Name: Japanese clam and angelhair pasta
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 2 tbsp vegetable oil; 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced; 350 gm mixed mushrooms such as shimeji, enoki and shiitake, trimmed, cut into 1cm slices; 1 kg scrubbed and purged clams (see note); 40 ml sake; 300 gm dried angelhair pasta; 60 ml soy sauce (¼ cup); To serve: roasted black and white sesame seeds, julienned nori, thinly sliced spring onion and togarashi (see note)

Japanese clam and angelhair pasta

Australian Gourmet Traveller for Japanese clam and angelhair pasta.

Serves 6

Prep

20M

Cook

20M

Total

40M

This dish is inspired by a recipe from Mark Robinson’s Izakaya: The Japanese Pub Cookbook. Western ingredients such as pasta are often found in izakaya dishes – an interesting twist on traditional flavours.

Ingredients

2 tbsp vegetable oil

3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

350 gm mixed mushrooms such as shimeji, enoki and shiitake, trimmed, cut into 1cm slices

1 kg scrubbed and purged clams (see note)

40 ml sake

300 gm dried angelhair pasta

60 ml soy sauce (¼ cup)

To serve: roasted black and white sesame seeds, julienned nori, thinly sliced spring onion and togarashi (see note)

Method

Main

1.Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat, then add garlic and cook until tender (1-2 minutes). Add mushrooms and cook until starting to colour (2-3 minutes). Add clams and sake, stir to combine, cover with a lid and shake occasionally until clams open (5-6 minutes).

2.Cook pasta in a saucepan of boiling salted water until al dente (5-6 minutes), drain (reserve 2 tbsp pasta water). Add pasta, pasta water and soy sauce to clams and stir to combine. Serve hot topped with sesame seeds, nori and togarashi.

Note Buy packets of purged clams from your fishmonger; or soak clams in cold water for 2 hours. Togarashi is sansho pepper seasoning, available from Japanese grocers.
Drink Suggestion: Fruity junmai ginjo sake. Drink suggestion by Max Allen
Notes