'Delicious' New York Time's most popular ever recipe only uses six ingredients

Following a recipe can often be a bit of a nightmare - long lists of ingredients you've never heard of, niche kitchen equipment that costs a fortune, and step-by-step instructions in fancy cooking terminology that you have to translate into Google.

However, not all recipes are created equal; some can be simple, quick, and full of flavour without all the hassle.

One dinner, newly crowned champion from The New York Times, is exactly that, it's been soaring in popularity and collecting five-star ratings at a pace that's turning heads among home cooks around the world.

This isn't just another complicated dinner idea demanding lots of exotic ingredients or hours of prep - slaving over the hobs.

What makes Eric Kim's Gochujang Buttered Noodles so magic is how they strike a perfect balance between sweet, savoury and spicy, without loads of fuss.

It delivers a real punch of flavour while only using six ingredients, which aren't going to break the bank either.

Food bloggers have been going crazy over this recipe, and with a full five-star rating from more than 9.616 reviews on The New York Times, it has gained the title of the newspaper's highest-rated recipe.

At the heart of the dish is the namesake gochujang, a Korean fermented red chilli paste, which is a common staple in many East Asian kitchens, but the spicy paste has been gaining lots of popularity closer to home, too. Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda and many other supermarket chains now stock the seasoning, with both branded and own-brand jars available in many.

So what is this show-stopper? It's everything you want when you're tired, hungry, and want dinner fast, but you also don't want to settle.

One happy chef who tried the recipe just last week posted: "Wow. This was SO good. I used Mike's hot honey, which added a great extra kick to the sweetness of the dish.

"I also added sautéed spinach just for a little green veg and served it with a piece of chicken. The sauce was so good on the chicken!! I definitely got more servings out of this by adding to it."

While another added: "Made this last night and it was just gorgeous! I ended up adding a bit too much honey, which made it quite sweet, but it actually worked quite well. 1000% would recommend making it and I'm going to make it again this week because it was just that good."

The recipe to serve 4:

Start by bringing a large pot of water up to a boil, and add in around 500 grams of spaghetti and leave it to cook for as long as the packet suggests.

Once cooked, drain the spaghetti, keeping 1 cup of the starchy cooking water and set aside.

While the pasta is cooking, melt 4 good tablespoons of butter in a frying pan over a medium-low heat.

Add 12 finely chopped cloves of garlic - this may seem insane, but its flavour soon mellows in the butter - and a good pinch of salt.

Gently fry for around three minutes until the garlic begins to soften and turn aromatic.

Now, add around four tablespoons of gochujang paste into the garlic butter, along with the same amount of honey and either sherry or rice vinegar.

Stir in and let it thicken up for around three more minutes.

Finally, add everything into the spaghetti pot along with a couple of splashes of pasta water and a further two more tablespoons of cold butter.

Constantly stir everything over a medium heat until the butter is melted and the sauce clings to the pasta noodles.

Finally, plate up and optionally top with spring onions or coriander.