The Thinking Behind a Pasta That Looks Like It's Just Topped with a Fried Egg: Ryuji's "Bacon and Egg Soy Sauce Pasta with Browned Garlic Butter"

The first thing Ryuji brought up was to always use bacon from a block. A block gives you more of a bacon character and texture. Paper-thin bacon doesn't give you any texture. Since this recipe uses two fried eggs, thin bacon would be overpowered by the eggs, Ryuji reasoned. Ryuji added that block bacon is sometimes cheaper, too. The amount is about 40–50g per serving, and you can add as much as you like. Cut it into thick slices about 1cm wide, then cut those into thirds to get roughly 1cm cubes. Cutting it to this size gives it presence, Ryuji says.

The noodles are chosen with the same thinking. Ryuji uses 1.8mm thick spaghetti from Oh My, a brand Ryuji does promotion for. Ryuji strongly insisted, "Absolutely do not use thin noodles." Thin noodles would be overpowered by the eggs and thick-cut bacon; with 1.4mm noodles, Ryuji says, they would "disappear." Ryuji positions this as a lazy pasta that only works because of the thick noodles.

As for garlic, Ryuji has been using garlic powder a lot lately, but asks that you use fresh garlic this time. The garlic used was Spanish garlic left over from when Ryuji previously made a "seriously authentic peperoncino." It has red skin and a slightly stronger aroma, but regular garlic is fine. The amount is 8–10g per serving. According to Ryuji, it's quite a lot considering this isn't peperoncino. As for the flavor direction, Ryuji said it's "maybe closer to carbonara, if anything."

Since eggs and bacon alone would throw off the nutritional balance, Ryuji makes lettuce ohitashi as a side dish. Because this pasta is seasoned with soy sauce, it pairs well with ohitashi, Ryuji explained. Half a head of lettuce is split at the core and boiled for about a minute. Ryuji multitasked, making it at the same time as the pasta.

While it boiled, Ryuji shared a personal theory about raw vegetables. Salad is cold, bulky, and doesn't hold together, so eating it takes energy. Ryuji says the idea came from hearing elderly people say that "raw vegetables are hard to eat." They require a lot of chewing, and because they're cold, they're hard on the stomach. Boiling them reduces that burden — that was the gist. Once boiled, the lettuce is shocked in water so the residual heat doesn't overcook it.

Ryuji put a tiny amount of rice bran oil in the frying pan. However, Ryuji immediately corrected this: "You don't have to add it — my mistake." Too much oil makes the bacon spatter, so viewers can skip it.

When A-ko asked whether the bacon should be cooked until crispy, Ryuji said no. Ryuji doesn't like crispy bacon to begin with and doesn't think it's anything to get excited about. Crispy bacon is mainly eaten in the United States, and bacon sold in the US and Japan differs in how crispy it gets. If you cook Japanese bacon until crispy, too much of the pork's moisture is lost and it doesn't taste good. That's why Ryuji thinks it's better to eat it as meat.

Once the bacon is nicely browned, the eggs are cracked into the middle of it. What Ryuji emphasized as "important here" is using a spoon to gather the eggs together with the bacon. That way, when you put them on the pasta later, they look more appetizing because they hold together. Cover the pan loosely, but don't add water. Instead, lower the heat to medium-low to cook the top of the eggs. Adding water would turn the surface white and make it look bad. Cook the whites to your liking.

In this recipe, the bacon and eggs are transferred to a tray once. You could also use a second frying pan; Ryuji says "it's a question of whether you'd rather wash a frying pan or a tray." Ryuji also pointed out the advantage that getting the most troublesome part, the fried eggs, out of the way first makes the dish harder to mess up. On the other hand, if you want a more perfect result, you can cook the bacon and eggs next to the pasta while it simmers, and then put them on, still jiggly, right as it's finished. Ryuji says that's how Ryuji usually does it. But multitasking is difficult if you're not used to it, so this time Ryuji went with a beginner-friendly method.

In the same frying pan the bacon and eggs came out of, add 10g of butter and the chopped garlic to make browned garlic butter. To brown the garlic, you need to coat it in the butter. Ryuji turned up the heat partway through.

Ryuji repeated "always brown it" many times. Whether or not you brown it makes a completely different flavor, Ryuji says. When A-ko asked how far to brown it, Ryuji, at a point where it had already taken on a lot of color, said "go a bit further," and actually showed both the minimum and Ryuji's preferred level of browning. You can also make it with olive oil. But butter goes well with eggs and bacon, and even more so with soy sauce, so using butter makes it overwhelmingly better, Ryuji explained.

Pour 450cc of water over the browned garlic butter. Ryuji declared flatly, "This pasta is overwhelmingly better as a one-pan pasta." To season the boiling soup, Ryuji said that after trying all sorts of seasonings that go with burnt garlic and soy sauce, consommé was the best. Chicken stock or Hondashi will make it mostly tasty, too, but consommé is "super delicious." Using consommé turns it into something like a garlic soup. A-ko remarked that it's unusual to use consommé in pasta. The amounts are 1 teaspoon of consommé and a pinch of salt, and nothing else is added.

Simmering the pasta in this soup infuses the thick noodles with the aroma and umami of the garlic soup. That's why Ryuji repeats, "Definitely do it in one pan." For two servings, add more eggs, use about 700cc of water, and make it in a large frying pan.

The heat is medium-high. The package says 11 minutes, and as a guide, let it bubble for about 9 minutes. Ryuji says even a thick-noodle one-pan pasta comes out properly al dente. Don't cover it. A lid keeps the liquid from evaporating, and the result ends up like soup pasta.

While waiting for it to simmer, the conversation turned to preferences about egg whites. Ryuji likes runny, slimy whites and says this bacon and eggs is actually delicious with soft-cooked whites. But A-ko can't stand slimy egg whites, so this time they were cooked firmer. A-ko said, "I'd rather drink tequila than drink egg whites," and Ryuji shot back, "Don't talk about tequila like it's a punishment game — it's a delicious drink."

The talk extended to tamago kake gohan (raw egg over rice). A-ko doesn't eat it the usual way, cracking an egg over rice and pouring on soy sauce. Ryuji's own creation, "My Tamago Kake Gohan," involves first mixing the egg white with hot rice so the white sets until half-cooked, then putting the yolk on top. Ryuji laughs that slimy-white lovers would be furious, since it takes the fun out of it. A-ko says that for people who can't stand it, it's a lifesaver. When A-ko previously mentioned in another video not liking slimy whites, a lot of comments came in agreeing. Egg whites are a valuable source of protein, and A-ko likes them best in soup. Ryuji remarked here that Ryuji's channel focuses on things rooted in everyday life. The reason, Ryuji said, is that Ryuji lives on Ryuji's own cooking.

With about 2 minutes left, the liquid has reduced considerably and starts to thicken. The browned bits turn into the sauce, so coat the noodles in it. If you want to rewarm the bacon and eggs, you can microwave them for about 20 seconds, but overdo it and the yolks will set, which would be a waste.

Even so, Ryuji says the fried eggs taste best when they've cooled down a bit. The reason Ryuji gave is the temperature of a one-pan pasta. With regular pasta, you just boil the noodles and toss them with the sauce, and even peperoncino isn't continuously sautéed over high heat. A one-pan pasta is brought to a boil and simmered, so the noodles get very hot — hot enough to burn your mouth if you ate it as is, Ryuji explained.

Toward the end, there was still a lot of sauce left, so Ryuji turned the heat to high. If you don't reduce it, it ends up watery. At the 9-minute mark the noodles were still firm, and Ryuji says they'll be al dente in another minute, for about 10 minutes total. Turn off the heat when some thick sauce remains; Ryuji said it's great when this sauce coats the fried eggs. Ryuji added that "without the explanation, it's totally a pasta someone living alone would make," but with the explanation, it becomes a proper dish.

Tasting the plated noodles, A-ko says they're delicious on their own. Ryuji agreed that even without the eggs, it works as a browned garlic pasta. The bacon and eggs go on top, and black pepper, which goes well with eggs, is sprinkled over everything. Grated cheese is optional but goes well. The final soy sauce is "super important," Ryuji says. Because soy sauce is what goes on fried eggs. Use as much as you like.

For the ohitashi, the boiled lettuce is squeezed of excess water and topped with 3 shakes of Ajinomoto, soy sauce, and bonito powder. Ryuji says Ajinomoto is a must. Lettuce has no umami, so soy sauce alone isn't enough. Instead of bonito powder, you can use katsuobushi or hana-katsuo flakes.

To eat it, first cut into the eggs and mix everything together. Ryuji pointed out that the slightly crispy edges of the fried eggs are something carbonara doesn't have, and A-ko agreed: "It's totally different from carbonara."

After one bite, A-ko said it was clear why the bacon had to be thick-cut — in other words, what the bacon's presence means. Ryuji said this definitely beats a mediocre pasta restaurant, adding that A-ko would understand the point of the consommé and thick noodles, too. A-ko says they'd never been impressed by a one-pan pasta before, but this one is delicious. Still, the two agreed that it looks like something a student would make.

On the flavor direction, the two said the soy sauce makes it something entirely different from carbonara. The richness is a different kind, it doesn't use much oil, and the only thing sprinkled on is some grated cheese. It's a Japanese-style flavor that even A-ko, who doesn't do well with heavy food, can eat.

The ohitashi was also well received, and even lettuce that had discolored a little was perfectly fine to eat. You can remove the discolored parts, but that doesn't mean they're inedible. Ryuji said that with the same boiling method, you could also top it with a Chinese-style sauce made by mixing soy sauce with sesame oil or chili pepper. Ryuji also says that since a whole head of lettuce tends to go unused, you can just turn all of it into this.

When A-ko asked whether it keeps, Ryuji recommended storing it before adding the soy sauce. Once the salt in the soy sauce soaks into the lettuce, it draws out the moisture and makes it soggy. Store it boiled, and add the soy sauce and Ajinomoto just before eating. There was also talk about the order of eating: pasta keeps changing from the moment it's done, so eat it first, and the ohitashi, which holds up over time, can come later.

While eating, Ryuji talked about a recent interest: wanting to research pastas that Italians would never think of. The example given was Napolitan, which was born in Japan. Italians would probably be furious to hear about using ketchup, but ketchup-based Napolitan is insanely good. Ryuji went on to say that the ramen that's popular worldwide right now isn't ramen as it originated in China, but ramen that evolved in Japan. Japan is good at that kind of thing, Ryuji says. With respect for Italy and preserving tradition as a given, Ryuji said Ryuji wants to dig deeper into things like soy sauce–based pasta.

Finally, Ryuji touched on why A-ko is so often invited. Other staff would be fine too, but Ryuji thought it was good to have someone who properly focuses on the key points and asks questions. A-ko hadn't been that conscious of it, but apparently people had written as much in the comments.

The two finished everything, and A-ko summed it up: it's filling, so people who don't eat much can share it along with the side dish, and people who want to eat a lot can make two servings. Unorthodox, but insanely good — so give it a try, A-ko concluded.