Wafu Shiitake Mushroom Fusilli With Tomato And Nihonshu Sauce Recipe

Wafu food is the meeting of Japanese ingredients and western cooking and pasta is a wonderful arena for wafu experimentation. My latest recipe is scrumptious fusilli pasta that features savoury shiitake mushrooms slathered in homemade tomato sauce infused with sake.

Serves 2 as a main course

Cooking time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

1 bag of dried shiitake mushrooms

Fusilli pasta

2 tbsp of sault

(Sauce)

1 can of chopped tomatoes

4 tbsp of sake (see notes for sake type)

2 tbsp of garlic

Black pepper

Cooking method

1. Empty the bag of shiitake into a pan of boiling water and leave to soak and reconstitute for 20 minutes. Drain into a colander when finished.
2. Fill another pan with water and add the salt. Add the Fusilli and leave it boil on a high heat for 10 – 15 minutes.
3. Pour chopped tomatoes into a frying pan and sprinkle in the garlic for some extra zing. Then, add the mushrooms.
4. Pour the sake into the sauce to thicken it up and leave to simmer for 5 – 10 minutes.
5. Drain the pasta and add to the sauce. Serve with optional garnish of black pepper and seaweed.

Notes

• The sake that I used for the sauce was Toko junmai. Its fruity and dry qualities helped to enhance the meaty texture of the shiitake mushrooms.
• With this recipe, I opted for wholemeal fusilli, but regular pasta works fine.

Need inspiration for more Japanese style pasta? Check out my wafu conchiglie with tofu!