Pasta dishes have long enjoyed popularity in Japan. But recently, a new dish has generated buzz on social media – and is even getting news time.
So-called yoshoku (洋食), or Western-style food, has enjoyed a place in everyday Japanese cuisine since the country’s Meiji period. Japan is even host to some dishes – such as the popular cheese and rice dish Doria – that are homemade creations.
Pasta took root in Japan during the Bakumatsu (the end of the Shogun’s reign) in areas of the country where foreigners resided. However, it didn’t take off among the local populace for another couple of decades. Macaroni was more popular than spaghetti during Japan’s Meiji period.
In 1928, Nihon Seima sold the country’s first commercial spaghetti, Volcano. Naporitan, a spaghetti dish made with tomato sauce or ketchup, green peppers, and bacon, appeared in the early 1900s and gained more popularity post-war. Naporitan remains the second-most popular pasta dish for cooking at home, with meat bolognese occupying the top position.
Killer Pasta
But now a new challenger has entered the arena.
Assassin’s pasta (Italian: Spaghetti all’Assassina) is a regional dish from Italian city of Bari in Puglia (incidentally, also the birthplace of focaccia). The recipe dates back to the 1970s, though which restaurant originated it remains a source of controversy.
Its arrival in Japan is thanks to one chef Marco Macri. Macri is a popular YouTuber with about 250K followers. He also lived in Japan for three years and makes most of his videos in Japanese. (His channel name is @kyo.nani.tabeyoo, or “what are we eating today?”).
One of Macri’s recent videos popularized Assassin’s Pasta, known in Japan through its literal translation of 暗殺者のパスタ (ansatsusha no pasuta). It’s garnered two million videos since he posted in a month ago.
The idea is simple: instead of boiling the spaghetti like in traditional pasta, you prepare it like the rice in risotto. You make a tomato sauce broth with tomato sauce and water. Then you give the pasta a quick cook directly in a separate pan so you give it a bit of a char. Finally, you slowly ladle the tomato sauce broth in, scoop by scoop, until the pasta is done.
The dish got an additional boost in the past two weeks as it made the news on Sukkiri!, the popular NTV morning news and entertainment program. The hosts and guest panel ate the dish live on air, gushing over the unique taste compared to traditional spaghetti.
It’s too early to tell whether Assassin’s Pasta will become a staple at Japan’s Italian restaurants, of which there are around 8,250, or about 6.54 per 100,000 people. For now, it’s at least proving a popular dish in Japanese homes – and one that might soon become a staple alongside bolognese and Naporitan.
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Sources
ナポリタン. Wikipedia JP
自宅で食べる「好きなパスタの種類・ソース」 2位は「ナポリタン」、1位は？ITMedia News
Killer spaghetti (spaghetti all’assassina). Eatalian with Roberto
都道府県別イタリア料理店店舗数. Todo-Ran
