I flew all the way to Korea to learn the Traditional Italian Carbonara from Chef Fabrizio Ferrari—it was one of the best pastas I had in my life!
My trip to Korea last November 2025 has been nothing short of amazing, with collaborations with different renowned personalities and chefs like Sung Si Kyung who shared his Gireum Tteokbokki and Hobak Jeon recipe, Imokase who shared traditional Korean recipes, and Chef Jung Ji Sung where she taught me how to make Fried Pork Balls with Sugar Strings. But it doesn’t end there!!!
I am SUPER excited to share that I also collaborated with Chef Fabrizio Ferrari—celebrity chef, unapologetically Italian, and deeply passionate about food. I’ve watched him on TV for years, and I cannot believe that he personally taught me how to make Authentic Carbonara—No cream. No shortcuts. Just technique, tradition, and a LOT of love.
It’s funny how life works. I had to travel across the world to Korea to truly understand one of Italy’s most iconic dishes. Up to this day, it still feels surreal, and I could only make space in all my platforms to share this iconic dish to be done the right way! After this, you won’t need any other pasta recipe anymore!!
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Bacon – Normally, Italians use guanciale (cured pork cheek or jowl) because the umami flavor and fat content are essential to the sauce. But this is easily interchangeable with good-quality bacon for its accessibility.
- Egg Yolks – Italians do not use cream in their carbonara, but rather egg yolks for that rich, creamy, and velvety finish to the sauce.
- Pecorino Romano – This is the OG cheese they love to use for that salty and sharp balance against the richness of the eggs and bacon. If you find using this a bit too salty for your liking, you can do 50/50 Pecorino Romano and Parmesan Cheese. Freshly grated for the best flavor!
- Black Pepper – This will bring the spice that will cut through the rich, fatty, and salty flavors. Use fresh ground in a generous amount to your liking for the best flavor!
- Pasta of Choice – Use any good quality pasta that does not easily overcook for best results. Ribbon-cuts or rigatoni are amenable to making carbonara.
- Water – For boiling
- Salt – To season the pasta
How to Make Carbonara?
Traditional Carbonara Sauce
Chop the bacon into bite-sized pieces. Place it in a cold pan on low heat, and allow the fat to render, then stir-fry to toast. Once bacon is slightly toasted, set aside a portion for garnish and turn off the heat, leaving the rest in the pan. Set aside.
Meanwhile, separate egg yolks from egg whites, grate cheese using a microplane or fine shred grater, then combine them in a bowl. Mix this well until creamy. Set aside.
These two are the main components of the sauce. The bacon fat, combined with the cooked pasta, will emulsify and help make any sauce cling to the noodles. The egg yolk mixture creates an authentic, creamy, and rich carbonara sauce.
The Perfect Al Dente Pasta
Once the sauce components are done, it’s time to cook the pasta. The basic measurement guide is as follows:
- 80-100 grams of pasta per person
- 2:1 volume ratio of water to uncooked pasta
- 7 grams of salt per 1 liter of water
It’s normal to eyeball this, and there’s nothing wrong with doing so. This basic guide simply helps in cooking the pasta correctly. According to Chef Fabrizio, adding the right amount of water will keep the pasta from overcooking, and adding the right amount of salt will season the pasta perfectly.
Furthermore, the yielded water in the correct ratio will create a liquid gold where there is enough concentration of starch and salt that will be used to make the pasta sauce even better. Make sure to save some of this later!
In a pot, add water and salt, then bring this to a boil. Once boiling, add the pasta and stir to spread it out, preventing it from sticking to each other.
Good quality pasta can be cooked for 14 minutes, divided into 11 minutes of boiling and 3 minutes cooked with the sauce. By the end of boiling, the pasta should be al dente.
The Classic Carbonara
Once the bacon, sauce, and pasta are ready, turn the remaining bacon in the pan to low heat, add the pasta directly to deglaze, and get all that flavor. Season pasta with pepper, gradually add about 4-5 ladlefuls of pasta water while tossing to emulsify. This in itself was already very tasty!
In the same way, while it is hot, gradually add about a ladle-full of pasta water into the carbonara sauce to temper the egg yolks. Stir it quickly so the yolks do not scramble. Season this with black pepper.
When the pasta with bacon is already thickened up, turn off the heat, let it rest for 2-3 minutes to cool down, then add the carbonara sauce. Toss this quickly to properly melt the cheese and keep the eggs from scrambling. The sauce should cling to the pasta perfectly.
To serve, garnish with more bacon, grated cheese, and freshly ground pepper.
Make sure to leave a rating, a comment, or tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Tiktok when you chop them up! Yeobosayo!
Traditional Italian Carbonara Recipe by Chef Fabrizio Ferrari
Ingredients
- Guanciale or Bacon Generous amount
- Egg Yolks 3 yolks per serving
- Pecorino Romano Generous amount
- Freshly Grinded Black Pepper To taste
- Good Quality Uncooked Pasta Ribbon-cut or Rigatoni, 80-100 grams per serving
- Water 2 water:1 uncooked pasta noodles in terms of volume ratio
- Salt 7 grams per 1 liter of water
Instructions
- Chop the bacon into bite-sized pieces.
- Place the bacon on cold pan over low fire and let it render fat. Stir-fry and once toasted, set aside some for garnish.
- Separate yolks from the egg whites and grate the cheese.
- Combine yolks and grated Pecorino Romano. Mix well until it becomes creamy. Set aside.
- In a pot, add water and salt, then bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, add pasta and stir to keep them from sticking to each other. Let boil for 11 minutes.
- Once the pasta is cooked, turn the pan with bacon to low heat, then directly add the pasta. Gradually add 4-5 ladlefuls of pasta water, season with black pepper, and toss until emulsified.
- Meanwhile, while the pasta water is hot, add a ladle-full into the egg yolk mixture and quickly stir to temper the eggs and melt the cheese. Season with black pepper.
- Remove the pasta from the heat, let it cool down for 2-3 minutes, then add the sauce and quickly toss while it’s hot.
- Once the sauce is creamy and velvety, plate and garnish with bacon, grated cheese, and black pepper. Enjoy!
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