I first developed this recipe for Food52, and out of all my recipes on the site, this was the one that was re-created and reviewed the most! I’m not sure whether it’s the surprising addition of the miso, the appeal of a creamy carb, or the ease and simplicity of the recipe, but whatever it is, I think it’s a pretty apt recipe to bring out and share on the blog too, especially given the timing, now that most of us are in pandemic-lockdown mode, and are probably looking for a killer pasta dish that comes together in just 30 minutes or less.

And credit where credit is due, this recipe is heavily based off Table & Apron’s mushroom conchiglie dish, so if you’re living in Malaysia, and can’t be bothered to cook this up on your own (though I promise you it is surprisingly quick and easy), you can order it from the restaurant too! (To the people at T&A, this partial lockdown we’re in has made me miss your pastas and fried chicken even more! In fact, imma order some right now…)

Anyway, the write-up below contains some savvy tips for cooking this dish, with the recipe at the end. If you’re reading this under lockdown, please stay safe, and eat well!

Awhile back, I worked at Table & Apron, a produce-driven restaurant set in the sleepy suburbs of Kuala Lumpur. During my time there, I fondly remember serving up many super jazzy Asian-influenced dishes. Think lemongrass-brined fried chicken, pork ribs with a kicap manis glaze, and fern salads laced with fish sauce and calamansi. All these dishes were amazing in their own right, but the one dish that I kept sneaking mouthfuls of during service (I call it quality control) was this funky, creamy mushroom pasta—with miso!

Besides its alliterative allure, miso and mushrooms are two umami-heavy flavors that are often employed to uplift any dish. So when put together, they work in tandem and complement each other so well, creating a massive umami bomb that leaves you salivating for more.

At the restaurant, we start off by tempering the miso with butter and cream, giving it the form of a rich, funky sauce. The mushrooms, a classic ingredient in creamy pasta dishes, are then sautéed and added to this creamy base. The third component of the dish—the pasta—serves as a vessel for the mushrooms and sauce to adhere to. So the more sauce you manage to get onto your pasta, the better.

Even after eating countless bowls of this pasta at the restaurant, I never seem to tire of it, and it really has become my ultimate comfort food. And it isn’t just me who is obsessed with this dish. At the restaurant, this umami-laden pasta is the second most popular dish, dwarfed only by their fried chicken—because, well, it’s fried chicken.

Contrary to the belief that restaurant-quality dishes require incredible finesse to cook and take hours to prep, all that's needed for this miso pasta is 30 minutes and a few simple steps. With just three straightforward components—sautéed mushrooms, a miso sauce, and pasta—the key lies in the proper treatment of each component, cooking them with the utmost care and respect and allowing their flavors to really develop and shine.

During my time at Table & Apron, I’ve picked up three important tips that can elevate this dish to restaurant-worthy status:

First, when sautéing the mushrooms, it’s crucial to not overcrowd the pan. Treat each piece of mushroom like you would a steak. You want to have a bit of space in between each piece of mushroom, giving it a nice golden sear, as opposed to having a mound of mushrooms in the pan which would give you soggy, steamed pieces of fungi.

Then, for the miso cream sauce, it helps to whip the butter with the miso paste until it becomes a smooth, almost fluffy paste. This ensures you don’t end up with big, salty lumps of miso speckled throughout the dish, and makes it a whole lot easier for the sauce to emulsify later on.

And finally, the pasta. Most sauce-based pasta recipes expect you to know exactly how many minutes it requires you to make the sauce, so that you can time your pasta to finish cooking just as your sauce comes together. Otherwise, the pasta will turn cold as you’re still busy prepping the sauce, in which case you’d proceed to reheat it in the sauce and probably end up with gloopy, overcooked pasta. There’s an easy solution to this that doesn’t require you to be a chef version of Dr. Strange: Cut down the pasta cooking time by a minute or two. Though the pasta will have a tad more bite than the revered al dente, once the sauce comes together, you can add the pasta in and put it on the heat for a little longer for that final bit of cooking.

Et voila! You’ll end up with a beautiful sauce and perfectly cooked pasta.

Miso Mushroom Pasta

Serves 2

Ingredients

200g dried pasta (I recommend bucatini or rigatoni)
120g mushrooms (I use an equal mix of shimeji, eryngii, and oyster mushrooms, but most other combinations are good too)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon sherry vinegar, or balsamic/white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons red miso paste
3 tablespoons butter, softened
5 garlic cloves
120ml heavy cream
1 stalk of scallion, finely sliced
1 pinch salt
1 pinch black pepper

Directions

Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Season generously with salt until it's nearly as salty as the sea, then add dried pasta. Cook the pasta until just under al dente (a minute less than on its package directions), then drain the pasta and set aside.
Chop or pull apart the mushrooms into large, bite-sized chunks. Then, heat a large skillet over high heat with a tablespoon of vegetable oil, and sauté the mushrooms for 3-5 minutes until nicely browned. When they are done, add a little sherry vinegar to the pan with the mushrooms, give them a little toss, and set aside. It’s best to cook the mushrooms in 2-3 batches and not overcrowd the pan to allow them to brown evenly.
To start on the sauce, whisk the red miso paste and butter together in a small bowl until it comes together to form a smooth, fluffy paste.
In a medium saucepan, add the minced garlic and a tablespoon of oil, and stir-fry over medium heat for 30 seconds to a minute until fragrant. Add in the sautéed mushrooms. Then, add in the miso-butter mixture and cream, and bring this sauce to a boil, stirring gently. Finally, add the cooked pasta into the sauce, and stir until the pasta is well coated. Salt it to taste, and cook for 1-2 minutes until the pasta is al dente, then remove from the heat.
Portion the pasta into two bowls, and top with sliced scallions and freshly cracked black pepper.