I’ve made a lot of pasta over the years, yet it remains one of the hardest dishes to capture in a precise recipe, especially anything oil-based.
Cooking by Instinct | Where Italy and Korea Meet
There aren’t many dishes that rely quite so much on instinct. Well… there is one, actually : Korean cooking. Judging ingredients by eye, following the aroma, tasting as you go,
building gentle layers of umami… it’s something Italian and Korean food quietly share.
Still, there are a few small, reliable techniques that make all the difference. And in today’s recipe, I’d love to show you those.
About Pancetta and Choosing the Right Ingredient
In Korea, it’s not always easy to find good-quality pancetta, so many home cooks, including myself, often turn to bacon instead. But if you do have pancetta on hand, I truly recommend using it — it brings a subtle, beautiful depth that’s hard to replace.
How to Cook Pancetta Properly
And if you’re cooking with pancetta, start in a cold pan with no oil at all.
Warm it gently over low heat, and let the pancetta release its own fragrant fat.
When a simple aglio e olio feels just a touch too plain, try this instead – A little richer, a little deeper, full of comforting flavour.
Finding the Right Salt Balance
Most Italian chefs season pasta water at 10g of salt per litre. But after making a lot of pasta, I’ve found that 7g/L gives me the best control. Pasta is, after all, a dish that’s seasoned from the water first, so the base salinity really matters.
When the pasta finishes in the pan and the sauce reduces, too much salt in the water can easily tip the whole dish off balance. And when I’m using naturally salty ingredients, like bacon, pancetta, anchovies, or cheese. I sometimes lower it even further to about 4g/L.
This range (4g–7g) keeps the seasoning flexible and the final flavour smooth and balanced.
Bacon Garlic Oil Pasta
Ingredients
Main
- 160 g Pasta spaghetti (80g per person)
- 6-8 cloves Garlic sliced (adjust to your taste)
- 5 strips Bacon or Pancetta cut into 1.5 cm pieces
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Italian parsley stems + leaves
- 2-3 Peperoncino whole or halved
- Black pepper
Pasta Water
- 2 L Water 2L
- 14 g Sea salt
Instructions
1. Cook the pasta
- Bring 2L of water to a boil and season with 14g sea salt.
- Add the pasta and stir occasionally.
- Cook until 3 minutes before your preferred doneness,
- as the pasta will finish cooking in the pan.
2. Render the bacon
- Add a small amount of olive oil to a cold pan.
- Place the bacon in and cook on low heat, letting the fat slowly render.
- Cook only until the edges turn lightly golden, not hard or crispy.
- Remove and set aside.
3. Build the aromatic oil
- Add 5–6 generous circles of olive oil to the same pan.
- Add sliced garlic and parsley stems, and cook gently over low heat.
- When the garlic begins to colour, add the whole or halved peperoncino.
- Remove the parsley stems.
- (If you prefer a smoother finish, you may remove the garlic here.)
4. Emulsify
- Add 1 ladle of pasta water and emulsify until the oil turns slightly creamy.
5. Finish cooking the pasta in the pan
- Add the pasta when it’s about 70–80% cooked.
- Cook over medium heat for about 3 minutes,
- tossing to help the pasta absorb the sauce.
- You will need a lightly saucy consistency.
- Add a ladle of boiling water to keep the sauce loose
- — this prevents the dish from becoming too salty.
- Taste and adjust with more pasta water or boiling water as needed.
6. Finish with herbs and oil
- Turn off the heat.
- Add parsley leaves and a drizzle of olive oil,
- then mantecare (toss until evenly coated and glossy).
- Add the reserved bacon and any rendered juices,
- and give it one final toss.
7. Serve
- Top with : Freshly ground black pepper, A drizzle of olive oil
- Optional: grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino
Video
Try This Recipe With Me
If you want to see the exact cooking process,
Watch the full video recipe on my YouTube channel!
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A Shorts version of this recipe will be uploaded today at 5 PM. Stay tuned!