Tteokgalbi Ragu Ziti Bake (Korean BBQ Ziti Gratin)

Name: Tteokgalbi Ragu Ziti Bake (Korean BBQ Ziti Gratin)
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Korean
Ingredients: ziti pasta 320 g; ground beef 350 g; onion 1 ea; minced garlic 1 tbsp; soy sauce 2 tbsp; sugar 1 tbsp; tomato puree 500 ml; gochujang 1 tbsp; mozzarella 180 g; olive oil 1 tbsp

Quick answer

Total time: 55 min
Level: Medium
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients: 10

About this dish

Ground beef is first browned with soy sauce and sugar for the sweet-savory taste of tteokgalbi, Korean grilled short-rib patties, before tomato puree and gochujang are added and simmered.

Gochujang, a fermented chili paste, adds savory depth rather than just heat and sets the sauce apart from a standard meat sauce. Pulled from the water two minutes early, the ziti finish in the 200-degree oven without going soft. Gochujang brands differ in saltiness, and the sauce is tasted only after it has reduced.

Ingredients

servings

IngredientAmount

onion1 ea

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Instructions

6 steps

1

Finely dice 1 onion and keep the minced garlic, soy sauce, sugar, tomato puree, and gochujang within reach.

Preheat the oven fully to 200C so the cheese browns promptly once the dish goes in.
2

Add 320g ziti to boiling salted water and cook it 2 minutes less than the package time.

Drain when the center still feels firm, because the pasta will keep absorbing sauce in the oven.
3

Warm 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat and cook the onion until it turns translucent and loses its raw smell.

Add 1 tablespoon minced garlic and stir for about 30 seconds, lowering the heat if it starts browning.
4

Add 350g ground beef, raise the heat to high, and break it up as it cooks.

When no red spots remain and browned edges appear, stir in 2 tablespoons soy sauce and 1 tablespoon sugar.
5

Stir in 500ml tomato puree and 1 tablespoon gochujang, then simmer over medium heat for 12 minutes.

Stir often so the bottom does not scorch, reducing until the sauce clings lightly to the pasta.
6

Fold the ziti through the ragu until every tube is coated, then transfer it to a baking dish and cover evenly with 180g mozzarella.

Bake at 200C for 12-15 minutes, until bubbling and lightly golden at the edges.