Tapioca Noodle Carbonara
Handmade tapioca noodles replace wheat pasta in this carbonara, with Chinese pork sausage standing in for guanciale - its rendered fat and caramelised edges doing the same structural work. The technique is faithful; the ingredients are not.
Equipment
- 1 large heatproof mixing bowl
- 1 large pot
- 1 frying pan (large enough for noodles)
- 1 strong disposable piping bag
- 1 pair of scissors
- 1 mixing bowl (for egg and cheese base)
- 1 whisk
Ingredients
Tapioca Noodles
- 250 g tapioca starch
- 100 g rice flour
- 3 g fine salt
- 15 ml neutral oil
- 480 ml boiling water
Carbonara Sauce
- 2 Chinese pork sausages diced
- 3 egg yolks room temperature
- 1 whole egg room temperature
- 65 g pecorino romano finely grated
- 1 g black pepper freshly cracked
- 90 ml noodle cooking water hot; reserved from cooking the tapioca noodles
To Finish
- 2 spring onions finely sliced
- 15 g chilli oil crisp
- 15 g fried shallots
- 15 g pecorino romano finely grated
- 1 g black pepper freshly cracked
Instructions
Make the Tapioca Noodles
- Mix the tapioca starch, rice flour and salt together in a large heatproof bowl.
- Add the neutral oil and 420ml of boiling water, then stir immediately with a silicone spatula until the mixture clumps together.
- Add the remaining boiling water gradually, up to 480ml total, until the dough is thick, sticky and pipeable - soft enough to pipe but not loose enough to pour.
- Let the dough cool for 5 minutes, just until safe to handle.
- Transfer the dough to a strong disposable piping bag and cut a 7–8mm hole at the tip.
- Bring a large pot of water to a gentle boil.
- Pipe the noodles directly into the boiling water, cutting them into 20–25cm lengths with scissors.
- Simmer for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the noodles float and look glossy and slightly translucent.
- Transfer the noodles to a bowl of cold water to stop them cooking, and drain.
- Reserve at least 250ml of noodle cooking water before draining the pot.
Prepare the Egg and Cheese Base
- Add the egg yolks, whole egg, pecorino romano and black pepper to a mixing bowl.
- Whisk until smooth, thick and paste-like.
- Whisk in a tablespoon of hot noodle cooking water to begin the emulsification of the mixture. Continue adding up to 5 tablespoons of the noodle cooking water until there are no more clumps of cheese.
Render the Chinese Pork Sausage
- Add the diced Chinese pork sausage to a cold frying pan.
- Place the pan over medium-low heat and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring often, until the fat renders and the edges lightly caramelise.
- Remove the sausage from the pan. Keep the rendered fat in the pan - this is the fat base of the carbonara sauce.
Finish the Carbonara
- Drain the tapioca noodles and add them to the pan with the rendered fat.
- Toss over low heat for 30 to 60 seconds, until the noodles are coated in the sausage fat. Turn off the heat completely.
- Add the egg and pecorino mixture to the noodles and toss continuously for 60 seconds until the sauce thickens and coats the noodles.
- Add more hot noodle cooking water, 15ml at a time, until the sauce is glossy, creamy and loose enough to coat the noodles.
- Plate immediately, then top with extra pecorino, spring onions, chilli oil crisp, fried shallots, and black pepper.
Taste before adding any extra salt - the Chinese pork sausage, pecorino and chilli crisp are already salty.