Fuyu Cacio e Pepe Mein — full recipe in the description! #shorts #recipe

Here’s how to make the Bonnie’s Fuyu Cacio e Pepe Mein:

For the fuyu butter:
• 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
• 1 tablespoon white peppercorns
• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 tablespoons grated garlic
• 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan
• 1 teaspoon MSG
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 (300-gram) jar fuyu (fermented bean curd) in chile, drained and liquid discarded, see Tip

For the pasta:
• 1½ pounds bucatini
• Shaved pecorino cheese, to garnish

Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Do not salt the water; the sauce contains enough salt from the fuyu.

Prepare the fuyu butter: In a small sauté pan over medium-high heat, toast the white and black peppercorns for 2 to 4 minutes. You are not looking for color, just fragrance. When you can smell the peppercorns, remove the pan from the heat, pour the peppercorns onto a plate, and let cool. Then, using a spice grinder, mortar and pestle, or even a small blender, grind them to a coarse texture. Set aside ½ teaspoon of the ground pepper mix for garnish.

In a medium bowl, stir together the butter, the ground pepper mix, garlic, Parmesan, MSG and sugar. Add the drained fuyu cubes and, using a rubber spatula, mix until all the ingredients are fully incorporated (see Tip).

Prepare the pasta: Meanwhile, add the bucatini to the boiling water, stir well, and cook until al dente according to the package directions. It’s important that the pasta is al dente because it will continue to cook as you build the creamy sauce. Scoop out and reserve 1 cup of the pasta water and then drain the pasta in a colander.

Heat a large Dutch oven or pot with high sides over medium-high heat. Stir in the fuyu butter, the drained bucatini and ½ cup of the reserved pasta water. Using tongs, continuously toss the pasta until a creamy sauce forms. If the pasta is looking dry, add more pasta water in small increments until the sauce begins to look glossy and emulsified but still a little loose. The sauce will continue to tighten and thicken as the pasta cools.

Divide the pasta among plates and garnish with pecorino and the reserved ground pepper. Serve immediately.

Tips:
Fuyu, labeled fermented or preserved bean curd in English, is sold in jars in most Asian markets, usually alongside jarred seasoning pastes and sauces. White and red fermented varieties are the most common. This recipe calls for a white variety of fuyu that has been packed in a chili-infused dressing.

If you don’t want to make six to eight portions of pasta, you can use the leftover butter as a spread for garlic bread or for a repeat pasta dinner later in the week. The fuyu butter can be made up to 1 week in advance and stored in the fridge or freezer. Remember to allow the butter to come to room temperature for 3 to 4 hours before cooking to ensure your sauce will easily emulsify. Avoid heating the butter in the microwave, as you don’t want it to melt or for the fat and water to separate.

I’m Calvin. I’m the chef and owner of Bonnie’s here in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. And today we have our fuyu kachu pepe mean. So this is fermented bean curd. We call a fuyu in Cantonese. Just tofu that’s fermented in wine and chilies. So it’s super super funky and umami. Kind of has a texture of like a really soft cheese. This is how you’re going to make the fuyu kachoy pepe mean at home. We like to toast a bunch of white pepperc corn, black pepperc corns. Mix that together with some garlic, a little bit of sugar. Mix that all together with the blended fermented bean curd. You just toss it with some pasta water, that bean curd butter, and then mix it all together until it’s creamy and emulsified. And then you plate it with a little pecarino and a dash of cracked fresh white pepper on top. We use bukatini to try to keep it classic even though we’re straying away from it by adding so many other ingredients like the fermented bean curd. We find that it adds such like a perfect beautiful layer of like funk and umami and savoriness that you don’t necessarily just get from parm.