Jjamppong Pasta! (Spicy Seafood Pasta)
Dare I say, this is better than Cajun-style pasta. Spicy, creamy with seafood and wide fettuccine – all Korean style!! SO DELICIOUS!!!
Don’t judge this dish by the name or the idea if you haven’t tried it yet!!! You’re too early to judge if you do so… The flavor you’re imagining and the actual flavor are probably completely different. Trust me, because it was like that to me too.
My sister’s bf made this dish when he came over for holiday last year.
BTW, he is an amazing Korean chef who specializes in Japanese cuisine and blowfish. (Only special licensed chefs can handle blowfish because they contain poison in their blood.)
He made this dish and I was like, “this probably tastes like jjamppong that spilled cream and cheese on it. Yuk.” As I mentioned early, I was too quick to judge. I had to try a little because of his sincerity in cooking at his gf’s family gathering. And when I tasted it… I was like “WTF???? 🤯 I’ve never had food like this before?!😳” It was SUPER delicious!!
It is spicy, creamy, savory, umami, and more. I had spicy seafood pasta like this in New Orleans, but this was better! Especially for this girl who has strong Korean taste buds, it was much better than Cajun-style pasta!
I asked him immediately how he made it and had to share this recipe with you. If you love spicy seafood pasta… you will absolutely love this Jjamppong Pasta!! It’s amazingly easy to make and I bet this will be your regular dinner menu after you try one.
Let’s get started!
First, bring staled water to boil for cooking pasta and meanwhile prep our ingredients.
Chop 5 to 7 cloves garlic, 1 grated ginger, 4 to 6 green onions.
Slice 1/2 onion and cut 3 baby bok choy into quarters. You can also use Napa cabbage, regular cabbage, carrot, kale, or any veggie you want to use.
Also cut 8 pieces of bacon into bite sizes. I tried with beef and pork belly too, but bacon worked the best!
When you’re ready to cook the jjamppong sauce, go ahead and start cooking pasta in salted boiling water by following the directions of the package you’re using.
I’m using fettuccine, that’s why I added a bit of oil so the noodles wouldn’t stick together. You can also use linguini. I like wide pasta for the spicy umami bomb sauce!
If you’re using fresh pasta, start cooking them when the sauce is almost done cooking.
Heat a large wok over high heat, add bacon and cook until it releases its fat, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add 2 tbsp unsalted butter, garlic, ginger, and green onion then stir fry all together until you can smell the aroma, about 1 to 2 minutes.
Pour 1/4 cup of rice wine or water and deglaze the bottom of the wok.
Add onion, bok choy, 3 tbsp fine gochugaru, 2 tbsp soy sauce, and 2 tbsp fish sauce then stir fry until all ingredients are well combined, about 1 minute.
Fine gochugaru is just a more fine texture, it is used to make Gochujang or when you want the gochugaru color but don’t want the look of gochugaru… if that makes sense?
You can use regular gochugaru if that’s all you have. No problem. You can also use cayenne for this recipe!
Pour 1/2 cup chicken stock and 1 cup marinara sauce. I know, I know, I know marinara sauce doesn’t sound right in this recipe. But you must trust me in this recipe. I tried to put fresh tomatoes in, but it just didn’t hit the spot. I just gambled and added marinara sauce – omg. It was perfect!! Make sure to use plain marinara sauce that doesn’t have any herbs though for a more clean flavor.
Mix well and bring it to a boil. When it’s boiling, stir in 1 lb seafood and bring back to boil.
I used shrimp and scallop this time, I think they are perfect for this sauce. You can use any seafood you have in your hand though, such as shrimp, scallop, mussels, clams, calamari, or/and squid.
Stirring occasionally and keep boiling until seafood is 3/4 way cooked.
Now, Reduce heat to medium-low and pour 1 cup heavy cream then stir. Add cooked pasta and sprinkle 4 oz of grated Parmigiano on top of the noodles. This way the noodles will absorb cheese first, the very Italian way. lol
Mix the noodles in sauce evenly and transfer them to a serving dish. Sprinkle extra cheese and black pepper to your taste.
Enjoy!
Jjamppong (Spicy Seafood) Pasta
- Total Time: 22 mins
- Yield: 6 1x
Ingredients
- 16 oz linguine or fettuccine
- 8 slices bacon, cut into bite sizes
- 5 to 7 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 tsp grated ginger
- 4 to 6 green onions, chopped
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup rice wine (you can substitute with water)
- 1/2 onion, sliced
- 3 baby bok choy, cut into quarters
- 3 tbsp fine gochugaru (you can use regular gochugaru too)
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1 cup marinara sauce
- 1 lb seafood, such as shrimp, scallop, mussels, clams, calamari or/and squid
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 4 oz grated parmigiano
Instructions
- Prepare all ingredients and when you’re ready to cook jjamppong sauce, go ahead and start cooking pasta in salted boiling water by following directions of package you’re using. (If you’re using fresh pasta, start cook them when sauce is almost done cooking)
- Heat a large wok over high heat, add bacon and cook until it releases its fat, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add butter, garlic, ginger and green onion then stir fry all together until you can smell aroma, about 1 to 2 minutes. Pour rice wine and deglaze bottom of wok. Add bok choy, gochugaru, soy sauce and fish sauce then stir fry until all ingredients are well combined, about 1 minute.
- Pour chicken stock and marinara sauce. Mix well and bring it to boil. When it’s boiling, stir in seafood and bring back to boil. Stirring occasionally and keep boiling until seafood is 3/4 way cooked.
- Now, Reduce heat to medium low and pour heavy cream then stir. Add cooked pasta and sprinkle parmigiano on top of noodles. Mix noodles in sauce evenly and transfer to a serving dish. Sprinkle extra cheese and black pepper to your taste. Enjoy!
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 12 mins
If you liked this jjamppong pasta, you would love my spicy garlic shrimp noodles too!
16 comments
If i dint have rice wine can I use white wine like sauvignon blanc instead? Also for the gochugaru what I can use instead red pepper flakes/korean red pepper paste/chili powder etc? Thanks if u can reply the pasta looks delicious.
Love your wok! Any tip where can i buy something similar?
I made this today with my home ground gochugaru for some extra spiciness and it was amazing! Mine came out a little runny though so I’d suggest using a little less chicken stock or adding some potato/corn starch to thicken it up. This recipe definitely hits all of my comfort food cravings, pasta, creamy sauce, korean food, cheese, and seafood. Yum!
I made this today and it was DELICIOUS! And thanks for having the printout versions available – this is going in my regular rotation to make.
Made this for the week with cabbage and evaporated milk (to make it slightly lighter) instead of bok choy and heavy cream and it is soooo damn delicious! Already looking forward to having it again on Wednesday.
★★★★★
I made this today with my home ground gochugaru for some extra spiciness and it was amazing! Mine came out a little runny though so I’d suggest using a little less chicken stock or adding some potato/corn starch to thicken it up. This recipe definitely hits all of my comfort food cravings, pasta, creamy sauce, korean food, cheese, and seafood. Yum!
★★★★★
Had this for dinner tonight and it’s awesome!!! I used fresh chillies and a tablespoon of gochujang, heaven!!!🤤
★★★★★
YAY! So glad I could help (:
Thank you! My parents LOVED this! And all my friends who saw my pictures of it are begging to try it. I only had shrimp in my freezer at the time, but after my next Costco trip I plan to make it again with shrimp and scallops like you did in this video. I send your videos to all my friends who ask me about the food I cook haha 🙂 I enjoy watching you make it as much as I enjoy eating it after I make it! 😀
Made this twice already — it’s soooooo good! Reminds me of the fusion jjamppong pasta I had in Korea. Since we don’t have that in the states, this will do!
★★★★★
Made this last night and it was absolutely delicious !!
Yay!! So glad I could help! Please rate my recipe if you enjoyed!! ❤️
I know this is an old recipe on this site, but I made it today and it was absolutely delicious! I only used shrimp as that’s what I had on hand, I substituted dangmyeon (sweet potato starch noodles) in place of the pasta, and somehow I just flatly forgot the ginger, but still was amazing! A great balance and blend of flavors.
★★★★★
Your recipe calls for 2 cups of broth but your directions with picture says 1/2 cup of broth only. Which is it??
Hi! In your directions with the pictures, you said pour in 1/2 cup of chicken stock and 1 cups of marinara. BUT your recipes calls for 2 cups of chicken stock. That’s a big difference. I made it with 2 cups of chicken stock and it was really runny. Did you meant 1/2 cup of chicken stock only?
Yes, it is supposed to be 1/2 cup of stock. Thank you for letting me know and I hope it turns out better for you next time 🙂