Easy Wafu Mushroom Pasta in 20 Minutes

Wafu Mushroom Pasta is a savory, buttery spaghetti dish infused with Japanese flavors and a blend of umami-rich mushrooms. This easy recipe can be prepared in under 20 minutes!

This quick recipe will equip you with the skills to craft a restaurant-worthy meal, even on your busiest weeknights.

Its visually stunning presentation and robust, indulgent flavors also make this pasta an impressive and date-night worthy dish.

Moreover, the recipe can be easily adapted to accommodate vegan diets.

For more easy pasta dishes, try our recipes for Longanisa Aglio e Olio and Garlic Butter Grilled Lobster with Cacio e Pepe!

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Table of Contents

What is Wafu Pasta? A Delicious Fusion of Italian and Japanese Cuisine

Wafu is a cuisine term for Japanese-style, and wafu pasta is Japanese-style pasta.

In a broader sense, wafu can be considered a subcategory of yoshoku (western-influenced Japanese cuisine), where wafu dishes are western originated recipes prepared with Japanese ingredients.

To put it simply, wafu pasta takes Italian pasta and gives it a Japanese twist.

Wafu pasta is a unique fusion of Japanese and Italian food. These two cuisines share a focus on tradition, philosophy, and a fondness for noodles, which is why this dish is so harmonious and delicious!

It’s an excellent food choice for those who enjoy either Japanese or Italian cuisine!

Wafu pasta is a brilliant example of the constantly evolving culinary world, where authenticity and innovation coexist as valid and beautiful expressions.

In Los Angeles, we’ve noticed a growing enthusiasm for wafu pasta. For nearly a decade, we’ve called LA home, and one restaurant that stands out is Pasta e Pasta by Allegro, a long-standing date night destination in Little Tokyo.

While traditional Italian pasta has long been a mainstay in LA’s restaurant scene, we’re now seeing several new wafu pasta establishments emerging across the city. If you ever have the opportunity to try a wafu pasta spot, don’t miss it!

Why Wafu Mushroom Pasta is a Must-Try Recipe for Mushroom Lovers

If you have any fondness for mushrooms or umami flavors in general, this recipe is a must-try!

Mushrooms are innately flavorful and tender, and when cooked they become wonderfully earthy, umami, and savory.

The recipe is straightforward, requiring only a simple sauté and boiling pasta. It’s an easy cooking option for beginner home cooks or those new to mushrooms!

This Wafu Mushroom Pasta would make an impressive date night meal. Imagine this — your date mentions that they love mushrooms, so you invite them for a homecooked meal and make Wafu Mushroom Pasta as a thoughtful and caring gesture!

There’s nothing quite like having someone prepare a special meal for you. Its elegant presentation, restaurant-quality taste, and thoughtful preparation are sure to impress your date!

Choosing the Right Mushrooms for Your Wafu Mushroom Pasta

For this recipe, we suggest using maitake mushrooms along with one or two additional mushroom varieties.

Maitake mushrooms are one of our favorite mushroom options because they are savory, rich, and affordable. They lend an abundance of umami flavor!

We also enjoy incorporating fresh bunashimeji, shiitake, or a blend of the three, alongside the maitake mushrooms. These options offer a variety of meaty textures, savory notes, and earthy, woodsy, or nutty flavors.

Many Asian grocery stores conveniently offer a variety pack of 4-6 mushroom types, commonly used for hot pot, soups, or barbeques. These packs contain a range of tender mushrooms that soak up sauce well, though not all varieties may be highly flavorful.

If you choose this option, we recommend getting an additional pack of maitake or shiitake mushrooms to ensure a more robust umami profile.

Alternatively, if you’d prefer to freestyle your own mushroom combination, we recommend creating a blend that offers a range of meat-like textures and earthy flavors.

Expert Tips for Customizing Your Wafu Mushroom Pasta Recipe

We frequently make this pasta and enjoy experimenting with different variations! Here are our suggestions for customizing this Wafu Mushroom Pasta:

• Replace the seaweed garnish with fresh shiso
  • Swapping the Japanese seaweed garnish for fresh shiso is an effortless way to enhance the overall flavor profile of the dish.
    
    While we frequently top our pasta with shredded nori, we also enjoy garnishing with fresh shiso leaves. This verdant, minty addition can provide a refreshing contrast, brightening up the rich, umami-forward flavors. It’s truly delicious!
• Add chicken thighs for extra protein
  • To satisfy our protein needs, we sometimes add marinated chicken thighs to this recipe. Here’s how we incorporate the chicken:
    • Marinate the chicken thighs for at least 30 minutes in equal parts soy sauce, mirin, and cooking sake.
    • Pat dry the chicken for searing and pan-fry until cooked through. Remove and set aside the cooked chicken, then use the rendered chicken fats to begin the mushroom butter sauce (this will replace some of the butter in the recipe).
    • Chop up the cooked chicken and toss it back in before serving.
• Try a different pasta noodle
  • Pasta noodle shape can greatly change the experience of a dish. Use long noodles like spaghetti or linguine, or try ones that could hold a little more sauce like farfalle, fusilli, or cavatappi.

Easy Substitutions for a Vegan Wafu Mushroom Pasta Recipe

This recipe offers easy customizations, and it can also be altered to fit a vegan diet.

Replace the butter with margarine or vegan butter. Alternatively, you can use a neutral vegetable oil such as canola, sunflower, or avocado oil for sautéing, and then add a splash of sesame oil or perilla oil to enhance the flavor.

These substitutions may change the overall taste of the dish, as is common with most substitutions.

Health Benefits of Mushrooms in Wafu Mushroom Pasta

If we haven’t convinced you yet, there are healthy reasons to cook Wafu Mushroom Pasta and add more mushrooms to your cooking rotation!

It can help you maintain a healthy diet due to its high concentration of vitamin D – the same essential vitamin many of us get through drinking cow’s milk. It’s also a low calorie ingredient.

And if you are trying to eat less meat, mushrooms can provide umami flavors that satisfy those cravings.

Maitake mushrooms, a key ingredient in our Wafu Mushroom Pasta recipe, are traditionally known as a medicinal mushroom. They are prized for their adaptogenic properties and high levels of antioxidants, fiber, beta-glucans, and potassium.

This recipe is perfect whether you’re looking to eat more produce or consume less meat. It has you covered on both fronts!

Pairing Drinks and Sides with Wafu Mushroom Pasta

As a Japanese-inspired Italian dish, this meal deserves a thoughtful beverage and food pairing to create a lovely restaurant-like experience.

Here are a few drink pairing ideas to serve with your Wafu Mushroom Pasta:

• sake (Japanese rice wine) with clean, mineral-like tasting notes
• chuhai (shochu highball) like our Sparkly Pear Chuhai
• grape wines such as Chardonnay, Bordeaux, Merlot, Pinot Noir

For a multicourse meal, pair these easy dishes with the Wafu Mushroom Pasta to create a full dining experience:

• Fried Enoki Mushrooms
• Miso Braised Cabbage
• fresh salad with wafu dressing

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Making Wafu Mushroom Pasta

Despite the simplicity of Wafu Mushroom Pasta, there are still a few potential pitfalls to be mindful of. Here are some common mistakes to steer clear of:

• Overcooking the pasta.
  • To ensure perfectly cooked pasta, we’ll partially cook the noodles in boiling water, then finish them in the sauce.
    
    Remove the pasta from the boiling water one minute earlier than the package instructions. Using a timer to help you, add the partially cooked noodles directly to the sauce when both are ready.
    
    Once the pasta is well coated, stop cooking as soon as it reaches an al dente texture. The easiest and most reliable way to test for doneness is to simply taste a noodle.
• Using the wrong type of sake.
  • When cooking with sake, it’s important to select the right type. For this recipe, we are using cooking sake, which is designed specifically for culinary purposes.
    
    Cooking sake has a lower alcohol content compared to drinking sake, which allows it to better enhance the flavors in a dish without overpowering them. Additionally, cooking sake can act as a natural tenderizer for meats.
    
    On the other hand, drinking sake features a wider range of complex flavors that are best appreciated on its own, without the addition of other ingredients.
  • Cooking sake is typically located near the soy sauce and mirin in the grocery store, not in the liquor aisle.

Equipment

• Our Place Always Pan
• Our Place Mini Pot
• Quince Italian Olivewood Cooking Utensil(s)
• Monstera Pasta Spoon

Ingredients

• ½ lb spaghetti noodles 226g
• olive oil for boiling pasta
• 200 g mushrooms, maitake plus either bunashimeji (brown beech mushrooms) or shiitake. Or all three.
• ½ cup onion diced
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp mirin
• 2 tbsp cooking sake
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 pinch MSG (optional)
• OSMO Flakey White Sea Salt to taste
• kizami nori shredded dried Japanese seaweed
• reserved pasta water as needed

Recipe

Prepare Ingredients

1. Bring a pot of water to boil for the pasta. Add salt and olive oil.
2. While the water is heating, roughly chop maitake mushrooms. Separate by hand the beech mushrooms.
3. Dice the onion.

Cook Wafu Mushroom Pasta

1. Once the water is boiling, add pasta noodles and turn off the heat when it is 1 minute before al dente (refer to package instructions.)

2. About 5 minutes before the noodles are done boiling, heat a pan on medium heat. Add butter and allow it to melt and foam.

3. Add onions and cook until they soften, about 2 minutes.

4. Add mushrooms and cook for about 2 minutes.

5. Add soy sauce, mirin, sake, butter, and MSG (optional.)

6. Transfer spaghetti from the boiling water to the pan.

7. Toss and cook until the pasta reaches al dente. Use reserved pasta water to loosen the noodles as needed. Taste for doneness and adjust the salt to your taste.

8. Plate and garnish with kizami nori.

Final Thoughts

This Japanese-style mushroom spaghetti is the epicurean meal for mushroom lovers. As a sophisticated dish prepared in under 20 minutes, this wafu pasta is worthy of both busy weeknights and intimate date nights!

For more quick and easy meals, check out our collection of 30 minutes or less recipes like Longanisa Aglio e Olio!

Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed this recipe, please give a star rating and review on the recipe card below + share your creations on Instagram and tag us @itsforkandspoon!

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References & Further Reading

https://www.tippsysake.com/blogs/post/what-is-cooking-sake-how-it-s-different-from-drinking-sake

https://japanesetaste.com/blogs/japanese-taste-blog/sake-vs-mirin-what-s-the-difference-between-these-japanese-ingredients

https://umami-insider.com/blogs/blog/ultimate-guide-to-the-golden-ratio-of-japanese-cooking

https://www.kikkoman.com/en/culture/foodforum/close-up-japan/33-4.html

https://www.saveur.com/culture/wafu-italian-cuisine/

https://www.healthline.com/health/food-nutrition/maitake-mushroom

https://www.hokto-kinoko.com/whats-kinoko/bunashimeji/

https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-topics/g00749/yoshoku-a-japanese-take-on-western-style-cuisine.html