Fast & flavoursome

Australian food writer LARA LEE draws on her Chinese-Indonesian heritage to transform Asian classics into quick and easy meals.

- LARA LEE

There are pasta dishes; there are kimchi dishes. Then there's cheesy kimchi linguine with gochujang butter, a dish that flies the flag for sweet-spicysalty-umami-fermented flavour. It's rich, loud, crimson and glossy.

That it comes together in just 15 minutes with store cupboard ingredients makes it even more special. Key to balancing the dish are the garnishes: flakes of crispy seaweed and spring onions are sprinkled on top, layered with a squeeze of lime and a crispy fried egg whose all-important runny yolk is broken into and tossed together with grated parmesan for a bowl of sheer decadence.

A good-quality kimchi is paramount, anchoring the sour funk that is so vital to the noodles' flavour, so look for the fresh, artisan varieties and buy the best you can afford.

Prep and cooking time 15 minutes.

CHEESY KIMCHI LINGUINE WITH GOCHUJANG BUTTER

Bring a pan of water to a boil, add the pasta and cook according to the packet instructions (usually 8-12 minutes).

While the pasta is cooking, prepare your ingredients. Place the kimchi, butter, gochujang, soy, garlic and half the spring onions in a large, cold nonstick frying pan (don't worry about mixing it for now).

Drain the pasta, reserving a little of the pasta water. Put the pasta straight into the frying pan with 2 tablespoons of the pasta water on a high heat. Cook, tossing everything together, for about 3 minutes, or until warmed through and well coated.

Remove from the heat and transfer to serving bowls.