Spicy Pumpkin Pork Noodles

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Servings: 2

 

Ingredients:

Pork Topping:

2 tsp. vegetable oil

Eight oz. ground pork

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

¼ tsp. smoked paprika

2 cloves minced garlic

⅓ cup sliced green onions

2 tbsp. hoisin sauce

Noodles and Sauce:

6 oz. bucatini (dry)

1 tbsp. reserved oil from cooking pork

½ cup pumpkin puree

2 tbsp. gochujang (Korean hot pepper paste)

½ cup sliced green onions

1 tsp. sesame oil

2 tbsp. diced hot chile peppers

One lime, juiced

¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

 

Directions:

Pork should be cooked in a skillet with oil heated over medium-high heat for two to three minutes and broken into small pieces.

Add salt, pepper, and smoked paprika to the pork, and heat and stir for an additional 5 minutes or until the pork is crumbled and browned.

Add green onions and garlic after reducing the heat to medium. Cook till aromatic for 30 seconds. Add hoisin sauce, stir, and heat for 1 to 2 minutes or until sauce is coated over the entire batch of pork.

Add the bowl of pork topping. Cooking oil should be poured out, but 1 tbsp. It should remain in the skillet. Green onions, sesame oil, gochujang, pumpkin puree, and chili peppers should all be added. For 2 minutes, cook and stir on medium heat.

Bring a big saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook bucatini in boiling water for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until fork-tender but still firm.

Noodles should be fished and added to the skillet with the pumpkin sauce. Keep about 1/2 cup of the pasta boiling water aside.

Add lime juice to the noodles’ top—about 2 tbsp. Water should be added for pasta, then incorporate the noodles and sauce thoroughly.

If necessary, add a bit of pasta water until the sauce reaches the consistency you like. Stir in chopped cilantro after turning the heat off. Place the ground pork on top of the noodles on a dish.