I
talianandJapanesecuisinesarerenownedfor
beingbothsteepedintraditionandexecuted
withprecision.Both,too,canbecharacterised
bytheircommitmenttoquality,seasonality
andsimplicity.Buteachareuniquewhenit comes
totechniqueandflavour.Italiancookingpridesitself
ongenerositywithbigdisheslikepastasthatfeed
entirefamilies,whileJapaneseis typicallyminimalist
witha focusonpreciseflavourcombinationsand
delicate,individualserves.Butwhathappenswhen
thesetwocuisinesintersect?
Enterwafupasta.“Wafu”means“Japanese-style”,
sowafupastaliterallytranslatestoJapanese-stylepasta.
It seestheItalianpantrystapleofdriedpastashaken
upwiththeadditionofJapaneseingredients.Spaghetti
mightbeinfusedwithumami-richingredientslikesoy
sauceandwakame,orBolognesesaucebolsteredwith
misoandtoppedwithfreshshisotocreatea fusion
ofItalianandJapaneseflavoursintheonebowl.
Thestyleis saidtohaveoriginatedinJapan
afterWorldWarII,whendriedpastabecame
readilyavailableandWesterninfluencesflourished.
InJapan,wafupastais typicallyservedat casual
restaurants,andis seenasa quickandaffordable
lunchoption.Oneofthefirstknownwafupasta
disheswascreatedbychefShigetadaIrieofthe
prestigiousNewGrandHotelinYokohama.Dubbed
spaghettinaporitan,itsingredientscomprised
mushrooms,capsicum,bacon,andsimply,ketchup.
AnodetoItalian-Americancuisine,theconcept
ofwafuhascomea longwaysincethen.
AcrossAustralia,youmightseewafutakento
elegantnewheightsat Adelaide’sShoboshowithits
“sandos” and pizza collaborations, or at Sydney’s LuMiwhereheadchefFedericoZanellatoaddssaltyshiitake
mushroomstotraditionallasagne,andtopsgunkan
sushiwithscarletprawns,caviarandtruffle.Mitch
Orr,ofBondi’sCicciaBellaandpreviouslyAcme,is
renownedforhisfusionofItalianandJapaneseflavours.
CicciaBella’smenuhasfeaturedlinguinetossedwith
tomatodashi(a mixtureoftinnedtomatoes,kombu,
whitesoy,mirinandshirodashi),blisteredcherry
tomatoesandbottarga,a salt-driedmullet-roe;as
wellas malloreddusenrichedwithblueswimmer
crabandfinishedwitha dustingofdriedwakame.
GT’s fooddirector,LisaFeatherby,saysthereason
ItalianandJapaneseingredientsworksowelltogether
is becausetheynotonlycomplement,butenhance
oneanother.“ManychefslovetoaddJapanese
ingredientstodishesbecausetheyarepackedwith
thatsavouryflavourthatis somoreish:umami,”
shesays.“Thingslikemiso,soy,nori,katsuobushi,
driedshiitakemushroomsandtogarashi,a Japanese
chillicondiment,reallyshinewhenthey’repaired
withsimpleItalianstapleslikepastaorpizza.
“I lovemisobutter,whichis justwonderfulwith
everything.Butterandsoyarealsogreattogether,as
is misoandcreamtofinisha pasta.”Featherbyalso
suggestsaddingJapaneseingredientstodishesfora
touchofdecadence.“Anomeletteinfusedwithmiso
andsakebecomessomethingquiteluxe.Ortry
toppingit withcrabmeatanda scatteringoffurikake.”
Here,wecombinesimpleItalianconceptswithbold,
Japaneseflavourstocreateourownversionsofwafu
pasta, with the addition of a Japanese-inspired pizza.➤52 GOURMET TRAVELLER