Spicy Pumpkin Pork Noodles 

This incredible Asian-style noodle dish features a very unusual combination of pumpkin and Korean chile paste which makes for one of the most delicious noodle dishes I've had in a long time. It's the perfect recipe for fall, but really, can be enjoyed any time of the year.

By Chef John 

Prep Time:

10 mins

Cook Time:

15 mins

Total Time:

25 mins

Ingredients 

Pork Topping:

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

8 ounces ground pork

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

¼ teaspoon smoked paprika

2 cloves minced garlic

⅓ cup sliced green onions

2 tablespoons hoisin sauce

Noodles and Sauce:

6 ounces bucatini (dry)

1 tablespoon reserved oil from cooking pork

½ cup pumpkin puree

2 tablespoons gochujang (Korean hot pepper paste)

½ cup sliced green onions

1 teaspoon sesame oil

2 tablespoons diced hot chile peppers

1 lime, juiced

¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions 

Heat oil in a skillet over medium high heat and cook pork, while breaking up into small pieces, 2 to 3 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, and smoked paprika and keep cooking and stirring until pork is crumble and is browned up, about 5 minutes. 

Lower heat to medium and add garlic and green onions. Cook for 30 seconds until fragrant. Mix in hoisin sauce and cook until sauce has glazed over all the pork pieces, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer pork topping to a bowl. 

Pour out cooking grease but leave 1 tablespoon of grease in the skillet. Add pumpkin puree, gochujang, green onions, sesame oil, and chili peppers. Cook and stir over medium heat for 2 minutes. 

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook bucatini the boiling water, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 10 minutes. Fish out noodles and drop into the skillet with the pumpkin sauce. Reserve about 1/2 cup pasta cooking water. 

Squeeze lime juice on top of the noodles. Add about 2 tablespoons pasta water on top and mix noodles with the sauce until well combined. Keep adding pasta water, a little at a time, until sauce has reached your preferred consistency. 

Turn off heat and stir in chopped cilantro. Transfer noodles to a plate and top with ground pork. 

Cook's Notes: 

If you are doing the pumpkin puree from scratch, roast a sugar pumpkin at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) until very soft, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. 

You can use any other dry noodles instead of bucatini. Just cook in salted water until tender. Make sure you fish pasta out of the water and transfer it into the skillet, since cooking water needs to be reserved, and used to adjust sauce. 

Nutrition Facts 

Calories 787 Total Fat 33g Saturated Fat 10g Cholesterol 82mg Sodium 470mg Total Carbohydrate 90g Dietary Fiber 6g Protein 32g Potassium 843mg 

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