Easy and Delicious Mushroom Miso Pasta Recipe
Miso Forever
Most people’s knowledge of miso stops at the soup you get at a sushi restaurant. However, miso is a highly versatile that brings tons of flavor to the table. Miso has a salty earthy taste but can be sweet depending on the type.
Miso is a fermented soy bean paste that contains nutritious amino acids used to make proteins in our body. It is considered a superfood and possibly contributes to the infamous Japanese longevity. Besides walking a ton, the typical high protein Japanese breakfast of fish+miso soup combo is why the Japanese are able to stay so trim.
Many Type of Miso/How to Choose
I keep up to three varieties in my freezer depending on what I’m making. If you just want one miso in your household, you can’t go wrong with White Miso (Shiro Miso).
Korean miso (Doenjang, 된장)- used to make Korean soy bean stew or Doenjang jiigae. This stew contains tofu, veggies, and meat and has a very pungent aroma from the miso paste. My hubby can’t take the smell and says it’s like stinky socks or like its close fermented cousin natto. Doenjang is the main ingredient for ssamjjang sauce that accompanies Korean bbq.
Red Miso or Aka Miso is the Doenjjang of Japanese misos. I use it for hearty stews with potatos, onions, and meat. Don’t worry, the red color doesn’t mean that it’s spicy but it does have a brininess to it.
White Miso or Shiro Miso is my favorite and most versatile. It’s used to make soups, salad dressings, and sauces. Our favorite recipe for Chilean seabass is to make a miso based sauce with oyster sauce, mayo, and green onion and baking in the over.
At my local Japanese store, there are multiple kinds of miso to choose from but I find Saikyo Sweet Miso to be most agreeable with my kid’s palates. Some miso pastes have dashi included so you don’t have to buy separate dashi packs to make miso soup.
TIP: Freezing miso will keep it fresh indefinitely without compromising the texture.
Miso Mushroom Pasta is Trendy!
At the beginning of Fall, I started to see a lot of miso pasta recipes on IG Reels and Tiktok but these recipes have been around in Japan for a long time. I think Japanese and Italian ingredients are a perfect marriage and making these western-Japanese dishes (known as “Wafu cuisine” in Japan) remind me of my first experiences of Wafu at the Japanese-Italian chain restaurant Saizeriya.
I think Japanese and Italians have a similar philosophy towards food in that it needs to be fresh, seasonal, and minimally prepared in order to taste the natural flavors.
My Kids Love It!
Before I made this pasta, we would only eat mushrooms in hot pot but my kids never ate the s’rooms because they thought they tasted like dirt. I didn’t want them to miss out on the important nutrients that provide immune system support and strong brain development. Both miso and mushrooms are superfoods that should be incorporated in everyone’s diet.
- Miso, being a fermented product, is supposed to aid in digestion and the amino acid Tryptophan is hypothesized to help with sleep.
- Mushrooms, according to UCLA Health, they are a nutrient powerhouse. I have been really into mushrooms because it promotes immune health with being rich in Vitamin B6, Vitamin D, and Selenium, all important vitamins to reduce inflammation that can cause diseases like cancer.
- According the the UCLA Health article, there was a study in Singapore that showed that eating mushrooms help decrease mild cognitive impairment. Mushrooms are great brain food!
Simple Ingredients
Miso can be found in the refrigerated section in most grocery stores. My favorite miso brand is Hikari and for this recipe I used koji miso. Koji is the hot new ingredient in the US but has been used in Asia for hundreds of years. It is created by fermenting soy beans or rice with a mold to create a byproduct that gives Japanese food it’s “umami-ness.” Don’t worry, the mold is not dangerous and koji is touted to promote good gut biome.
Here is what the koji miso looks like. When I use koji miso in soup, I like the texture of the chewy bits of soy beans.
Ingredients
- Shiitake mushrooms- I have used maitake mushroom as well. This pasta can’t go wrong with any kind of mushroom available to you but I love the chewiness of shiitake. Other mushroom substitutes are cremini, shimeji, button, and enoki. I don’t recommend the varieties that get watery when cooking like portobella, oyster, or wood ear.
- Miso- use whatever is available to you but I prefer white miso for its mildness.
- Spaghetti noodles- I use Garofalo Organic spaghetti from Costco. Can be found in any Bay Area Costco locations. I buy spaghetti in bulk and the price can’t be beat!
- Soy sauce- Adds another dimension of savory umaminess
- Olive oil and butter- Doesn’t all pasta require these?
- Garlic
- Parsley- You can either cook parsley in the butter or garnish the dish last. I chose the latter since my kids don’t like parsley.
- Optional: can top pasta with Parmesan cheese.
Cooking Method
- Prepare all your ingredients. Cook your spaghetti according to the package instructions and don’t forget to salt your boiling water!
- While the noodles are cooking, chop about 5 cloves of garlic and slice 2 cups of mushrooms.
- Heat a large skillet on medium heat. Add 2 tbsp of olive oil and 1.5 tbsp unsalted butter to skillet. I added the garlic even though the butter wasn’t completely melted and cooked for 30 seconds.
- Add mushrooms and cook until soft (~ 1 minute).
- Add 3 tsp miso paste and mix thoroughly.
- Turn up heat to med-high heat and add pasta (no need to drain water) to skillet. Add 1 tbsp soy sauce and mix.
- Add a handful of parsley and 2 tbsp (a good drizzle of olive oil), turn off the heat and toss. Serve with a fresh salad for a complete meatless meal!
Miso Mushroom Spaghetti
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 1.5 tbsp unsalted butter
- 5 clove garlic roughly chopped
- 2 c shiitake mushroom
- 1 package spaghetti
- 3 tsp miso paste
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 handful flat parsley
Instructions
- Start boiling salted water to cook spaghetti according to package instructions.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add 2 tbsp olive oil and butter. Throw in chopped garlic and sauté 30 seconds.
- Add in mushrooms and cook for 1 minute or until mushrooms become soft.
- Add 3 tsp miso paste and mix.
- Add undrained pasta to skillet and toss. Then add 1 tbsp soy sauce and combine. If Pasta looks too dry, can add a ladle full of pasta water to everything. Add other 2 tbsp of olive oil.
- If using parsley, can add and then turn off the heat. Toss parsley with pasta thoroughly. Can top pasta Parmesan cheese if desired.