Ingredients
MEAT AND MARINADE
1 pear or apple
2 tablespoons gochujang
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 inches ginger sliced thin
5 cloves garlic
2 tablesoons honey
1 pound ground lamb
SAUCE AND PASTA
sesame oil
1 small onion diced
2 medium carrots diced
2 ounces tomato paste
2 tablespoons gochujang
1/4 cup coconut cream
1 pound pasta I like rigatoni for this but you do you
GARNISHES
drizzle of sesame oil
sesame seed
gochugaru Korean chili flakes
sliced cucumbers
sliced scallions
Directions
1
Mix the pear, gochujang, soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger, garlic, honey, and a few pinches of salt in a food processor and process until smooth and broken down.
2
Put the lamb in a bowl and stir in 1/2 of the marinade. Mix until combined and set aside in the fridge for at least an hour or preferably overnight. Put the other half of the marinade in another bowl, cover, and store in the fridge until ready to use.
3
In a large frying pan with a little sesame oil, cook the onion and carrot over medium high heat for about 10-15 minutes until very reduced in size and starting to brown on the edges.
4
Add in the meat that has been marinating overnight. Stir to combine and reduce heat to medium. Continue to cook and stir and break apart the meat for about 10 minutes until everything is nice and brown.
5
Add in the rest of the marinade and cook another 5 minutes until browned and perfectly mixed with the rest of the sauce. Add in the tomato paste and gochujang and cook another 5 - 10 minutes. The whole mixture should be brown and pasty. See above photo for references.
6
Add in about 1 cup of water to loosen up the sauce. Stir to combine. Add in the coconut cream and stir to combine. Allow this mixture to simmer on low heat for about a half hour, stirring occasionally.
7
Cook the pasta according to the package instructions and strain when it is al dente. Add the pasta right into the sauce, adding a little pasta cooking liquid if needed to loosen up the sauce to a desired texture.
8
Serve the pasta and top with a sprinkle of all the garnishes.