Fragrant Perilla Oil Bacon Pasta
Recipe for Fragrant Perilla Oil Bacon Pasta
This is a special bacon pasta made by leveraging the savory aroma of perilla oil instead of olive oil. I originally intended to make Aglio e Olio pasta, but I used perilla oil due to the lack of olive oil, and the aroma was surprisingly wonderful! It’s recommended for when you want to enjoy a simple yet unique pasta dish. I’ll explain it in detail so anyone can easily follow.
Main Ingredients
- 100g bacon
- 1/2 onion
- 10 cloves garlic
- 1 Korean green chili pepper (cheongyang)
- 1 red chili pepper
Seasoning & Others
- 1 tsp salt
- A pinch of black pepper
- 5 tsp perilla oil
- 1 tsp salt
- A pinch of black pepper
- 5 tsp perilla oil
Cooking Instructions
Step 1
First, carefully prepare the vegetables and ingredients for the pasta. Thinly slice the garlic and finely julienne the onion. Remove the seeds from the Korean green chili pepper and red chili pepper, then chop them into small pieces as desired. Cut the bacon into bite-sized pieces.
Step 2
Now it’s time to stir-fry the prepared ingredients. Heat a generous amount of perilla oil in a wide frying pan over low heat. Add the sliced garlic first and gently sauté until fragrant. Once the garlic starts to turn golden, add the bacon, onion, and prepared chili peppers. Stir-fry over medium heat until the ingredients are nicely browned. Be careful not to burn them while cooking.
Step 3
It’s best to start boiling the pasta while you begin stir-frying the ingredients to save time. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add 1 tsp of salt, and cook the pasta for 1-2 minutes less than the time indicated on the package. Pasta water is useful for adjusting seasoning or thickening the sauce, so setting aside about a cup can be helpful.
Step 4
Add the cooked pasta to the frying pan with the sautéed vegetables and bacon. Stir-fry them together, adding a little of the reserved pasta water as needed to help the sauce coat the noodles beautifully. Finally, season with salt and pepper to your taste. For an extra boost of flavor, drizzle a little more perilla oil just before turning off the heat; this will double the nutty and fragrant notes, resulting in a truly delicious pasta.