Marc's Recipes

  • Type
  • Ingredient
  • Course
  • Cuisine
  • Dietary
  • Sign Up
  • Log In
  • Contact
  • Signup
  • Log In
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Type
  • Ingredient
  • Course
  • Cuisine
  • Dietary
  • Sign Up
  • Log In
    • Instagram
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • search icon
    Homepage link
    • Type
    • Ingredient
    • Course
    • Cuisine
    • Dietary
    • Sign Up
    • Log In
    • Instagram
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • ×
    • Sea bream, snap peas, and cherry tomatoes.
      Pan Fried Sea Bream
    • Juicy chicken chashu slices ready for a bowl of ramen.
      Chicken Breast Chashu
    • A mound of roasted fava beans with garlic and balsamic vinegar.
      Pan Roasted Fava Beans
    • A glossy mound of sautéed menma, the classic ramen topping, finished with a vibrant sprig of kinome.
      Menma (Ramen Bamboo Shoots)
    • Hamaguri no Sakamushi, a Japanese dish of sake-steamed clams, is plated here with opened shells and a light broth, finished with aromatic sansho leaves for a clean, herbal contrast.
      Sake Steamed Clams (Hamaguri No Sakamushi)
    • A hearty bowl of Mapo Zucchini glistens with spicy, umami-rich sauce, the tender squash and pork topped with a fragrant sprinkle of Sichuan pepper.
      Mapo Zucchini
    • Spicy kimchi and poached chicken in a salad.
      Poached Chicken & Kimchi Salad
    • Easy, spicy Curried Green Bean Salad.
      Curried Green Bean Salad
    • A side view of Carrot Kinpira, showing off its glossy strands and bold black sesame accents.
      Carrot Kinpira
    • Mentaiko Shiraae on a plate with shiso leaves.
      Mentaiko Shiraae
    • A stack of Chinese Pickled Cucumbers in a ceramic bowl.
      Chinese Pickled Cucumbers
    • A close-up shot of Bacon Broccoli Pasta shows each penne coated in a silky green sauce, with bits of crispy bacon peeking through for a savory punch.
      Bacon Broccoli Pasta
    Home » Type » Pasta

    Umami Pasta

    September 28, 2022 by Marc Matsumoto Leave a Comment

    Umami Pasta on a plate.

    This pasta was inspired by a reader (thanks, Kathy!) recalling a stir-fry she used to make using parmesan and soy sauce. The combination is inspired because these ingredients contain high concentrations of naturally occurring glutamate, the compound responsible for the taste of umami.

    By creating an emulsion of the two, along with some water and oil, you get a supremely rich and creamy sauce overflowing with umami. The method is similar to making Aglio e Olio or Cacio e Pepe, but I've made it more foolproof by doing two things.

    1. These types of pasta usually rely on the pasta releasing starch into the boiling liquid, which is then used to make the sauce. The starch helps emulsify the liquid with the oil and cheese while preventing the cheese from breaking. The way most modern pasta is manufactured, it doesn't release much starch into the water. Adding potato starch to the cheese mixture fixes that problem.
    2. Instead of adding the cheese straight to the hot pan, I temper it by pouring some pasta boiling liquid into the cheese mixture. This increases the cheese's temperature enough to melt while starting to gel the starch. Once this mixture is emulsified, it can safely be added to the much hotter pan with the oil.

    I served this as a side dish for some pan-fried chicken thigh steaks, which is why there's not much else going on here, but you could add some mushrooms or seafood to make this more of a main and serve it with a salad.

    Access this Recipe

    Welcome! I’m Marc Matsumoto, creator of No Recipes and host of television’s Bento Expo. You’ve stumbled upon my secret stash with over 150 original recipes with a new one coming every week! Unlike my other site, these recipes are member-supported, so you won’t find any banner ads here. Please consider becoming a member to access to this recipe, or you can check out some free recipes here.

    • ✓ No ads
    • ✓ Access the full stash of over 100 recipes
    • ✓ 1 new recipe per week
    • ✓ Support Norecipes.com

    Sign Up →

    Already a member?


     
     
    Forgot Password

    More Pasta

    • A bowl of savory kabocha squash pasta.
      Kabocha Squash Pasta with Browned Butter
    • Spaghetti Carbonata gets an upgrade with decadent Matsutake mushrooms.
      Matsutake Mushroom Carbonara
    • A plate of spaghetti with cabbage and shrimp.
      Spring Cabbage & Shrimp Pasta
    • A plate of Taro Gnocchi in Gruyere sauce
      Cheesy Taro Gnocchi

    Comments

    No Comments

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    You must be logged in to post a comment.

    I started No Recipes back in 2007 as a place to share original dishes I'd created with friends. It's since evolved into something much bigger than I could have imagined, but as it grew, the focus shifted from inventing dishes to improving classics. In the spirit of how No Recipes began, I'm bringing back my weekly original recipes for all of my supporters and friends!

    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Facebook
    • Pinterest

    More about me →

    Marc's Favorites

    • Hamaguri no Sakamushi, a Japanese dish of sake-steamed clams, is plated here with opened shells and a light broth, finished with aromatic sansho leaves for a clean, herbal contrast.
      Sake Steamed Clams (Hamaguri No Sakamushi)
    • Spicy mentaiko and creamy butter adorn these steamed potatoes.
      Mentaiko Butter Potatoes
    • Roasted chicken on a plate.
      Perfect Roast Chicken
    • Tenderloin slices with mushroom wine cream sauce.
      Tenderloin Steak and Creamy Mushroom Sauce
    • Taiwanese style glazed pork chops.
      Five Spice Glazed Pork Chops
    • Easy and delicious, these baked Tebasaki wings are a crispy, satisfying snack or appetizer.
      Tebasaki (Baked Japanese Wings)

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Contact
    • About

    Newsletter

    • Recipe Updates by Email

    Legal

    • Privacy Policy
    • Cookie Policy
    • Terms and Conditions

    All text and photos ©2007-2023 by Marc Matsumoto. All rights reserved.

    Rate This Recipe

    Your vote:




    A rating is required
    A name is required
    An email is required