Ryuji's "Ultimate Japanese-Style Mushroom Pasta" with Separately Boiled Noodles: The Steps and Thinking Behind Making the Most of Al Dente

According to Ryuji, this spaghetti is designed to have a firmer texture, perfecting "al dente," where a little bit of a core remains. Japanese people really love al dente, Ryuji says. Ryuji tried it with meat sauce and carbonara too, but felt that for rich sauces like those, the same line's "Mochitto Oishii Spaghetti" (Deliciously Chewy Spaghetti, 1.8mm) tasted better. On the other hand, Ryuji rates this Supreme Al Dente as a great match for simple sauces such as oil-based or Japanese-style ones, and well suited to pastas where the noodles are the star. While cooking, Ryuji even says, "It goes so well you'd think they made it for Japanese-style pasta."

Ryuji explains that the advantage of choosing between them lies in the texture. The Nippn representative also said they think it pairs well with light pastas like peperoncino or Japanese-style dishes. When Ryuji said, "It might also be good boiled a little longer and served cold," the representative replied that they often suggest cold pasta in their summer menu proposals.

Between cooking steps, the Nippn marketing representative reported the results of the previous sponsored video. After the earlier one-pan sake chicken soba video, sales on the company's own e-commerce site reportedly rose to 50 times the usual level. The carbonara video made with "Mochitto Oishii Spaghetti" also drew strong views, and the product sold well. It surpassed 100 million servings in less than two years since launch, and since the company had internally projected reaching 100 million servings in about three years, things are going well. Because the chewy version has already sold enough, the aim of this collaboration is to promote Supreme Al Dente.

Ryuji recalls saying, when this collaboration came in, "You should definitely do this with me." In Ryuji's view, the people in the cooking world who are strong at pasta are mainly Italian chefs, and chefs who trained in Italy value authenticity, so while they aren't unable to use other pasta, they prefer to use Italian pasta. Ryuji didn't train in Italy, so takes the stance that "delicious is delicious," and after trying many kinds, thinks Oh My is a good fit. Of course, Ryuji also uses Italian pasta, and it's very delicious. But because the textures are clearly different, it's good to be able to choose between them depending on the dish. Italian pasta rarely has noodles this firm, or chewy 1.8mm noodles either, which is why there's a reason to use these, in Ryuji's view. Ryuji encourages viewers to try a variety of pastas and find which one suits each dish. Ryuji then stressed, "If it hadn't been delicious, I would've turned this sponsorship down, so I'm consistent about that at least."

On the other hand, Ryuji said they'd even like Nippn to make peperoncino with this noodle, but couldn't bring it up because production hadn't been able to keep up. There was a period of about a year when Ryuji held back, because even when Ryuji promoted it, people couldn't buy it.

Ryuji said that both one-pan and separate boiling have their own merits, then gave several reasons for choosing separate boiling this time.

The first is the texture of the sauce. If you make this noodle in one pan, the sauce becomes thick. To make the most of al dente, a lighter, thinner sauce gives a smoother, slippery mouthfeel, Ryuji says. The second is that it's easier to make two or more servings. You just double the quantities, so separate boiling is better suited to making large amounts. The third is the boiling time. Since boiling time is important for al dente, separate boiling doesn't require fine adjustments. There's a little more washing up, but since you're just boiling in salted water, a quick rinse is all it takes.

In the latter half, the aroma of browned garlic was added as another reason. When you simmer everything in one pan, the aroma of the browned garlic is lost. This is why the separately boiled version tastes good, Ryuji explains.

The recipe serves two, with 200g of mushrooms (100g per serving) for 200g of pasta. The recommendation is a mix of king oyster, shiitake, and oyster mushrooms, but just oyster and shiitake, or only oyster mushrooms, is fine too. Combining various mushrooms makes for an enjoyable variety of textures. Adding a little shiitake brings aroma, so Ryuji wants to include it, but people who don't like it can swap in another mushroom such as shimeji. Nameko is also delicious, but then it becomes "nameko pasta" rather than Japanese-style pasta, so this time Ryuji chose mushrooms without a strong character. Maitake has a strong aroma, so if you use it, about 50g is best.

There are reasons behind the cuts, based on balancing them with the texture of the noodles. Shiitake are tasty cut into chunks, but since the noodles carry the texture, Ryuji slices them. The thickness is around 1cm or just under; too thin and they merge into the sauce. The stems can be eaten if you trim off the tip, so from a food waste perspective too, it's good to slice them thinly and add them, Ryuji says.

The king oyster mushrooms were cut in half lengthwise-wise and sliced vertically, somewhat thickly. When a staff member asked, "I thought king oyster mushrooms were best cut into rounds," Ryuji answered as follows. Rounds are of course good too, but king oyster mushroom rounds cut with a knife become meaty and give a strong chunky feel. This time the block bacon provides the chunky meat element, so thinner slices give a better balance. Conversely, if you use thin-sliced bacon, it's good to cut the mushrooms larger, such as into rounds, to bring out texture. Ryuji thinks about the contrast between ingredients, though in Ryuji's own words, "It's really just a feeling." Oyster mushrooms aren't cut with a knife; tearing them by hand creates a different texture and makes it more fun.

Block bacon is used, because thin bacon gets slightly overpowered by the chewiness of the al dente noodles. It also came up that staff member A-ko loves block bacon and makes a disappointed face when thin bacon is used. However, Ryuji added that block bacon is a bit of a luxury, so the dish can be made deliciously with thin slices too.

Two cloves of garlic are crushed with the flat of the knife and then minced, because mincing makes the aroma stronger. For people who can't crush it with the flat of a knife, it's easy to smash it with something heavy at hand. Ryuji's reason for adding garlic is "because I like garlic," saying that cooking is about expressing what you like, so if you want to add it, add it.

The garlic is sautéed in 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and the bacon is cooked in a separate spot in the same frying pan. When a staff member said, "I've always tended to sauté the garlic and bacon together," Ryuji explained the reason for keeping them apart. If you cook them together, moisture comes out of the bacon and the garlic has a harder time browning. Keeping them apart makes it easier to see how browned it is. The bacon doesn't need to be crispy.

The key point this time is to brown the garlic a little, because browned garlic goes well with soy sauce. Ryuji showed a "fairly dark-roasted" browned color and said this level of browning makes it really delicious. At that point, mixing everything together and adding the mushrooms stops the garlic from browning any further.

The key is to sauté the mushrooms thoroughly. Ryuji says the way mushrooms release their aroma is completely different between boiling and sautéing. Especially since this time includes shiitake, which has a strong aroma, it's important to properly sear them. While showing how much they had shrunk in volume, Ryuji also noted that adding the mushrooms stops the bacon from spattering, because the mushrooms absorb the oil. Ryuji repeated that this browned flavor and sautéed toastiness are lost if everything is boiled together. Ryuji also noted that as long as the sauce is made, it's fine to start boiling the pasta afterward.

Up to this point the cooking is over medium heat, and from the seasoning onward it's turned down to low. Ryuji explains that adding little liquid and a bit of strong umami makes it taste like restaurant pasta. Granulated kombu dashi and Hondashi are used, 2/3 teaspoon each. Hondashi alone is fine, but if the bonito is too strong, the pasta leans toward home cooking, so combining it with kombu dashi makes it "insanely delicious." Next come 2 tablespoons each of soy sauce, sake, and mirin. Ryuji called this combination "the go-to method."

Right after adding them, the ingredients are just barely covered by liquid, but you don't reduce it here. This amount of liquid is just right, because adjustments are made after the pasta goes in. Ryuji cautions to just cook off the alcohol, since reducing it too much makes it salty.

Ryuji forgot to add the dried red chili, but says it's fine to add it later. Dried red chili doesn't release much aroma even when sautéed, so adding it later is fine. Ryuji likes spicy food, so added two pinches. If you like it even more, you can add more, and the red color makes it look cute too. The orthodox approach is to add it around when the bacon has finished cooking, but even in this liquid the chili's heat comes through well enough, Ryuji says.

Bring plenty of water to a boil and make the salt concentration about 0.8%. Since the sauce is quite salty, you can remember it as about the level of a light soup. Ryuji laughed, saying that turning 40 this year means starting to pay a little attention to salt intake.

Even when putting the noodles into the pot, they're firm, so it takes a little time for them to sink into the water. Once they're in the water they soften, so you can just push them in. The labeled boiling time is 8 minutes. Ryuji speculated that it should really be a noodle that takes about 9 minutes, and that it's set at 8 minutes because they want people to eat it al dente. The representative confirmed that the time was set this way as a result of pursuing the al dente that Japanese people want. If you're just tossing it with sauce, the full 8 minutes is fine, but this time, because of the time spent combining it with the sauce and the needs of filming, Ryuji pulls it out a little early so it finishes reaching al dente on the plate. In practice, it was taken out at about 7 minutes, at a "barikata" (extra-firm) level.

During filming, a staff member asked a provocative question: "Since al dente is a matter of how you boil it, couldn't you just pull another company's pasta out about 2 minutes early, without needing this product?" Ryuji laughed and shot back, "Are you the enemy?"

The representative's rebuttal was this: if you shorten the boiling time with other pastas, sometimes they don't cook through and just end up hard. This product went through 200 or 300 rounds of prototyping, with the cooking-through also calculated, so that it turns out delicious when boiled for the labeled time. Ryuji also said it really hits the spot for people who like firm pasta. A-ko said, "Since Al Dente ga Oishii Spaghetti, I can't eat other ones anymore," and Ryuji explained that A-ko is so picky about noodles that A-ko can tell the difference.

According to Ryuji, A-ko used to say one-pan pastas weren't tasty, but after Ryuji switched to Oh My, A-ko started saying they were delicious. The natto pasta was also one-pan, and since Mochitto Oishii Spaghetti keeps a core even in one-pan cooking, it suits one-pan as well. As for texture, Ryuji described it like this: while the 1.8mm Mochitto centers on chewiness, Supreme Al Dente gives a feeling of "eating it entirely for the bite," and offers more of a "putsu" snap than Mochitto.

When Ryuji said it seemed Nippn was also putting effort into frozen products, the representative explained that the Oh My Premium brand is the best-selling brand of frozen pasta. It was also included in a previous video where Ryuji compared all frozen pastas, but Ryuji pointed out that it didn't take first place there, which got a laugh. While saying there's no sucking up, Ryuji added that the lineup has changed. The representative replied that they've been refining it, so they hope for another opportunity, and said that the best-selling frozen item is peperoncino.

The boiled noodles are transferred to the frying pan with the sauce, and the heat is turned up a little to toss them. Pasta water is added as needed, but kept to a small amount, since too much makes it salty. This time no butter is used; it's deliberately finished with oil. Finally, Ryuji drizzles over a favorite olive oil recently found at Kaldi, scatters green onions, and it's done. When Ryuji said, "I don't work with companies that tell me not to mention other companies' names in sponsored content," the Nippn side said that was okay.

The representative who tasted it said they also make mushroom pasta themselves, but usually use thin bacon so it lacks a sense of substance, and praised the block bacon and how the mushrooms were cut. Both the texture of the mushrooms and the texture of the pasta are plump and bouncy, they said.

What Ryuji showed was that there's almost no liquid on the plate. Ryuji wanted to focus on the al dente texture, so deliberately cooked off the liquid. The representative responded that many Japanese-style menu items tend to be left saucy, and also said the dried red chili makes it go great with drinks. Ryuji added that with an al dente texture, the noodles don't get soggy easily, so you can enjoy it to the last bite even while drinking.

On the other hand, Ryuji admitted the saltiness is a bit strong. Adjusting the salt in the boiling water a little would make it suitable for families too. Even so, for Ryuji personally it was "spot on," and Ryuji praised how the pasta isn't overpowered by the texture of the mushrooms, repeating that block bacon is definitely the tastiest.

Finally, after noting that it's a different company's product, Ryuji suggested lightly drizzling ponzu over it. The representative reacted, "It's completely different again from before." According to Ryuji's explanation, this pasta has quite strong saltiness and umami, so adding acidity makes it even more delicious. If you don't have ponzu, lemon juice is also good. The representative also said it was just right for when you start wanting some acidity as you keep eating.

To wrap up, Ryuji praised themself: "I really am good at pasta." When the representative said, "When it comes to pasta, it's Ryuji," Ryuji laughed and replied that saying so would draw complaints from other quarters. It's also delicious made with Mochitto Oishii Spaghetti, but Ryuji wants people to make it with Supreme Al Dente first. Ryuji's final pitch was that this "putsu" texture suits pastas where the liquid is cooked off and the noodles are coated in oil.