Whether it’s a Monday dinner for the family or a Friday date night, no one can dispute the idea of a rich, comforting and oh-so-good pasta like this Creamy Mushroom and Bacon Pasta. And yes, the Japanese love pasta just like anyone else. We love noodles and carbs, and we enjoy experimenting with global dishes, giving them some new dimension with our very own Japanese twist.
Creamy Mushroom and Bacon Pasta with a Japanese Twist!
In Japanese cuisine, there’s a thing calls the Japanese-style pasta or what we call Wafu Pasta (和風パスタ). They are essentially Italian pasta dishes that include a few Japanese condiments, and sometimes Japanese ingredients. In this Creamy Mushroom and Bacon Pasta, for example, I added shiitake mushrooms and shimeji mushrooms, to give new life to the western-style noodle dish. I also added a splash of soy sauce into the cream. You don’t need a lot of soy sauce here, but just the right amount to lend nice umami, depth, and savoriness. Some other condiments like miso, sake, tonkatsu sauce are also commonly used in western dishes (pasta, soup, main dishes etc). You don’t have to save Japanese condiments for Japanese food. Have fun experimenting! Here are some Wafu Pasta recipes on the blog:
Easy Wafu Pasta with Shrimp and Asparagus Classic Mentaiko Pasta Ume Shiso Pasta Napolitan (Ketchup Spaghetti)
Versatile Creamy Mushroom and Bacon Pasta
This recipe calls for 4 main ingredients: pasta, bacon, mushroom, and garlic, which are staples in the kitchen. But feel free to replace them with pretty much any other ingredients from your fridge. Here are some of my suggestions that would go with this creamy sauce. Protein
Chicken Ham Sausage Shrimp Salmon
Vegetables & Mushrooms
Spinach Arugula Kale Asparagus Portobello mushrooms Oyster mushrooms Chanterelle mushrooms Enoki mushrooms
Do you have any other good idea? Please share in the comments below!
5 Tips to Remember When Making Pasta
The following tips will apply to the majority of pasta recipes you’ll be cooking.
Use 4 quarts (4 L) of water for ½ to 1 lb of pasta. Add 1 ½ tablespoon of kosher salt (if table salt, use half) to the water. Typically, cook 4 oz (113 g, ¼ lb) of dried pasta per person. Cook pasta till al dente; slightly undercooked or “firm to the bite”. Reserve ½ cup (120 ml) pasta cooking water just in case you need to dilute your pasta sauce.
Love of Italian Food in Japan
If you have never been to Japan, it’s probably hard to imagine that the Japanese cook and eat western food quite often. In fact, Italian restaurants are everywhere in Japan, and I mean everywhere. At home, we cook all kinds of pasta, some are with a Japanese twist (we call this type “Wafu Pasta” 和風パスタ). Several years ago I read an article in the San Francisco Chronicle about the growing Japanese influence on San Francisco food (It’s an interesting article to read if you have time). In the article, the editor Michael Bauer mentioned that chef David Kinch at Manresa said, “the best French and Italian restaurants in the world outside of France and Italy are in Japan. It is that amazing.” My neighborhood Italian restaurants in Yokohama serve superb Italian food compared to the local Italian restaurants here in my neighborhood in the US. When you’re in Japan and got tired of eating Japanese food, try an Italian restaurant and you might be pleasantly surprised!
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