According to Taste Atlas, penne alla vodka ranks as the fourth most popular pasta dish in North America, and just about anyone can make vodka sauce at home, which probably adds to its popularity. If you like your vodka sauce with an extra hit of heat, try adding a bit of this super-versatile Korean ingredient.

Gochujang is a funky, spicy, and slightly sweet paste made from red chili powder and fermented soybeans. In recent years, its popularity has expanded far beyond Korean food, and a spoonful or two in place of tomato paste adds a deep and savory heat, which compliments the slight burn of vodka sauce especially well.

Some sauce recipes call for replacing tomato paste with gochujang entirely, while other recipes use the chili paste in addition to tomato paste, cooking the two together at the same time. No matter which recipe you perk up by adding gochujang, try tossing it with farfalle or "bowtie pasta," the best shape to pair with vodka sauce.