting mashup!
Creme fraiche and sour cream are interchangeable aren’t they, and I love that you have done that. Beef stroganoff was such a special dish back in the day and I love the umami you have brought to this dish now. I need to buy some Gochujang and have fun with it. Thanks Jeff, this looks so interesting and delicious.
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You’re welcome. They’re interchangeable in many ways, but they don’t cook the same way, so you have to watch out for that.
I am all for deveganization (I can’t say that once fast, much less three times!). I am really loving gochujang, now that I have found a garlic free version, and I know Mark and I will love this.
Great!
What an outstanding dish! Neat way to use gochujang, too — wouldn’t have thought of this. Thanks!
John+/+Kitchen+Riffs recently posted…Peanut Butter Bars
You’re welcome!
We can find Gochujang in our markets but so far i havent tried it. Gochujang stroganoff looks great.
Thank you!
This sounds wonderful. I love those noodles! The idea of beef, shrooms, and cream are just perfection to me.
Thanks, Mimi!
We love a good stroganoff! I like that you linked to your crème fraîche recipe. It’s getting harder to find already made in our local stores, so I have to make it myself at times. I prefer homemade over prepacked, but sometimes I have a recipe that can’t wait 24 hours for homemade to be ready.
You know, I live in a big city, and I never see creme fraiche in any of the stores that I frequent. So I always make it at home out of necessity. Then one day I saW it in a store where I don’t even expect to find anything as exotic as … Italian sausage! And there it was! Creme friache! But now I’m so accustomed to making it at home, that I just do it automatically.
What a powerfully flavored dish and so comforting. I love Gouchujang and this is such an awesome, unique use of it. 🙂 ~Valentina
Thank you!
What an interesting and creative dish. I am not familiar with Gochujang but I usually enjoy anything with noodles and mushrooms (I would just need to omit the beef) . Sounds delicious
Judee recently posted…Hearts of Palm Angel Hair Pasta with Hummus Dressing
You could easily swap out the beef with something like ground turkey, I’m sure.
Oh be still my stomach! This sounds wonderful Jeff!
Diane recently posted…Slow Cooker BBQ Ribs
Thanks, Diane! I think I might be in the mood to make another batch of this!