hello hi everyone! Wesley here. Today we’re kicking off a BRAND new series, and diving into the wonderful, weird, and surprisingly delicious world of pan-asian fusion cuisine. More specifically, today we’re taking a crack at a recipe inspired one sent to me by reddit user u/Juno_Malone for an Italian Pasta Carbonara that most prominently strays from its traditional carbonara origins with its inclusion of a Chinese pork “lap cheong” sausage. For those unfamiliar, a traditional carbonara makes use of guanciale “pork cheek” (or here in the states, usually pancetta or bacon) that has had its fat rendered into liquid form, and is then combined with spaghetti and an egg and parmesan slurry for a simple but delicious creamy pasta. 

Today we’ll be omitting that guanciale in favor of a Chinese “lap cheong” sausage, then incorporating two of my very favorite forms of subtle heat, a bit of dried toasted Tian Jin peppers, and a healthy serving of lao gan ma chile crisp oil. Hope you try it.

It will be out on Friday August 27, 2021, so bookmark the recipe here, and be sure to subscribe and hit the bell on YouTube to get notified when it’s out!

Woo Can Cook is a series where we reproduce fun foods and recipes from my childhood. Some of them are authentically Chinese and/or pan-Asian, but a lot of them are odd Americanized versions that I inherited from my parents and grandparents while growing up in the Bay Area/California.

We're live streaming every Tues/Thurs at 6:30PM PST, with new recipes out every Friday!