Wafu pasta means Japanese style pasta. Simply defined it’s a pasta dish with Japanese ingredients. I was introduced to wafu pasta by my sisters during a visit back to Manila in 2013. They brought me to Yomenya Goemon, a Japanese/Western noodle house based in Japan. We ordered among other things a pasta dish with mushroom having a unique Asian flavor.
This recipe is my take on wafu pasta with Shimeji mushrooms. It’s not as good as the one served at Yomenya Goemon bit it will do for now.
You will need 1/2 lb. dried spaghetti noodles, 4-5 pcs. sliced baby portabella mushrooms and one bunch shimeji mushrooms separated into pieces, soy sauce, mirin, sake, butter and garlic.
First, cook your spaghetti according to package directions and set aside about 1/2 cup of pasta water. Heat a skillet and add 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil. Saute 2-3 cloves minced garlic until fragrant. Add your mushrooms and cook until just tender to your liking. Pour in about 1/4-1/2 cup pasta water, 1 Tbsp. soy sauce, 1 Tbsp. mirin and 1 Tbsp. sake and let simmer. Add your cooked pasta and mix everything together. Finish the dish by adding 1 Tbsp. butter to make the sauce a bit creamy.
Plate into bowls and top off with some thinly cut nori strips. Note: you can actually buy pre-cut nori strips at Asian groceries.
