Tomato Prawn Wafu Pasta (Japanese-style pasta)

This quick-cooking TOMATO PRAWN WAFU PASTA is a Japanese-style pasta recipe that marries a simple Italian fresh tomato sauce and elements of distinctly Japanese flavours in the use of soy sauce, dashi powder (optional but easy to use — read recipe note), fresh shiso leaves and shredded nori for garnish. The best of both worlds!

For delicious protein, I ordered spot prawns from Wild Fork which are so easy to use and incorporate into a recipe like this — defrost overnight in the fridge or submerge in cold water for a couple of hours and they’re ready. Spot prawns are such a prized delicacy because of their lovely sweet, clean flavour and firm yet tender texture. They’re kind of like the elite shrimp. Since spot prawn season is only 6-8 weeks each year, being able to get these blast-frozen ones from Wild Fork is such a game changer! We can enjoy their delicate taste any time. If you haven’t eaten spot prawns before, you should definitely give them a try to understand why people get so excited about them! But don’t worry if you haven’t got any spot prawns — you can absolutely make this recipe with shrimp. Go for large-sized shell-on raw white shrimp because those are the juiciest when cooked.

Let me know in the comments if you have a food for thought to share or any questions about this TOMATO PRAWN WAFU PASTA recipe — I’m always happy to help.

Eat well + be well,

Sonia


tomato prawn wafu (Japanese-style) pasta — recipe head notes:

  1. what is instant dashi?

Dashi is a foundational element in Japanese cooking. It is a flavourful broth made from seaweed (kombu) and smoked bonito flakes (katsuobushi). The optional instant dashi powder is a quick hack I use to add a uniquely Japanese flavour and umami that I love but is not an absolute must because we are already using broth in this recipe. I often use kombu dashi powder, a vegetarian version made just from dried kelp alone.

 

TOMATO PRAWN WAFU PASTA (Japanese-style pasta)

Prep: 15 mins | Cook: 10 mins | Total: 25 mins | Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

1 lb spot prawns or any medium-sized shrimp, defrosted, peeled and deveined

2 lbs tomatoes

3 tsp minced garlic

Dried chili pepper flakes to taste

1 tbsp soy sauce

½ tsp instant dashi powder, optional – note 1

2 tbsp butter

1 lb spaghettini or spaghetti

Neutral oil for cooking

Kosher salt to taste

White or black pepper 

For garnish:

4-6 shiso leaves (aka Japanese basil), cut into thin ribbons

Shredded nori seaweed or sheet nori cut into small strips

METHOD.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil for blanching tomatoes and cooking pasta. Rinse and pat dry the prawns really well. Toss with a little salt and pepper, and chill in the fridge until ready to use.

Blanch and peel tomatoes: Using a paring knife, cut a shallow X at the bottom end opposite to the stem. This will aid in peeling the skin off after blanching. Set an ice bath next to the pot. Lower tomatoes into the boiling water and blanch for 1-2 minutes or whenever the skin is peeling away (don’t pour out the water – keep it on a simmer). Transfer tomatoes into ice bath to stop the cooking. Peel skin off with your fingers. Core and roughly dice the tomatoes. Set aside in a bowl to catch all the juices.

Sauté the prawns: Set a Dutch oven or large sauté pan over medium heat. Once hot, add a drizzle of oil and add prawns to sauté until exterior turns opaque – about 1 minute. We finish cooking them in the sauce later. Scoop out and set aside.

Make the sauce: Add another drizzle of oil. Lower heat a little Add garlic and dried chili flakes to sauté for 20 seconds or until fragrant and garlic deepens slightly in colour. Add tomatoes and scrape the fond from the shrimp with the tomato juices. Bring it to a simmer and let it cook down and thicken a bit while you cook the pasta.

Cook pasta according to package directions for al dente less 2 minutes (if you like your pasta really firm, I recommend undercooking by as much as 3 minutes because spaghettini can get overcooked pretty quickly). I cooked my spaghettini until the moment they became pliable, just under 4 minutes.

Carefully slide the pasta pot right next to the sauce pot and, using tongs, transfer pasta to the sauce and toss to coat – intentionally bringing some pasta water along with the noodles. Add instant dashi and soy sauce. Add back the prawns. Toss well and let everything simmer for about 2 minutes to finish cooking the pasta and prawns. Add more splashes of pasta water if needed to loosen the consistency. Off heat, add butter and toss a final time. Divide among serving plates and top with garnishes of shiso ribbons and shredded nori.

Enjoy!


🎥 video for Tomato Prawn Wafu Pasta:

This recipe was created in partnership with Wild Fork Foods. Thank you for supporting the organizations and brands that enable me to share free content like this with you.

 
 

Did you make this recipe? Leave a comment below to let me know or tag me on Instagram @saltnpepperhere so I can see. Or drop a note if you have any questions. I’m happy to help!