These noodles with red pepper-gochujang sauce celebrate Sacramento’s late-summer veggies

The Abridged version:

• This Cooking in Season recipe from Lisa Lin roasts red peppers, readily available at Sacramento-area markets, for a gochujang sauce with noodles.
• Lin recommends udon noodles because they’re thick enough to soak up the sauce without being overwhelmed, but other kinds will work well, too.
• This recipe makes more sauce than is needed for just noodles; use the extra to flavor a protein or as a dip.

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This is Cooking in Season, a biweekly recipe series using seasonal produce available at Sacramento-area farmers markets. 

Over the past few years, it’s been interesting to observe how chili peppers or spicy pepper-based condiments have taken over our collective food consciousness. From recipes featuring dishes drenched in glistening red chili oil to watching videos of our favorite celebrities endure hot sauces that test the limits of their spice tolerance, many of us are fascinated by spice.

I admit that I have written a number of spicy recipes because I also enjoy a bit of tongue-tingling heat. Lately though, I’ve become more interested in using spicy condiments not just for the sake of adding spice, but to explore how they complement other ingredients in a dish without overpowering them. 

In this week’s recipe, I use gochujang (a fermented Korean red chili paste) in a silky roasted red pepper sauce that’s tossed with noodles. Gochujang has a rich savory flavor, a hint of sweetness and a good but not extreme level of spice. Blending gochujang with roasted late-summer red bell peppers and cashews tempers the spice of the chili paste, leaving you with a delicious sweet and bright pepper sauce. 

If you’ve never used gochujang before, I recommend that you start with 1 tablespoon of the paste in the sauce. After blending the ingredients, taste the sauce and see if you want more savory-sweet flavor and heat. I like using 1 1/2 tablespoons of gochujang in my red pepper sauce. 

You can find gochujang at Asian grocers or the Asian section of grocery stores. It’s often sold in plastic red rectangular tubs that weigh just over a pound. If you don’t think you can use such a big tub within six to eight months, I recommend getting a smaller tub or bottle. Sempio produces gochujang in mini tubs that are about 8 ounces, and O’Food (known in Korea as Chung Jung One) sells gochujang in 7.5-ounce bottles. 

Noodles with red pepper-gochujang sauce

Total time: 1 hour 45 minutes (including cooling time)
Yield: 4 servings

I like serving these noodles as a room temperature dish. Dry udon is widely available, and the noodles are thick enough to pick up sauce without being drowned out. But other wide wheat or rice noodles available at Asian grocery stores work well, too, and any sort of dry noodle will get the job done in a pinch.

One important note: some grocery stores may stock a shelf-stable variety of jumbo udon that’s par-cooked. I don’t recommend using that type of udon for this recipe. I found those noodles to be too soft once they were reheated, and their softness and flavor didn’t go well with the creamy red pepper sauce. 

This recipe yields about 2 1/4 cups of red pepper sauce. That’s plenty of sauce to toss with the noodles, with a good amount left over. Use the extra sauce to flavor a protein such as pan-fried tofu, roasted salmon or grilled chicken. You can even use it as a dip for crudité, crackers or pita chips.

If you want to make the sauce ahead, refrigerate it for up to five days. If the sauce thickens in the fridge, add a splash of water and stir to loosen it up.

Ingredients

Sauce

• 1/3 cup (50g) raw cashews
• 3 large red bell peppers (about 1 1/2 pounds)
• 2 large cloves of garlic
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice (about 1 medium lemon)
• 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons gochujang
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest (optional)

Noodles & Garnish

• 1 pound dry udon or other dry noodles of choice
• Scallions, thinly sliced
• Toasted sesame seeds

Instructions

Step 1

Place the cashews in a small bowl. Cover the cashews with hot water and let them soak while you roast the bell peppers.

Step 2

Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil and place the red bell peppers on top. Roast the peppers for 40 to 45 minutes, flipping them halfway through the baking process. The skins of the peppers should be charred and puffy.

Step 3

Let the peppers cool for 25 to 30 minutes, at which time the peppers will deflate and shrink. When they’re cool enough to handle, peel the skin off the peppers and remove the stem and seeds. 

Step 4

Add the roasted peppers, garlic, olive oil, maple syrup or honey, lemon juice, 1 tablespoon of gochujang, soy sauce, sesame oil, salt and lemon zest (if using) into the bowl of a high-speed blender. Add the soaked cashews and 3 tablespoons of the soaking liquid. Blend the mixture until smooth. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasonings to your liking, adding another 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons of gochujang if you want more spice and umami flavor. Pour the sauce into a bowl.

Step 5

Cook the noodles according to package directions. Drain and rinse the noodles under cold water. Transfer the noodles to a large mixing bowl.

Step 6

Pour half of the sauce over the noodles and toss together. Add more sauce to your liking and toss again. You likely won’t use all of the sauce (I used about 1 3/4 cups). See headnotes for suggestions on how to use the remaining sauce. Transfer the noodles to bowls and garnish with sliced scallions and sesame seeds. Serve immediately.