Korean-Inspired Spicy Noodles

Dark ragi noodles in glossy red chilli sauce topped with kimchi, sesame and shredded nori

Dark, malty ragi noodles slicked in a fermented chilli paste with garlic and sesame oil, finished with kimchi, toasted sesame and shredded nori.

Ingredients

From the TrooFoodz pantry

Fresh

  • Gochujang (Korean fermented chilli paste) 3 tbsp
  • Gochugaru (Korean chilli flakes) 1 tsp
  • Light soy sauce 2 tbsp
  • Toasted sesame oil 1 tbsp
  • Rice vinegar 1 tbsp
  • Garlic, finely grated 4 cloves
  • Onion, sliced into half-moons 1
  • Cabbage kimchi, roughly chopped ½ cup
  • Spring onions, sliced 3
  • Toasted sesame seeds 1 tbsp
  • Nori sheet, shredded 1
  • Neutral oil 1 tbsp

Method

  1. Mix the sauce

    Stir the gochujang, gochugaru, soy, rice vinegar, sesame oil and grated garlic into a thick, glossy paste. Slacken with two tablespoons of water.

  2. Soften the onion

    Cook the onion in the neutral oil over medium heat until translucent and just starting to catch gold at the edges, about four minutes.

  3. Fry the paste

    Push the onion aside, add the sauce and let it bubble for a minute. Frying gochujang deepens it and takes the raw fermented edge off.

  4. Boil the noodles

    Cook the Sprouted Ragi Noodles for two minutes, drain, and hold back half a cup of the cooking water.

  5. Bring it together

    Add the noodles to the pan with a splash of the cooking water and toss until the sauce clings in a dark, even coat.

  6. Fold in the kimchi

    Stir the chopped kimchi through off the heat so it keeps its sourness and crunch rather than cooking down.

  7. Finish and serve

    Scatter spring onion, sesame seeds and shredded nori over the top and serve immediately, while the noodles are still slippery.

Why this works

Ragi's malty depth stands up to gochujang in a way a paler noodle cannot — the two dark flavours meet rather than compete. Frying the paste briefly caramelises its sugars and rounds the fermented sharpness. The starchy cooking water is what turns a stiff paste into a sauce that actually coats the strand.

Make it your own

  • Sprouted Ragi Noodles → Sprouted Barnyard Millet Noodles Coarser strand that takes the thick sauce well.
  • Gochujang → Red chilli paste with a spoon of miso Approximates the fermented savoury base.
  • Cabbage kimchi → Quick-pickled cabbage with chilli Less funky, still gives the sour crunch.
  • Or use → foxtail millet noodles Use the instant cake when you want this on the table in six minutes.
Dark ragi noodles in glossy red chilli sauce topped with kimchi, sesame and shredded nori

Dinner · Global

Korean-Inspired Spicy Noodles

Dark, malty ragi noodles slicked in a fermented chilli paste with garlic and sesame oil, finished with kimchi, toasted sesame and shredded nori.

25 minEasyServes 4

Dark, malty ragi noodles slicked in a fermented chilli paste with garlic and sesame oil, finished with kimchi, toasted sesame and shredded nori.

Ingredients

From the TrooFoodz pantry

Fresh

  • Gochujang (Korean fermented chilli paste) 3 tbsp
  • Gochugaru (Korean chilli flakes) 1 tsp
  • Light soy sauce 2 tbsp
  • Toasted sesame oil 1 tbsp
  • Rice vinegar 1 tbsp
  • Garlic, finely grated 4 cloves
  • Onion, sliced into half-moons 1
  • Cabbage kimchi, roughly chopped ½ cup
  • Spring onions, sliced 3
  • Toasted sesame seeds 1 tbsp
  • Nori sheet, shredded 1
  • Neutral oil 1 tbsp

Method

  1. Mix the sauce

    Stir the gochujang, gochugaru, soy, rice vinegar, sesame oil and grated garlic into a thick, glossy paste. Slacken with two tablespoons of water.

  2. Soften the onion

    Cook the onion in the neutral oil over medium heat until translucent and just starting to catch gold at the edges, about four minutes.

  3. Fry the paste

    Push the onion aside, add the sauce and let it bubble for a minute. Frying gochujang deepens it and takes the raw fermented edge off.

  4. Boil the noodles

    Cook the Sprouted Ragi Noodles for two minutes, drain, and hold back half a cup of the cooking water.

  5. Bring it together

    Add the noodles to the pan with a splash of the cooking water and toss until the sauce clings in a dark, even coat.

  6. Fold in the kimchi

    Stir the chopped kimchi through off the heat so it keeps its sourness and crunch rather than cooking down.

  7. Finish and serve

    Scatter spring onion, sesame seeds and shredded nori over the top and serve immediately, while the noodles are still slippery.

Why this works

Ragi's malty depth stands up to gochujang in a way a paler noodle cannot — the two dark flavours meet rather than compete. Frying the paste briefly caramelises its sugars and rounds the fermented sharpness. The starchy cooking water is what turns a stiff paste into a sauce that actually coats the strand.

Make it your own

  • Sprouted Ragi Noodles → Sprouted Barnyard Millet Noodles Coarser strand that takes the thick sauce well.
  • Gochujang → Red chilli paste with a spoon of miso Approximates the fermented savoury base.
  • Cabbage kimchi → Quick-pickled cabbage with chilli Less funky, still gives the sour crunch.
  • Or use → foxtail millet noodles Use the instant cake when you want this on the table in six minutes.

Keep cooking

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