A bed of crisp gnocchi, smothered with a flavour-packed gochujang sauce, is topped with a silky onsen egg and fried shallots. Customise the spice level to your liking.
In a small saucepan, add the water, kombu, dried anchovies or anchovy stock cache, and shiitake mushrooms.
Place over a low heat for 45 minutes. It should be just steaming a little, no bubbles. If your heat cannot go low enough and it starts bubbling, just take it on and off the heat as necessary to maintain the water at a hot temperature but not simmering.
Strain the dashi into a bowl. Retain the now rehydrated shiitake mushrooms.
Onsen egg – Sous Vide Method
Cook the eggs with an immersion circulator (sous vide device) at 63 degC for 60 minutes. Transfer to an ice bath to stop the cooking.
Onsen egg – Traditional Method
Cook the eggs in a large saucepan of water maintained at 75 degC for 11 minutes. Transfer to an ice bath to stop the cooking.
Gochujang sauce
Roast the red pepper in a 180 degC oven for 40 minutes.
Remove from the oven, put in a bowl or on a plate, and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to cool.
When cool enough to handle, remove the skins. Most should come off easily. Leave the stubborn bits.
Dice the roasted red pepper into 5-10 sqmm pieces.
Cut the stalks off the shiitake mushrooms retained from making the anchovy dashi. Dice the mushrooms into small pieces.
Separate the white sections from the green sections of the green onions.
Dice the green sections and set aside to add to the sauce just before serving.
Dice the white sections of the green onions and dice the garlic.
Sauté the garlic and onions until just starting to brown.
Add the canned tomato and break up if the tomato is in large pieces.
Add the anchovy dashi.
Add the gochujang, soy sauce, chilli flakes, diced shiitake mushrooms, and roasted red pepper. Stir to combine.
Allow to simmer for 15 minutes. It will reduce and thicken a little.
Pan-seared gnocchi
Heat 3 Tbsp oil in a non-stick pan or well seasoned wok.
Add the gnocchi to the pan directly from the packaging. No need to boil first.
Sauté over a medium heat until golden. As well as looking great, they will develop a cushion-like consistency.
Bringing it together
Combine the pan-seared gnocchi, chopped green onions, and the gochujang sauce together.
Sprinkle over some cheese.
Crack an onsen egg at the rounder end of the egg, Carefully peel away enough shell to let the onsen egg slip out on to the gnocchi in gochujang sauce.