There’s no teacher that can bring the perfect amount of energy and humor to first period AP Computer Science Principles than the one, the only, Mrs. Vollucci! I always look forward to hearing the wheels of her roller backpack rolling up to the classroom and seeing her carefully designed outfits and accessories. From her fashion sense alone, I knew Mrs. Vollucci would have a fantastic recommendation for me to create up her sleeve.
After agreeing to participate, she sent me a very helpful email of her favorite foods and also an extensive list of allergies. Her favorite cuisines are Japanese and Italian, so she challenged me to make a Japanese-Italian fusion dish: udon carbonara! I decided to make a pork belly variant, as she especially loves pork belly pasta dishes.
I started the recipe by preparing the pork belly. I sliced pork belly into thin strips and sautéed for a few minutes at medium heat. I then added soy sauce, brown sugar, minced garlic, and water, which I fried until the water evaporated and the pork belly was crispy, rendered, and aromatic. I almost couldn’t fight the temptation to snack on the pork belly by itself!
Setting the pork belly aside, I made the carbonara sauce. The mixture consisted of egg yolks, grated parmesan, minced garlic, black pepper, and heavy cream.
Meanwhile, I prepared my noodles by soaking the frozen udon in boiling water until it loosened. I reserved a quarter cup of the noodle water for later and strained the udon.
After all the components were prepared, I heated a large pan and tossed in the reserved noodle water and udon noodles. Once the noodles began to steam, I removed the pan from the heat. I waited for about a minute so the noodles would cool down sufficiently. Pouring in the carbonara mixture, I vigorously stirred the sauce to prevent the sauce from scrambling.
I finished it off by layering the crispy pork belly and garnishing the top with grated parmesan and freshly cracked black pepper.
The pork belly carbonara udon was now complete!
Before the tasting, I heated up the carbonara udon in the microwave and quickly made my way to Mrs. Vollucci’s classroom.
I had never been more nervous for a tasting before, especially as I had failed my previous tester batch of udon by scrambling the eggs in the sauce.
However, Mrs. Vollucci’s rave review washed my fears way! Upon opening the container, Mrs. Vollucci was amazed by the delectable smell of cheesy carbonara wafting through the air.
Later, she noted that the first thing she noticed was the texture of the sauce. She observed that it was creamy, so I did “a good job” with the sauce! It’s especially tricky to avoid scrambling the eggs in carbonara sauce, but because she could clearly taste the egg flavor in the sauce, she knew I “nailed” the dish.
Mrs. Vollucci loves carbonara udon because it combines her favorite cuisines: Japanese and Italian. She enjoys the Italian taste coming in from the carbonara sauce combined with the chewy udon that perfectly soaks in that sauce. Despite her avid love for pork belly, Mrs. Vollucci said that the flavor of the pasta was delicious even without the pork belly! Her love for my dish made me very happy.
Mrs. Vollucci’s only suggestion for the future was to garnish the dish with a bit of green—such as basil or parsley—for a pop of color, which I definitely agree with!
She said that I perfectly “captured” the essence of carbonara and called it a “knock-out” dish.
All in all, I would 100% recommend making this carbonara udon, especially with pork belly! It’s the best of Japanese and Italian cuisine in one dish. The combination of bouncy, chewy udon noodles, creamy carbonara sauce, and deliciously sweet-and-savory pork belly was to die for!
