Japanese Style Pastas Blend East with West

East meets West, spaghetti style!

Pasta is good. There’s no question about that – a perfect concoction of energy giving carbs that you can dress up any way you please and is versatile with nearly any flavor combination (Buddy the Elf’s breakfast spaghetti, anyone?). While the Japanese are known to be one of the world’s biggest rice lovers, when they’re not chowing down on the white stuff they’ll usually be tucking into a giant bowl of noodles, the second most popular carb option. The Japanese are experts with noodles, not just the plain spaghetti stuff – thick, soft udon, thin and chewy ramen, fine somen, and firm soba. When it comes to plain old spaghetti, you’ll find Japan has a lot to offer besides standard marinara or alfredo sauce.

At Japanese pasta restaurants the menu reflects a mix of Western and Asian flavors unique to the country.

Western Style Pastas

If you enjoy ketchup, spaghetti Napolitan is for you!

Western style pasta in Japan is divided into several groups: extra virgin olive oil based sauce, tomato based, cream based, meat, and soup style. You’ll find a lot of seafood adorning these pastas, and even avocado. They also don’t shy away from utilizing slices of pork or beef, or even dried bean curd (tofu). If tomatoey spaghetti and meatballs is your thing, you’ll be able to find a typical tomato sauce with basil and little balls of mozzarella melted throughout the pasta, which is heavenly! A second close is something similar but again adapted to Japanese tastes: spaghetti Napolitan, using a ketchup based sauce and having slices of green peppers, onions, and sausage. It’s ok if you’re a ketchup fan, but not the same thing as marinara.

Another option is to serve the pasta in a soup-based sauce. Take a look at some examples offered on the menu of one of Japan’s most popular pasta restaurants, Yomen-ya Goemon.

Octopus spaghetti? Things are getting a little weird now.

Octopus and peperoncino

Eggplant and avocado with tomato sauce

Crab and shrimp with olive oil, garlic, and chili peppers

This one looks more appetizing to me!

Shrimp and avocado genovese

Dried beancurd (tofu) and shrimp with mozzarella cheese in a creamy tomato sauce with a raw egg

Pork in carbonara chili tomato sauce

Hopefully that's not a big pile of mayonnaise in the center..?

Crab, shrimp, and clams in tomato cream soup

Camembert cheese with crispy bacon in carbonara sauce

Chicken, mushroom, and abalone in tofu cream sauce

Asian Style Pastas

A pairing of raw egg, spicy roe, and seaweed.

Here’s where things get into unfamiliar territory. You’ll have to be an adventurous eater if you’re a Westerner used to spaghetti and meatballs – there’s a lot of seafood, raw eggs, and sliced seaweed. Their favorites are mentaiko (salted roe spiced with red pepper) and tarako (a less spicy cod roe version). A shoyu butter sauce more akin to a broth is used for these dishes. Other Asian touches such as white miso, shirasu (small gray fish), natto (fermented soybeans), tororo (sticky grated yam), and even corn are used, a Japanese favorite that frequently adorns their pizza. Most all of these dishes come with sliced nori and a raw egg.

Avoid these little gray fish at all costs! Seriously!

Tarako with sliced nori, shirasu, shrimp, and dried beancurd

Mentaiko cream with shrimp and mozzarella

Shoyu butter with pork, veggies, and a soft-boiled egg

Raw egg, salmon, squid, and salmon roe.

White miso flavored salmon and squid carbonara with salmon roe and raw egg

Tarako and mozzarella cheese with sliced nori and raw egg

Anything with "natto" included in the description should be avoided at all costs.

Natto, tororo, raw mushrooms

Uni, ikura, and shoyu olive oil

Corned beef AND spinach?!

Corned beef, spinach, and shoyu butter

Hokkaido style shoyu butter with squid, sockeye salmon, and corn

There are many different styles of pasta enjoyed around the world, and Japan is no exception. Japan enjoys taking something foreign and putting their own spin on it to create something uniquely their own. There you can enjoy pasta with Western flavors such as tomato, cream, and mozzarella, as well as Asian style dishes highlighting Japanese ingredients like mentaiko, nori, shoyu, and raw eggs. Both styles are beloved by the Japanese, and foreigners, too! But personally I'll stick with my plain old meatballs and marinara sauce.