Creamy Asparagus Pasta
- Total Time
- 30 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:4 servings
- 20grams gim, often labeled as roasted seaweed
- 2(4-inch) squares dasima or kombu (dried kelp)
- 1tablespoon kosher salt
- 1pound rigatoni
- 1½cups heavy cream
- 1small red onion, halved and thinly sliced
- 2large garlic cloves, finely grated
- 1teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
- 1teaspoon rice vinegar
- ½pound asparagus, thinly sliced at an angle
- 1tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- Flaky sea salt, for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
797 calories; 39 grams fat; 22 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 11 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 93 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams dietary fiber; 8 grams sugars; 21 grams protein; 673 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
- Step 1
Fold the gim in half and, with very sharp kitchen shears or a chef’s knife, slice into thin strips. Set aside for serving.
- Step 2
In a large pot, combine 1 dasima square with 8 cups cold tap water. Bring the water to a boil and season with the kosher salt. Tumble in the pasta and cook for half the time the package tells you is al dente. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water. Drain the pasta, then add it back to the pot. (Discard the dasima.)
- Step 3
Add the remaining dasima square, cream, red onion, garlic, black pepper and reserved pasta water to the pasta. Bring to a boil over high heat, then immediately reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. Stirring occasionally, cook the pasta until the onion-infused cream has thickened significantly, thinly coating the noodles, 4 to 5 minutes.
- Step 4
Turn off the heat. Add the vinegar and asparagus, and stir to combine for 1 minute. The residual heat from the pasta will gently cook the asparagus to tender-crisp. Stir in the sesame oil and season with more black pepper, if desired. Divide the pasta among serving dishes, discarding the dasima, and shower with the reserved gim and sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Serve immediately, before the gim wilts and turns soggy.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Mihaela
A few notes on seaweed to make it easier to find. Roasted gim (Korean name) and nori (Japanese name) are the same, but nori is generally easier to find in supermarkets. Approximately 95% of seaweed eaten in the US is imported from Asia (predominately China), but there is very good Kombu that is grown in Maine that is found in supermarkets and online - Ocean's Balance and Maine Coast Sea Vegetables are a couple of companies that harvest different seaweeds from the Gulf of Maine.
MER
I would suggest subbing almond milk, cashew cream or full fat coconut milk or cream for the dairy cream.
Suri
You can buy already perfectly thinly sliced seaweed for topping in Asian grocery stores. Look for "kizami nori." Much cleaner and faster, and for me, worth it to have lots on hand. I toss it on a lot of wafu pasta.
Kevin
Cashew cream works, especially if you make it more liquidy. Soaking the cashews in warm water for at two hours works well.
Suri
I can't speak for Korea, but in Japan, the noodles in wafu pasta I ate was the same as the pasta I eat in the U.S. This is a fusion dish, so there's no "pure" flavor here -- just a mashup of two cuisines. Feel free to use your favorite pasta + shape (I think penne is a better match for asparagus than rigatoni, so that's what I'll use)!
Michael
Made this tonight following the recipe except for lack of kelp. (Subbed an additional piece of roasted seaweed in its place Plus a spare oil packed anchovy I had in the fridge for a little hint of the sea). Was surprisingly delicious. Definitely cut the roasted seaweed very very thin. And when adding it to the pasta, distribute it lightly and evenly. It will clump up otherwise.
Katherine
First bite: two stars. Added a teaspoon of gochuchang per plate. Second bite: five stars.
Claire
Made as directed. Light, spring-y, and very quick to come together. Next time, I’ll sautée the onion and garlic first.
Steve Andersen
A few notes on seaweed to make it easier to find. Roasted gim (Korean name) and nori (Japanese name) are the same, but nori is generally easier to find in supermarkets. Approximately 95% of seaweed eaten in the US is imported from Asia (predominately China), but there is very good Kombu that is grown in Maine that is found in supermarkets and online - Ocean's Balance and Maine Coast Sea Vegetables are a couple of companies that harvest different seaweeds from the Gulf of Maine. Add gochujang
Prakash Nadkarni
There is no real substitute for cream, but a drizzle of EVOO will provide the same unctuousness. The standard Italian herbs, fresh or dried - oregano, basil, parsley - will complement the dish without clashing with the other ingredients.
Sumit
I cut the asparagus in 1 cm lengths and found that it needed more time to not taste raw, probably about 3-4 minutes.
TheJenMoody
Got Sam’s email with this and had it cooked within an hour. It was delicious. Subbed a shallot as I didn’t have a red onion but otherwise followed to a T. Beautiful spring pasta that sings of spring.
Chicago Lauren
Don’t hate me but I did not have the seaweed or kelp but I had furikake I added at the end and a a really good white miso which I added to the cream. It was very good. I found additional black pepper and more rice vinegar added some needed brightness.
J B
This is the most amazing and unique thing I have made in a long time. I usually only use the recipe as a guide, but I followed this one perfectly. Soooo good. I was inspired by other comments and added a dash of crushed red pepper flakes and truffle salt at the end. I can't stop eating it. I want it every day. So easy, so satisfying, and so good.
HJ
This looks amazing but any idea for how to make this dairy free?
susie lee
I loved this! Turned out amazing. My family said it reminded them of Dduk guk. I followed the recipe with small modifications. I had really thick pasta tubes so I boiled them just 3 minutes shy of the al dente timing on the box. I sautéed shallots and garlic a few minutes before adding cream. I used one cup which was maybe too much but certainly enough. I made up the volume with more pasta water. I also had some turkey defrosted already added some turkey meatballs at the end which worked well
Anna
Blah. Far too much cream for such little flavor.
Hazel
I made this a couple years ago, and still think about it. I originally made it because it looked novel, but it turned out better than expected. The flavor of the kombu, asparagus, and heavy cream together was rich and savory. The only difference in my version is that I didn't have red onion at the time, so that may have allowed the other flavors shine more as a result.
Jan Mc
With the healthy lean into kefir, are talented chefs figuring ways to sub it in for creme when it’s flavor can fit?
Grace
I just made this.. and it was quite awful. It tasted like pasta cooked in milk.
Enjoyed by my husband and me . . .
Thank goodness for the gojuchang tip. I also added a chopped fresh tomato. It was still a festival of blandness; probably the cook’s fault.
katya
This lands itself perfectly to substitutions, as long as the base recipe and method are kept in place. I used leek tops (which normally end up in the bin) instead of onions and ground seaweed with some walnuts (no time to thinly cut it lol). Served with rocket salad on the side. Lovely green pasta!
SEB
Had a bumper crop of snap peas from my garden so used in place of asparagus. Made the dish a little sweeter but still delicious. Followed other suggestions to saute onions and garlic first and to add gouchjang. A great spring dish. Will try with asparagus next time, and there will be a next time.
madalena
great recipe, quick to make. I would suggest adding a pd of butter to the sauce to keep it smooth and glossy. I’ve also made this using gochujang added since I love spice and it was phenomenal. Use more salt than you think when tasting and seasoning your sauce
Rob
This is honestly incredible. I added instant dashi to the pasta water along with the kombu in times I’ve made it since, but it’s great as written. Make sure to slice those onions paper thin if you can. As someone who loves all things spicy, gochujang or anything spicy really don’t belong in this dish. Like at all. Completely takes away from the uniqueness of this recipe. I wouldn’t listen to those notes.
W
Used zucchini instead of asparagus. Turned out well.
Daniel Barwick
This is a wonderful blend of flavors. I've made this a few times, and noticed some things: (1) I prefer penne to rigatoni because the penne is nearly the same size as the asparagus and so it seems to look prettier together. (2) This dish can be made without the kombu - the flavor is less "of the sea", but I find that good parmesan grated over the top brings the umami up to the same level. (3) Reserve more than 1 cup of the pasta water - more often than not, I need a little more at the end.
Bett
How are shrimp and cheese vegetarian? Neither is of the vegetable kingdom, and both shrimp and cattle (mom cows and their babies alike) suffer horribly for your meal.
Kkat
This was not to my liking. First, my spouse was gagging from the smell. But it just did not come together for either of us. I thank the autho for introducing us to gim which I think will be very useful in other recipes
Adam
Made this and it was delicious! Took advice from other commenters and boiled the pasta a bit longer, added red pepper flakes, doubled the rice vinegar, and added tail-on shrimp.
Wendy
Didn’t enjoy this at all. Very bland, even after adding lots of extra pepper and salt. Waste of pasta and cream.
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