To prepare the pasta, you can use smoked bacon, but if you follow the original recipe, you'll need guanciale. This is a type of pork fat—cured pork cheeks.

Pecorino Romano cheese can also be replaced with Parmesan. However, the key to proper pasta is using the right ingredients. Additionally, there are a few simple tips that will help you make your pasta perfect.

The spaghetti should be cooked "al dente," meaning it should remain slightly firm inside. To make the pasta juicy, add a bit of the hot cooking water to the spaghetti with the sauce.

Guanciale should be fried over medium heat so that it melts gradually, and the minced garlic should only be added when the fat is almost fully melted. This way, it won't burn during cooking and won't give a bitter taste.

1. Prepare all the ingredients for making Carbonara pasta. Grate the Pecorino Romano cheese finely or buy it pre-grated.
2. Take 150 g of guanciale or bacon and cut it into thin pieces.
3. Pour 2 tbsp of olive oil into a pan, heat it, and add the chopped guanciale or bacon. Sauté it slightly until golden brown.
4. Boil water in a pot and cook 250 g of spaghetti. The ideal proportion for cooking this amount of spaghetti is 2.5 liters of water and 25 g of salt. The cooking time for the spaghetti is indicated on the package, but to achieve "al dente," cook it for one minute less.
5. Finely chop a clove of garlic and add it to the pan with guanciale at the end of frying, so the garlic doesn't burn and add bitterness.
6. Prepare the pasta sauce. Add two egg yolks to a bowl and mix in 50 g of grated Pecorino Romano. Whisk until smooth.
7. When the spaghetti is ready, remove it from the water. Add the spaghetti to the pan with the fat and mix. Then pour in the sauce made from the egg yolks and cheese, along with 3-4 tbsp of the pasta cooking water. Mix well and serve immediately.