Natto Spaghetti

https://1tess.wordpress.com Natto spaghetti is a very Japanese version of a non-traditional food. Spaghetti Napolitan is an example of the Japanese imitating Western spaghetti. It was invented after World War II in Yokohama at the Hotel New Grand where GHQ (including General MacArthur) were staying. A chef was attempting to serve some Western-like foods when he came up with the idea of making spaghetti with ketchup. Wafuu pasuta or wafuu supagetti is popular in homes and kissaten (small cafés) all over Japan.
The concept of wafu spaghetti expanded in the 70’s when foods that are usually eaten with white rice were mixed into or put on top of spaghetti. One of the most delicious recipes I have seen, mentaiko spaghetti, is made with tarako (salted pollock roe), or mentaiko (spicy pollock roe). Add butter, soy sauce, nori, green onions, and shiso and you’ll have a familiar but exotic meal. Getting into the spirit, my hijiki and shiitake spaghetti began with the classic hijiki gohan —rice with sea vegetable. It’s a simple dish which could be made with pantry staples. Shichimi togarashi adds spice, and mirin, sweetness. Peas and carrots add color. Spaghetti with walnut miso sauce began with Kurumi-miso-ae, a dressing usually used on vegetables. Natto spaghetti is my first time tasting natto, the slimy stringy fermented soybeans unique to Japan. I really enjoyed it, but Mr. Tess did not dig in with as much delight as I. There were leftovers, and they waited in the fridge, developing slithery-ness, so much so that I’ll admit this was one of the very few times I could not finish a plate of pasta.
Natto Spaghetti for one 1 small container of natto 2 green onions, sliced into thin rings 2 or 3 shiso leaves, chiffonaded a small piece of nori, cut into thin strips 2 or 3 umeboshi butter melted with soy sauce capellini (don’t make more than you can eat in one sitting!) Prepare the green onions, shiso, nori, and butter-shoyu. Bring a large pot of salted water to a vigorous boil and cook the pasta. Stir up the natto until it develops a good strong string factor, add the mustard and soy flavor packages, mix well. Toss in most of the green onion and shiso (reserve some for garnish). Drain pasta, stir in the butter soy mixture to keep the pasta from sticking together. Put the pasta into a shallow bowl and top with the natto. Mix the central strands with the beans—it’s just me, but I like to see all the separate colors so I left the noodles unmixed around the edges of the bowl. Garnish with the nori and umeboshi in the center, reserved green onions and shiso scattered. Enjoy.
Bach’s Chaconne from Partita No. 2 for Solo Violin in D minor Itzhak Perlman Hilary Hahn

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