Last Updated on November 10, 2022
[ヴィーガンしめじ入りトマト味噌ソースパスタ]
Vegan Tomato Miso Shimeji Pasta is a vegan Japanese fusion pasta dish that has Japanese shimeji mushrooms and the spicy tomato sauce made with miso as a secret ingredient. It’s definitely not a typical tomato sauce pasta but totally worth trying to experience the unique flavor twist of the miso in the tomato sauce!
Tomato Sauce + Miso
When I make tomato sauce for pasta, 9 out of 10 times it’s not a typical Italian tomato sauce.
Not that I don’t appreciate the taste of regular tomato sauce nor I don’t know how to. I just love adding my own “roots” to my food. Believe it or not, the element of Japanese and Italian food somehow work with one another very well.
Tomato sauce with miso is one of them!
Think of it this way. When you make tomato sauce, I’m sure you add some ingredients to season and to give more complex flavors, right? Typically, you’ll do this by adding salt & pepper and perhaps some herbs and veggies.
In the same sense, I use miso in this pasta recipe!
Miso can season and add a different dimension to the flavor because of;
- Savory element
- Umami flavor
- Fermented goodness
- Sweetness
Of course, other things like garlic, chili pepper flakes, onion, and sake (instead of wine) and mushrooms are also in the sauce. All those ingredients can develop super unique taste that’s better than you can imagine!
To go with the theme of Japanese fusion pasta, I use shimeji mushroom.
Shimeji Mushroom
If you like mushrooms but haven’t tried shimeji mushroom, you may want to go find it now to taste them.
Shimeji is a type of Japanese mushroom that’s pretty mild in taste and it has somewhat of a crunchy texture. Although, it’s a “mild” flavor mushroom, depending on how you prepare it there’s a way to make it super umami rich!
If you want to learn how to make shimeji super umami rich, go to Vegan Shimeji Mushroom Miso Soup recipe.
You can find more about this awesome mushroom in the other post, shimeji mushroom in the Vegan Japanese Pantry Guide.
In this vegan tomato miso shimeji pasta recipe, I simply cook the shimeji mushroom in the delicious tomato miso sauce with no special hacks or tricks but it still tastes great!
Passata
I love using passata for all my pasta sauce from simple tomato sauce to something a little more fancy or a fusion pasta like this vegan tomato miso shimeji pasta.
Passata is Italian tomato purée which really is my go-to “tomato” for making tomato sauce. I use the one in a glass jar. In my opinion, it tastes better than the canned tomato purée.
Miso
Personally, I use authentic Japanese miso from Japan but any miso would be fine for this recipe.
My go-to multipurpose miso is koji miso (soybean-base miso with a substantial amount of rice koji) of any kind. It’s still savory but koji makes it slightly sweet! You can buy great selections of miso from the rice factory New York.
Taste of Vegan Tomato Miso Shimeji Pasta
Vegan tomato miso shimeji pasta tastes similar to a regular tomato sauce for pasta but just a bit different. If you’re skeptical about tasting miso in tomato sauce, don’t worry!
The taste of miso is not to strong. If you don’t know miso is in there, you may taste something different but not even recognize that it’s from miso.
By the way, I’m not really a big fan of tangy tomato sauce. Solution? I use sake and sugar for the sweetness along with some onions. Again, just a hint of sweetness is all you need to balance out the overall taste of the sauce.
With the delicious sauce, shimeji gives a good bite and more texture to the dish.
Do you like spicy? Great! The sauce also has a spicy kick from the Japanese red chili pepper flakes, takanotsume, as well as some garlic!
Vegan Brazil Nut Parmesan (Optional Topping)
If you’re like me, you may not be a fan of highly processed vegan cheese. If so, be sure to check out my Brazil Nut Parmesan.
It’s easy to make, not ultra processed, and most importantly, tastes fantastic!
My Brazil nut parmesan is one my best from the non-Japanese recipe collections. You won’t regret trying because it’s not just for pasta, but you can also use it on salads, toasts, bowls and more!
Be sure to check out the “Step-by-Step Instructions (w/ Photos)” after the Printable Recipe!
Vegan Tomato Miso Shimeji Pasta
Ingredients
Cooking Spaghetti
- 8 oz dried spaghetti or any pasta of your choice
- 3 qt water
- 2 tbsp sea salt
The Rest
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil plus more for serving
- 1/4-1/2 tsp Japanese takanotsume pepper flakes or any red chili pepper flakes
- 2 large garlic cloves minced
- 1/2 cup diced yellow onion about 1/4 of medium onion
- 4 oz white shimeji mushrooms or brown, trimmed off the bottom and separated
- 1/8 tsp sea salt plus more to adjust the seasoning
- 1/2 cup pasta cooking water
- 2 tbsp sake
- 1 1/2 tbsp koji miso or any of your favorite miso
- 1 1/2 cup passata strained tomato purée
- Freshly ground black pepper
- A pinch of sugar optional
Instructions
- Start boiling water for cooking pasta. Once the pasta water is boiling, salt the water and start cooking spaghetti (or any pasta of your choice) according to the instructions on the package. Reserve 1/2 cup/120 ml pasta cooking water (adjust accordingly to the actual serving size.)
- Meanwhile, prepare the sauce. Heat up a frying pan at medium heat. Pour extra virgin olive oil, takanotsume (or red chili pepper flakes) and garlic. Cook for a minute or so until fragrant. Then add onion and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Next add shimeji mushrooms. Add sea salt and cook for 1-2 minutes until shimeji is softened.
- Once the shimeji is softened, add a half of the reserved pasta cooking water (adjust accordingly), and sake. Cook for a minute or so until the alcohol is cooked off.
- Then add miso and passata. Stir and cook for a few minutes. Check the seasonings---adjust the seasoning with extra sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Optionally, add a pinch of sugar if the sauce is acidic. Reduce the heat to medium low and continue to simmer until pasta is done. Add the rest of the pasta cooking water if necessary.
- Once the pasta is cooked, drain well and transfer to the sauce. Give a quick toss.
- To serve, drizzle some extra virgin olive oil on top.
Notes
Choice of pasta
- I prefer using long pasta like spaghetti but you can use any pasta of your choice.
Japanese Takanotsume pepper flakes
- Takanotsume is spicy Japanese red chili pepper.
- I buy as a whole from The Japanese Pantry and slice on my own with scissors to make flakes.
- Check out Takanotsume (Dried Hawl Claw Chili Peppers) on Vegan Japanese Pantry Guide.
- You can use any red chili pepper flakes of your choice.
Shimeji Mushrooms
- I use the white buna-shimeji called Bunapi® from HOKTO.
- Bunapi® has no bitterness at all that exists in some brown buna-shimeji. Typically, white buna-shimeji has less bitterness.
- Feel free to use brown buna-shimeji or other shimeji alternatives.
Passata
- Passata is Italian tomato purée which is my go-to “tomato” for making tomato sauce.
- I use the one in a glass jar. In my opinion, it tastes better than the canned tomato purée.
Sake
- Be sure to look for vegan-friendly sake. Some bottles have a label says “vegan” or “vegan-friendly.”
- No sake? Substitute with mirin (Japanese sweet cooking rice wine) or possibly white wine.
Choice of miso
- Any miso would work for this recipe.
- My go-to multipurpose miso is koji miso (soybean-base miso with a substantial amount of rice koji) of any kind. It’s still savory but koji makes it slightly sweet!
Step-by-Step Instructions (w/ Photos)
Prep: Cut all the veggies and set them aside.
1. Start boiling water for cooking pasta. Once the pasta water is boiling, salt the water and start cooking spaghetti (or any pasta of your choice) according to the instructions on the package. Reserve 1/2 cup/120 ml pasta cooking water (adjust accordingly to the actual serving size.)
2. Meanwhile, prepare the sauce. Heat up a frying pan at medium heat. Pour extra virgin olive oil, takanotsume (or red chili pepper flakes) and garlic. Cook for a minute or so until fragrant.
Then add onion and cook for 2-3 minutes.
3. Next add shimeji mushrooms. Add sea salt and cook for 1-2 minutes until shimeji is softened.
4. Once the shimeji is softened, add a half of the reserved pasta cooking water (adjust accordingly), and sake. Cook for a minute or so until the alcohol is cooked off.
5. Then add miso and passata. Stir and cook for a few minutes. Check the seasonings—adjust the seasoning with extra sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Optionally, add a pinch of sugar if the sauce is acidic. Reduce the heat to medium low and continue to simmer until pasta is done. Add the rest of the pasta cooking water if necessary.
6. Once the pasta is cooked, drain well and transfer to the sauce.
Give a quick toss.
7. To serve, drizzle some extra virgin olive oil on top.
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