Several weeks ago, Jen from Taste of Home asked me if I have Japanese style pasta recipes (the girl knows what she’s talking about!).
What is Japanese pasta?? You might ask. Yes, not Ramen, no Udon, not Soba, but pasta. Japanese pasta is simply Italian pasta prepared with Japanese ingredients and flavors. Italian food is very popular in Japan, and as I had mentioned in my Creamy Mushroom & Bacon Spaghetti post before, some people do think Japan has the best Italian food outside of Italy. What’s interesting is one of the Italian bloggers that I met recently also said the same thing.
When Italian food was introduced to Japan around the post war period, only Italian style pasta was served. Then around the ’70s, people started experimenting with Japanese flavors and ingredients. Now Japanese style pasta (also known as Wafuu Pasta) are very popular in Japan and there are many kinds of Wafuu pasta that we eat at home or at restaurants. Today I’m sharing one recipe that my family loves and I will share more Japanese style pasta in the future.
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- 2-3 servings Spaghetti
- 1 shimeji mushrooms (brown beech mushroom) (rinsed and the bottom discarded)
- 2 Shiitake mushrooms (rinsed and sliced)
- 4 Mushrooms (rinsed and sliced)
- 1 pkg enoki mushrooms (I didn’t have this today) (rinsed and the bottom discarded)
- 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 Tbsp sake
- 1 can tuna in oil/water (1 can = 5 oz) (drained)
- 1 tsp Konbucha (or substitute with salt, see Notes)
- 4 Tbsp mentsuyu (noodle soup base) (After diluted according to the bottle instruction: See Notes)
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 3 Shiso leaves (Ooba) (chiffonaded, optional)
- shredded nori seaweed (kizami nori)
Gather all the ingredients.
In a large pot, bring water to a boil and start cooking spaghetti according to the package instruction but minus 1 minute because you will cook spaghetti again later.
- In a large skillet, heat oil on medium high and cook mushrooms.
- After a few minutes, add sake and let it evaporate while you sauté with wooden spoon.
- Add tuna from the can and mix.
- Add Konbucha, Mentsuyu, and butter and mix all together. Scoop one ladle of pasta’s cooking water and add as needed.
- Add drained pasta in the pan and mix well by shaking the pan. Serve immediately with shiso leaves and Kizami Nori.
Konbucha: This is not Kombucha, a fermented drink. Konbucha/Kobucha is made from Konbu seaweed. It is full of konbu glutamine and asparagine umami deliciousness. Konbucha is a salty seasoning so if you can’t find this, you can substitute with kosher salt instead. But Konbu gives nice umami… I hope you can find this seasoning. At Japanese supermarkets, you can find it in the tea section as we drink it as a tea.
Mentsuyu: If you use a store-bought mentsuyu, each brand is different concentrate. Sometimes it's required to dilute 2 x water or 3 x water. Follow the bottle's instruction.
Recipe by Namiko Chen of Just One Cookbook. All images and content on this site are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without my permission. If you’d like to share this recipe on your site, please re-write the recipe in your own words and link to this post as the original source. Thank you.
I love how this recipe has so many different varieties of mushrooms – I am especially a fan of enoki! 🙂
Such interesting factoids you have given us, This dish looks delicious
Well, this is absolutely new to me, but is a very appealing recipe! Now I’m aware of Japanese pasta, not only Italian! Thanks for the recipe, Nami!
This sounds like a nice fusion dish. Maybe they will introduce Japanese pasta in Italy?
I have not eaten Japanese style pasta before, just curious the taste, let me if i can get Konbucha, then i must make this. Have a nice weekend ahead, Nami. This weekend i going to school again after so long, ..but this is a pastry school, hehehe..
Wow! All mushrooms me and my girls LOVE! They love Enoki most and I’ll cooked in soup or stir-fry with veggies.
I’m sure they’ll like this Japanese Pasta! 😀
Four different mushrooms in one pasta dish! Now that, my dear Nami, is better than any Italian mushroom pasta dish I’ve ever encountered. And I never knew there was even such a thing as Japanese pasta, but now I do, thanks to you!
Yay! Mushrooms, and ****take mushrooms too! This makes me very happy indeed 🙂
I had no idea Japanese pasta existed!!! This one looks delicious! I am starting to think that Italy and Japan have quite a few things in common… especially after talking about potato salads and seeing this recipe! So cool!!! <3
Fusion at its best!
Nami, once again you’ve posted a unique and delicious dish…I’m going to have to start a list of these exotic ingredients and check out our Asian market. I know I’d love this!!!
I love the fusion between Italian and Japanese flavors and ingredients! Great post Nami!
Nami, thank you for introducing me to the Japanese pasta. I had no idea what it looked like (you told me once it existed, but I thought you meant fried Asian noodles 😉 )
This dish looks delicious, original and reminds me of the experiments I sometimes make with Italian pasta and Asian cuisines (usually Thai – I often add some coconut milk and Thai curry). And I still haven’t bought konbucha…
I love the tiny shoes!!! They are supposed to be the chopsticks support??? Wouldn’t you say “kawai” in Japanese? 😉
Have a great weekend!
Hi Nami! haha you mentioned me (I know I asked the right person when I asked you)..when I saw this on my reader, I could not wait to click over. Your Japanese style pasta looks delicious and gorgeous…your version with konbucha & mentsuyu sound very yummy! Do you think I could substitute the tuna with clams? Wish we could have a noodle party hehe totally making me hungry looking at your photo now :O
Love your twist! Japanese cuisine is one of my favourites! Learnt some new ingredients today. Thanks for sharing!
A beautiful fusion of taste and flavor and I love the use of different types of mushroom! Great sharing!
Thanks for sharing your knowledge Nami. It is always such a pleasure to learn more about Japanese cuisine from you. This looks delicious and I always try to find a way to have mushrooms in my pastas. I may have to wait until I go to the Bay Area to find the Konbucha. I’m intrigued…but I’m pretty sure that the local store in Mariposa won’t have it! Have a great weekend.
Oh Nami, I am a big time sucker for pasta. And with tuna and mushroom with Japanese style oh got me on the spot. I wish you were nearby.
Looks great Nami! It’s amazing how we take recipes from some other country and infuse a bit of our own spices and flavors into it! In India we have Indian pasta! lol! a little bit of ginger with garlic, some gharam masala and lots of chili for added spice is Indian pasta!
Delicious!!! I’ve had breakfast already, but would have preferred this. Yum.
Oh woah! I am trying this recipe for sure! I make a similar “tuna” pasta, but I use cream of mushroom soup as a base. Totally gross but delicious! This recipe is much more sophisticated. 🙂
I have to try this! Love the history lesson and the caution about “Konbucha/Kobucha vs. Kombucha”. Sure enough, I’d glanced it and thought, ‘I’ll have to go to Whole Foods for that Kombucha tea’…That would have been a disaster 🙁
I love Japanese Pasta! Whenever I go home to Hawaii I visit Pietro’s- they have amazing Japanese pasta and make those wonderful dressings you see at the Japanese supermarket. Love all the mushrooms in there too!
Nami, this is beautiful and I’m learning so much about Japanese cuisine reading your blog. While I’m a little tuna shy these days I do love the mix of mushrooms – I have to make a trip down to the Japanese supermarket asap!
yes this is japanese pasta, oishisoo!
Nami, you are not just a good cook you really know how to share your culture in a most interesting (not boring!!!) way. I know what you mean by Japanese pasta just as we have our own Filiipino Spaghetti hahah.
I love the Japanese infused flavors. It perks up a pasta dish unlike the usual way of cooking it.
Have a Grrreat Weekend girl,
Malou
You know what? If my memory serves me correctly, I took a liking for pasta when I was much much younger while having it at a Japanese bistro/eatery within Japanese departmental stores (both SOGO and Isetan) back in Singapore! But I remembered the pasta did not have much Jap. influence – it was just Spaghetti Bolognese; OR maybe it did have some Japanese fused elements in the sauce, just that I didn’t knew. I actually added nori seaweed to my pasta before and I love it!
Excellent pasta idea .. very different with a twist 🙂
Great post Nami! Love all the mushrooms in this dish.
What a yummy looking pasta Nami.I love the beautiful yellow color.Your narration of how Japanese pasta evolved is so similar to how indo- chinese cuisine evolved, mainly bu east indian and lots of spices 🙂 I m yet to try seaweed but you have topped the pasta with it so beautifully!
Have a nice weekend 🙂
I love this dish Nami…what a awesome combination..mmm mushrooms, noodles and tuna..yummy meal!!!
Wow, this looks good! Since Kyle is crazy about Japanese mushrooms, I should make this dish for him ; )
Ive never had Japanese pasta. This looks and sounds soooo good!
Wow this looks fantastic! I’ve never tried adding tuna to my pasta before. Looks delicious!
Pasta cooked in Japanese way. This is sure interesting! The top pasta shot is simply delicious-looking, Nami
Oh Nami, with the mushroom medley that you put in this dish, I think your pasta is the best pasta dish outside of Italy! 🙂
Two of my favorite cuisines mixed in one plate 🙂 Yummy, thanks for sharing this recipe with us Nami 🙂
oh boy! this looks so good! thank you for the introduction to new Japanese ingredients. Will have to check them out at Nijiya Supermarket!
Awwww, the little Japanese wooden shoes (geta?) … 😀 Are those to put the chop sticks to rest? 🙂
A little nori really makes a fancy dish, I should do that more often!
Now you gone and done it…made me hungry…but I have no mushrooms in the house. *sulk*
What a great twist to an Italian classic! I love the flavours in this pasta specially that shiitake mushrooms!
Hey, lovely photos. Things like “konbucha”, “mentsuyu” are a little difficult to pronounce for non-Japanese people. But this Japanese pasta? It is going to be an ABSOLUTE HIT with your global readers (I am included)!!! What a delicious recipe, Nami!
I love this recipe! I’m a fan of tinned tuna. I had some tuna cooked Japanese style and it was so good. Love the different kinds of mushrooms in this dish. What a lovely dish, Nami.
oh I love it! esp with all the mushrooms!!! seaweed tea hey- I learnt something new today. Going to love these new flavours!
I have always wanted to try Japanese pasta and this one looks like one that I’d like to try (minus the tuna, because I am not that into tuna ;)) – I know, I am by nature a very picky eater :(. I intend to spend some of my summer holiday in Jakarta, Indonesia and I’ve heard that there are many fantastic Japanese restaurants there, including ones specialising on Japanese pasta. I can’t wait to stuff myself there ;D)!!
I’m still very busy at the moment, but in a few days it’ll be much better and I’ll have more time to blog, reply e-mails, etc. Sorry for being so slack the last few weeks…:(!!
Hi Nami,
this dish sounds great. I love all the flavors you put in, and all those type of mushrooms, mmm. What a great dinner idea. Thanks for sharing
wonderful looking combination
looks like a fun dish the ultimate in fusion
i’m a sucker for any pasta! Very educational read by the way. I had no idea the Japanese used Italian pasta. It makes total sense though. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Pasta is one of my favorite types of food. I can eat it everyday. You know, I always keep cans of tuna in my pantry because one of my favorite ways to use it is in pasta. However, I don’t think I’ve ever added mushrooms to mine. Will have to borrow your recipe soon. My husband and I have been meaning to visit Japan–now I have something else to look forward to when that day comes–the pasta! 🙂
I’ve never heard of Wafuu Pasta… thanks for sharing! And I love this pasta dish with all of these different types of mushrooms in it!
Thank you Nami for educating us and introducing us to new foods. I love your food presentations, they never disappoint.
Looks so yummy! Perfect for a fast dinner and I love those adorable mini shoes =D
Fusion cooking is very popular these days and it is not just East meets West, but also East meets East. I stir fry pasta and soba, Chinese style. Your mushroom and tuna pasta with all the different kinds of mushrooms sound very flavorful!
I never knew that Japan was known for great Italian food! That’s really neat. 😀 This dish sounds delicious and I would have never thought of the flavor combos. Thanks!
I can’t believe I have missed so many of your recipes
I love the touch you add to everything Nami making it your own..
P.S. cute slippers in the picture
Kinda healthy pasta recipe. yuumm~~
Cute slippers, btw 🙂
Thanks Nami~ you’re great!
Hi,
I’ m Alberto from Italy.
You Have a Best website.
You have many delicious recipes.
I have a blog http://www.realitaliandish.wordpress.com is a blog of real italian recipesof my family, if you wont take some recipes you can take is a honor for me.
I love japan I hope to visit this beautifull country.
Bye from Italy CIAO.
Sorry for my english.
Thanks so much for sharing this. I love Japanese Italian much more than Italian. I like the flavours and I love that the sauces aren’t as heavy as they are in many of the Italian dishes. I cook a creamy Japanese pasta dish quite a lot at home. Do you by any chance have a recipe for the avocado and shrimp pasta you see all over the place in Japan? If you’re not sure which dish I mean, I have a picture here:
http://www.mykawaiilife.com/japanese-pasta-recipe/
Thanks so much!
What I like about this pasta is it is light and tasty. Not too oily so there is little guilt for a great taste! 🙂
I agree with you Alana! I love the simplicity of this dish. 🙂
Hi Nami! I really want to try this recipe. I am wondering though about the mentsuyu. Is the 4 tablespoons for the straight type or the dilute type? Thank you!
Hi Wendy! Good question, this particular one is dilute type, considering it’s 4 Tbsp. I usually use straight type from the store-bought bottle or my homemade recipe. I’ll mention in my recipe. Thanks for letting me now!