As a household of noodle lovers, we crave every kind of Japanese-style wafu pasta (和風パスタ)—a tasty fusion of Italian spaghetti with savory Japanese seasonings and elements. I really like making this scrumptious Bacon and Eggplant Soy Sauce Butter Pasta as a result of it’s fast, straightforward, reasonably priced, and extremely satisfying. Make it for your loved ones in simply 25 minutes!
For those who love Japanese-style pasta, attempt my Traditional Mentaiko Pasta, Napolitan, and Miso Butter Pasta with Tuna and Cabbage recipes subsequent!
Why I Love This Recipe
- An umami taste bomb – Smoky bacon, savory soy sauce, and flavorful shiitake mushrooms enhance the umami in each chunk!
- Comforting and fast – A hearty dinner of spaghetti after a busy day actually hits the spot. I’ll present you the right way to get it on the desk in 25 minutes.
- Finances pleasant – Pasta is satisfying and filling but reasonably priced, so it’s a terrific selection for adults and youngsters alike.
Substances for Bacon & Eggplant Soy Sauce Butter Pasta
Discover the printable recipe with measurements beneath.
Learn how to Make Bacon & Eggplant Soy Sauce Butter Pasta
Preparation
- Minimize bacon crosswise into 1-inch (2.5-cm) items.
- Minimize eggplant in half lengthwise, then slice diagonally into ⅓-inch (9-mm) slices.
Cooking
- Fry bacon and onion. Sauté bacon in a frying pan with olive oil or different cooking oil over medium warmth, then add onions and stir. Toss in garlic and chili pepper (to style) and cook dinner till aromatic.
- Sauté and steam eggplant. Stir within the eggplant and season with salt and black pepper. Add shiitake mushrooms, then cowl and steam for 3 minutes over the bottom warmth.
Assemble
- Toss with spaghetti. Prepare dinner the pasta al dente and switch it to the pan. Add butter and soy sauce, then toss shortly to mix.
- Serve on particular person plates, garnish with minced chives, and luxuriate in.
Nami’s Recipe Suggestions
- Prepare dinner the spaghetti al dente – For the right toothsome chunk, boil the pasta one minute much less than package deal directions, because the pasta will proceed to cook dinner barely once you tossed it with the opposite elements.
- Minimize the eggplant simply earlier than cooking – This retains it from turning brown.
- Preserve greater chunks – I minimize the eggplant into ⅓-inch (9-mm) slices. The bigger items maintain it from falling aside.
- Steam the eggplant – The flesh can break if you happen to stir it an excessive amount of. To stop this, I cowl the pan and steam it.
- Use very low warmth to steam – Scale back the warmth to the bottom setting when steaming to stop burning. In case your range runs sizzling, you possibly can flip off the warmth whereas steaming.
- Switch cooking water with the pasta – No want to empty the pasta first. Simply transfer it with tongs from the boiling pot to the pan. The cooking water that comes with it would assist end the sauce.
Variations and Customizations
- Change the protein. Ham, rooster, sausage, or shrimp would work superbly.
- Use mentsuyu. For an additional enhance of umami, skip the soy sauce and use concentrated noodle soup base as a substitute. It’s a good way to make use of up that bottle of mentsuyu within the fridge.
- Strive different mushrooms. As a substitute of shiitake, attempt mushroom varieties like shimeji, cremini (brown), enoki, oyster, chanterelle, or a medley of your favorites.
- Garnish with shiso. Prime with julienned perilla leaves (shiso) so as to add a signature Japanese taste and refreshing contact.
- Prepare dinner a unique pasta form. Whereas I used spaghetti at present, linguine and fettuccine work superbly, too.
- Make it vegetarian by swapping bacon for tomatoes. Toss in chunks of ripe tomatoes rather than bacon so as to add a vibrant and savory taste to make it a vegetarian-friendly dish.
What to Serve with the Pasta
Storage Suggestions
Preserve the leftovers in an hermetic container and retailer within the fridge for as much as 3 days and within the freezer for a month.
Incessantly Requested Questions
I don’t soak the eggplant or sprinkle it with salt beforehand as a result of I minimize it proper earlier than cooking. If you wish to prep forward, you possibly can soak the minimize eggplant in water to maintain it from browning. Be sure you pat it dry with a paper towel earlier than including it to the recent oil to keep away from splatter.
Sure! Parmesan provides a beautiful umami enhance and pairs superbly with the pasta.
I’d love to listen to how yours turned out! 💛 Please depart a star ranking and remark beneath to share your expertise. Your suggestions not solely helps Simply One Cookbook but in addition helps different residence cooks uncover recipes they will belief.
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For Boiling the Spaghetti
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Collect all of the elements. Add 4 QT water to a big pot (I used a 4.5 QT Dutch oven) and produce it to a boil. In the meantime, put together the opposite elements.
To Put together the Substances
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Crush or mince 2 cloves garlic. Slice 1 dried purple chili pepper into skinny rounds. If you would like it much less spicy, take away some or all the seeds.
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Minimize ½ onion into ¼-inch (6-mm) slices. Take away the stems from 3 shiitake mushrooms and minimize the caps into ½-inch (1.25 cm) slices.
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Mince the 1 small bunch chives and put aside for garnish.
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Minimize 4 slices applewood smoked bacon into 1-inch (2.5-cm) items. How in regards to the eggplant? We’ll minimize it proper earlier than cooking to maintain it from altering colour.
To Boil the Pasta
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Add 1½ Tbsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt to the boiling water. Then, add 8 oz spaghetti and cook dinner till al dente (I cook dinner it one minute much less than the package deal directions). You now have about 11 minutes to cook dinner the opposite elements earlier than including the pasta.
To Prepare dinner the Substances
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Warmth a frying pan (I exploit a 12-inch stainless-steel frying pan) on medium warmth. When the pan is sizzling, add 2 Tbsp additional virgin olive oil. When the oil is sizzling, add the bacon. Sauté with a picket spatula and let the bacon crisp on the perimeters a bit. Then, add the onion and stir.
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Whereas sautéing the onion, minimize 1 Japanese or Chinese language eggplant in half lengthwise, then minimize diagonally into ⅓-inch (9-mm) slices.
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Stir within the garlic and chili pepper. Add the eggplant, then season with ⅛ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt and ⅛ tsp freshly floor black pepper. Toss to coat the eggplant with oil.
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Now, add the shiitake mushrooms and canopy the pan with a lid. Scale back the warmth to the bottom setting and steam for 3 minutes. There’s sufficient moisture within the greens to maintain the meals from burning on very low warmth. For those who’re anxious, you possibly can flip off the range. Nami’s Tip: I steam quite than stir-fry the eggplant, as I prefer to maintain it in greater chunks and stirring can break the flesh.
To Toss the Pasta
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By this time, the pasta ought to be about prepared. Decide up the al dente pasta with tongs and switch it to the frying pan. Then, add 1 Tbsp unsalted butter and 1½ Tbsp soy sauce. Rapidly toss all the things to mix effectively.Nami’s Tip: It is okay to incorporate some pasta water as you switch the spaghetti, because it helps full the sauce (and I do not pour extra pasta water on this recipe). For those who want to empty it, then reserve some pasta water so as to add later for the sauce, as wanted.
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