5-Star Hotel Style Tomato Pasta
Chef Ok’s 5-Star Special Hotel Tomato Pasta Recipe: Elevate Flavor with Homemade Sauce!
Introducing a spaghetti recipe made with a fresh, homemade tomato sauce that’s simply exquisite. Enjoy the rich, deep flavors reminiscent of fine hotel dining, easily made in your own kitchen.
Pasta Ingredients- 2 ripe tomatoes (about fist-sized, enough for 2 servings of sauce)
- 1/2 onion
- 3-4 frozen dumplings (for the filling)
- 2 slices cheddar cheese
- Pasta (spaghetti) for 2 servings (about the size of a 500-won coin)
- Cooking oil (or olive oil) as needed
Sauce Seasoning- 1 Tbsp minced garlic
- 1/2 tsp salt (adjust to taste)
- Pinch of black pepper
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce
- 3 Tbsp honey (adjust sweetness)
- 1/2 tsp chili powder (adjust spiciness)
- 1 Tbsp minced garlic
- 1/2 tsp salt (adjust to taste)
- Pinch of black pepper
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce
- 3 Tbsp honey (adjust sweetness)
- 1/2 tsp chili powder (adjust spiciness)
Cooking Instructions
Step 1
First, prepare the fresh tomatoes that are the heart of our pasta sauce. Make a small cross-shaped incision on the skin of two tomatoes. This will make peeling them much easier after blanching them in boiling water. (Tip: My mother received some precious tomatoes grown by a friend, so their sizes varied. However, two fist-sized tomatoes are usually enough to make sauce for two servings of pasta.)
Step 2
While the tomatoes are blanching, prepare the vegetables for a flavorful sauce. Finely dice the onion and mince the garlic. Heat a pan over medium heat with a generous amount of olive oil. Add the diced onion and minced garlic, and sauté them slowly. Sautéing gently until the sweetness and aroma of the onion and garlic are well-infused is the secret to a delicious sauce.
Step 3
Remove the blanched tomatoes from the boiling water and peel off their skins. The skins should slip off easily after a gentle blanch. Cut the peeled tomatoes into manageable pieces. It’s better to chop them finely for the sauce, but today, being a bit lazy, I cut each into four large pieces. (Tip: If you prefer a smoother sauce, chop them smaller.)
Step 4
Add the roughly chopped tomatoes to the pan where the onions and garlic were sautéed. Since tomatoes release a lot of their own juice, you don’t need to add extra water. It’s important to let the ingredients’ natural flavors shine.
Step 5
Cook over medium heat, mashing the tomatoes with a spatula as they simmer. Continue to mash while cooking; the tomato chunks will disappear, and the mixture will thicken into a stew-like consistency. You could season this as is and eat it, but since we’re making pasta sauce, it’s good to season it a bit more intensely than you would for a regular stew. Season with 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 3 tablespoons of honey, 1/2 teaspoon of chili powder for a bit of heat, and a pinch of black pepper.
Step 6
When eating tomato pasta at restaurants, I often recall the meat that was added to the sauce for extra flavor. However, if you don’t have meat at home, there’s an excellent alternative: using the filling from frozen dumplings! Separate the wrappers from the filling of thawed dumplings and use only the filling. (Tip: Frozen dumpling filling can add umami and a hint of artificial seasoning flavor, which can enhance the richness of your pasta sauce.)
Step 7
Add the prepared frozen dumpling filling to the simmering tomato sauce. Stir well to incorporate the dumpling filling into the sauce.
Step 8
After adding the dumpling filling, continue to simmer the sauce a bit longer and taste it. If something still feels missing, slightly reduce the liquid, then add 2 slices of cheddar cheese to enrich the flavor. As the cheese melts, it will make the sauce even smoother and more deeply flavored.
Step 9
Now it’s time to cook the pasta. For two servings, you’ll need about a 500-won coin’s worth of spaghetti. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and carefully add the spaghetti, spreading it out so it doesn’t clump together. Be careful to prevent the pasta strands from sticking to each other.
Step 10
Spaghetti usually requires a slightly longer cooking time than indicated on the package. While the pasta is cooking, you can make use of the leftover dumpling wrappers! Fry the dumpling wrappers in a pan with some oil until crispy. These discarded wrappers become a fantastic pasta garnish, adding a delightful texture and flavor.
Step 11
Check if the spaghetti is cooked to your liking. (Tip: Like Chef Ok on ‘Three Meals a Day,’ you can test if the pasta is done by tossing a strand against the wall; if it sticks, it’s perfectly cooked!) Once cooked, rinse the spaghetti lightly under cold water to remove excess starch and drain it well. This helps the pasta absorb the sauce better.
Step 12
In a large pan, add the drained spaghetti and a generous amount of the prepared tomato sauce. Turn on the heat and stir-fry, mixing the pasta and sauce well. For an even better result, add about half a cup of the pasta cooking water and let it simmer and reduce with the sauce. This will allow the sauce to penetrate the pasta more effectively, resulting in a lusciously moist and flavorful dish.
