Wafu Pasta (Japanese-Style Pasta)

This simple and delicious recipe for Wafu Pasta is a Japanese western-fusion style pasta flavored with savory bacon, mushrooms, tossed in a soy-based sauce.

What is wafu?

Wafu means Japanese-style, which in this case refers to the use of soy sauce and mirin in this Western fusion pasta dish.

Japanese Wafu dressing is a common vinaigrette-style sauce typically consisting of vegetable oil, soy sauce, mirin, rice vinegar, and can contain other ingredients such as yuzu or wasabi.

Wafu sauce is typically used on salads, as a marinade for meats and tofu, or in dumpling sauces.

Why you'll love this recipe

This recipe for Japanese style pasta is a little different than other recipes which typically call for a rich soy butter sauce.

Not overly rich: since the bacon already has plenty of fat and flavor, there's no need for additional butter or olive oil.

Minimal in ingredients: this Wafu pasta sauce is really simple to make with only a few ingredients.

Ingredients you'll need

For the pasta:

• pasta: your choice of spaghetti, angel hair, or linguine
• white onion: sliced thinly
• minced garlic
• bacon: cut into pieces
• mushrooms: cut into pieces; you can use any type of mushroom, including king, oyster, shiitake

Wafu sauce & garnish:

• soy sauce: also known as shoyu in Japanese
• mirin: is a sweet Japanese white rice wine; you can sub with dry sherry or sake, with a touch of sugar
• reserved pasta cooking water: from cooking the pasta; it has residual starchiness that will help the sauce come together and cling to the pasta
• green onions: chopped
• roasted nori seaweed: cut into thin pieces
• bonito flakes: optional; is made from smoked skipjack tuna and is an ingredient for dashi broth and okonomiyaki

How to make wafu pasta

Cook pasta according to the package directions, minus 1 minute (to ensure al dente texture).

Reserve about 1 C of pasta cooking liquid and drain the pasta. Set aside.

Heat a large pot or frying pan over medium heat and add in the bacon. Cook until the bacon renders.

Add in onions and garlic, and saute, cooking until onions are slightly softened and aromatic.

Add in the mushrooms and continue to cook, stirring every so often.

Reduce the heat.

In a small bowl, combine soy sauce and mirin.

Add in the pasta, along with the soy sauce and mirin mixture.

Use a pair of tongs to coat the pasta with the sauce.

Pour in enough reserved pasta cooking liquid to loosen.

Remove from heat and garnish with chopped green onions, nori and bonito flakes.

How to serve

Serve the Japanese pasta with side dishes such as garlic bread or chicken yakitori.

How to store & reheat

Store the Wafu pasta in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Reheat the mushroom wafu pasta in the microwave for 1-2 minutes, or until warmed through.

Tip: add a splash of water and cover with a lid to help the pasta noodles steam.

Substitutions & additions

For this Japanese mushroom pasta, you can use any long-strand pasta noodle such as spaghetti, angel hair, or linguine. Swap with rice noodles or udon noodles to make a soy mushroom udon.

Feel free to add different types of mushrooms such as enoki, king, oyster, or vegetables such as cabbage or leafy greens such as bok choy or yu choy.

For more savory umami flavor, try adding miso paste to make a miso wafu pasta.

Instead of pasta water, you can also use dashi broth to help flavor the pasta, but you may need to reduce the amount of soy sauce to prevent the dish from being over salty.

Expert tips

Don't overcook the pasta noodles. Just cook them according to the package, less a minute or so for al dente texture.

Save the pasta cooking water -- the residual starchiness in the pasta water helps the soy mixture cling to the noodles.

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