I could easily say no to a plate of steak or a glass of milkshake, but saying no to noodle dishes (or pasta) is made me feel like I engaged in a criminal act. In fact, If I have to eat the same thing for one week in a row I daresay, I will for sure choose noodles. I don’t care whether it’s a noodle dishes from the fancy restaurant, street stall or a packet of instant noodles I would happily devour it.

Cheesy Gochujang Noodles with Meatballs

Gochujang Noodles

• 2 packs dried noodles
• 1/2 medium size onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon finely minced ginger
• 2 tablespoon gochujang
• 1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon honey
• Salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup corn kernel, optional
• 1  green onion, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup grated mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
• 2 tablespoon vegetable oil

Meatballs

• 25o gr ground beef
• 1/4 cup Japanese breadcrumbs
• 1/2 onion, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp gochujang
• 50 gr carrot, grated
• 1 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 1 tbsp minced ginger
• 1/2 tsp white pepper
• 100 gr mozzarella cheese
• salt to taste
• vegetable oil for frying

Direction

• Meatballs: Combine all meatball ingredients (except cheese and oil) in a bowl, gently mix just until even. Shape the mixture into 10-12 small meatballs, set aside. Cut the cheese for meatballs into even size. Take 1 meatball, flatten, and put the cheese in the middle of the mixture.
• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the meatballs on all sides. Remove the meatballs from skillet, set aside.
• Saute the sliced shiitake mushroom using the same skillet, add 1 tablespoon oil if needed. Scatter the mushroom in skillet, make sure it not overlapping. Toast the mushrooms in the skillet for a couple minutes until it gets nice brown colour. Remove the mushroom from skillet.
• While waiting for the mushroom to cook, add gochujang, sesame oil, honey, and 2 tbsp water. Stir well the mixture, set aside.
• In the same skillet, add a little bit more oil. Once the oil hot add onion and ginger. Saute until the onion translucent. Add the gochujang mixture to the skillet, cook for about 1 minute, until the sauce bubbly. Add meatballs, and corn kernels, close the skillet with the lid, cook the meatballs over a low heat.
• Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to boil. Cook noodle until al-dente (about 1 minute), drain the noodles. Add the noodles, and grated cheddar cheese to the skillet, toss to combine. Add a little bit more water to loosen the sauce slightly. Topped with grated mozzarella, close the lid, and cook for few minutes until cheese melted.
• Serve with seaweed powder, chopped scallion and toasted sesame seeds.