Kimchi Spaghetti, with Tomato

This kimchi spaghetti with tomato recipe is a great way to use up sour kimchi. Fresh vine-ripe tomatoes and a little cream makes this Korean-Italian fusion style pasta dish savory!

A friend of friend of friend of ours has a little farm up in the highland of Malaysia, grow tomatoes and other vegetables. So we got a box because our heart was telling us that we should. We made kimchi tomato spaghetti with the tomatoes and it was so savory.

They are good, juicy and flavorful. We have been eating tomatoes for breakfasts, for lunches, for snacks, and used them in the recipes for dinners in the past few days. We fed to our husband and our kids, and even take some as a housewarming gift to a friend who invited us for lunch.

And we still see lots of tomatoes sitting on our kitchen counter. We think we are so tomato-fied.

So today, we would like to present the kimchi tomato spaghetti recipe that we enjoyed. Yes, it is a Korean-Italian fusion dish. If you like Korean fusion recipes, this recipe will make your happy.

Fun Fact About Tomato

Did you know that it was only in the late 1800’s that tomatoes were used in food, such as pasta and pizza? Ironically it was about the same time period that chilies were used in kimchi.

As much as the invention of tomato sauce has brought a great sensation in Italian cuisine, chili has changed the way that Korean make their kimchi. Interestingly, both tomatoes and chilies were from South America, the new world.

We have to tell you this. Tomatoes and kimchi are so good together. It is hard to describe the combined flavor but we were quite happy about the outcome of this fusion pasta dish. And as you can tell from the tutorial below, it is ridiculously direct and short to make.

The taste? Even our little not-so-kimchi-loving-son liked it. That means something.

How the dish comes together

Here are fermented kimchi and tomatoes. Let’s start cooking up!

First, boil water and dump your spaghetti and cook according to the package direction.

Slice your kimchi. No need to chop.

Slice the tomatoes, onion and garlic, too. You will also need a little bit of fresh basil leaves.

Heat olive oil in a skillet and saute onion and garlic until onion gets soft and garlic slices turns slightly gold.

Dump your kimchi and saute for 3-4 minutes.

Add 2/3 of the tomatoes. Continue to cook one more minute.

Here is a joke. What did macaroni say to tomato? “Don’t get saucy with us!” Ha ha ha…! We guess we are the only one who is laughing at our own joke.

Add cream.

And kimchi juice.

Simmer until the sauce gets thicken a little. The tomatoes will get soft. Season with salt, if needed, and pepper.

Add the hot spaghetti,

Toss well.

Add the rest of the tomatoes, basil leaves and toss everything well. Sprinkle some grated Parmesan cheese and enjoy!

We can picture some grilled chicken, shrimp, crumbled bacon, or anything you like to be added in this dish. This is the basic fusion and the possibilities are somewhat endless.

Okay, we're gonna share another joke.

‘Did you know why tomato did go out with prune?’

‘Because he couldn’t find a date.’

You are supposed to laugh at this. But we don’t imagine anyone laughing. As you can tell, we are bad at telling jokes. Maybe next time, we will come up with some kimchi jokes to see if that works.

Hope some of you can try this fusion dish. You will be surprised.

• Yield: 3
• Prep: 10 minutes
• Cook: 15 minutes
• Total: 25 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 lb vine ripe tomatoes, sliced
• 1 1/4 cup sour cabbage kimchi, thinly sliced
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1/2 cup cream
• 1/4 cup kimchi juice
• salt and pepper
• a few fresh basil leaves, torn into small pieces
• 3 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese, optional
• 8 oz spaghetti pasta

Method

1. Cook spaghetti in a boiling water according to your package direction.
2. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, saute onion and garlic until onion is soft and garlic is slightly brown.
3. Add kimchi and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add 2/3 of the tomatoes and continue to cook 1 minutes.
4. Pour cream and kimchi juice and stir. Reduce the heat and simmer the sauce to thicken a little bit. Season with salt and pepper if needed.
5. Drain the spaghetti from the water and add to the sauce in the skillet. Add the remained tomatoes and toss all together. Sprinkle basil leaves and serve with grated Parmesan cheese.