This video features Chef Kim Hoyun introducing Italy's unique one-pan pasta — 'Spaghetti all'Assassina (Assassin's Pasta).' Through a cooking method where the noodles are charred directly in the sauce rather than boiled in water, he shares the secret to achieving 3x more intense flavor and a chewy texture compared to regular tomato pasta. From ingredient prep to the chef's personal tips, everything is covered for those who love spicy, rich flavors.
1. Introducing Assassin's Pasta and Preparing Ingredients
The video opens with Chef Kim Hoyun confidently declaring, "I'd say it's three times more intense than the tomato pasta you usually eat." Today's dish is 'Spaghetti all'Assassina', also known as 'Assassin's Pasta.' The name is fun, right? It's said to live up to its name with a spicy, intense, "killer" flavor.
This pasta isn't made the classic way, but among one-pan pastas, it's a dish that maximizes flavor. The ingredients are surprisingly simple.
"I can assure you it's three times more intense than your regular tomato pasta... We're going to make the assassin's pasta, 'Spaghetti all'Assassina,' together today."
[Required Ingredients]
- 30g tomato paste + 500ml water: The key to creating a deep tomato flavor.
- Minced garlic: About 3 cloves.
- Peperoncino: 2-3 for heat (adjust to taste).
- 200g whole tomatoes (or store-bought tomato sauce): The chef blends them before use.
- Olive oil: Be generous.
- 1/3 spoon oyster sauce (or chicken stock): The secret weapon for an umami explosion!
- 100g spaghetti: The chef recommends 100g for one serving.
2. Building the Umami Foundation: Making "Tomato Water"
Before the main cooking begins, you first prepare tomato water. The chef explains that tomato paste is like a concentrated "paste" made from tomatoes — similar to Korean gochujang — and its flavor intensifies greatly when heated.
The method is very simple: dissolve 30g of tomato paste in 500ml of water. Here's a small tip from the chef: if you add all the water at once and try to stir, it splashes easily. Instead, add just a little water first to dissolve the paste, then fill the rest.
"If you put in too much water, you can't stir it properly. Use a tall container and add just a little... Like this, you've got 500ml of tomato water, and it takes literally 10-15 seconds."
3. Infusing Garlic and Chili Flavor (Don't Burn It!)
Now coat the pan with olive oil and start cooking. The chef advises adding enough olive oil to cover the pan bottom generously (about 30-60ml). Add the minced garlic and hand-crushed peperoncino, then slowly draw out the flavors over low heat.
The most important point here is not burning the garlic! Once the garlic starts turning brown, pull the pan off the heat and let it cook in residual heat, or cook very slowly over very low heat to avoid bitterness.
"When should you pull it off? If you push it further from here, it'll burn immediately. When you see it turning brown, lower the heat and pull it off. No need to go on high heat. Low heat, slowly, gently, don't rush..."
Once the garlic aroma rises and it starts coloring, pour in the prepared 200g of whole tomato sauce and stir well to combine with the garlic oil.
4. The Core Technique: "Charring" the Noodles
This is the highlight of the pasta. Once the sauce starts bubbling, put the uncooked dry spaghetti directly into the pan! The chef presses the noodles down into the sauce so the oil and sauce soak into them.
The key is cooking the noodles so they're slightly charred (stuck to the pan). In Italy, they sometimes char them until they look nearly black — but it's not a burnt flavor, it's a "wok char" flavor. As the noodles stick to the pan bottom, the starch, oil, and sauce bind together, creating a unique taste and texture.
"In Italy, they really do char it until it looks almost black... It's not a burnt taste but what you'd call 'wok hei' (breath of the wok). I think this flavor is what makes this pasta special."
5. Finishing Like Risotto
Once the noodles have absorbed some sauce and have that stuck-to-the-pan feel, gradually add the tomato water you prepared earlier, little by little. It's very similar to making risotto.
Rather than pouring all the water at once, you add it bit by bit, scraping up the delicious bits stuck to the pan bottom (deglazing) and coating the noodles again — repeating this process. This evaporates the tomato's moisture while concentrating only the umami onto the noodles.
"If you pour too much at once, what are you? An amateur. Because the whole logic is about scraping up the sauce stuck to the pan... and bringing it all back together. That's the key to this flavor."
Midway through, grind in plenty of black pepper (5-6 turns), and season with 1/3 spoon of oyster sauce and salt for umami. The chef also strongly recommends substituting a bit of chicken stock for the oyster sauce if you have some at home.
"Cooking in sauce versus boiling in water and then tossing with sauce — the taste is different. The starch gets released right in here... It's gradually taking on the shape of spaghetti, right? And the aroma is unmistakable."
6. Tasting and Verdict: Chewy Like Fried Rice
The finished pasta looks nothing like typical pasta — there's almost no liquid, and it has a thick, sticky visual reminiscent of stir-fried gochujang noodles.
When the chef tastes it himself, he exclaims it has a completely different texture from water-boiled pasta. The noodles have absorbed the sauce, giving them a chewy quality, and the parts that were stuck to the pan have a texture like the crispy scorched rice (nurungji) at the bottom of a fried rice pan.
"Wow, it really tastes like what you'd eat in Italy! It has that fried rice texture you get after dakgalbi, that thick, chewy quality... There's a firm, crispy texture you'd only expect from stir-fried noodles. You don't get this from regular pasta... It's addictively delicious but in a different way."
Conclusion
Chef Kim Hoyun's 'Assassin's Pasta' isn't about smooth flavors like cream or rosé — it's a dish where spicy tomato and intense umami take center stage.
Three key points:
- Use tomato paste water for deep flavor.
- Infuse garlic and chili flavor without burning them.
- Add noodles directly to the sauce and cook them risotto-style for a chewy finish.
If you want to enjoy a unique and intense pasta with simple ingredients you already have at home, definitely give it a try! As the chef says, "I can assure you'll experience a flavor three times more intense than your regular tomato pasta."