Smoked Salmon Onion Cream Pasta

We were saving this recipe when our first Smoked Salmon drops on the site, and it's finally here! 

We crave for Yoshoku from time to time, especially since we haven't been able to visit Japan for 2 years :") 

Yoshoku is Western-infliuenced Japanese food and some examples are Croquettes, Castella, Hamburger Steak and the Napolitan Pasta to list a few, so this Pasta is in no way related to the Italians!

We make this whenever we crave for a cream-based Japanese pasta because it's so quick to make and fuss-free!

Smoked Salmon Onion Cream Pasta for 2 Pax

Ingredients

Smoked Salmon 100G 

1/4 Onion, sliced

1~2 teaspoon Butter 

1.5 tablespoon, 12G, Flour (for a GF version, you can replace this with Cornstarch flour, or Potato Flour, but use 1 tablespoon instead)

200ML Milk (For dairy-free version, you can replace with unsweetened Soy Milk)

1/2 tablespoon Soy Sauce 

Spaghetti for 2 pax, approx. 150G 

OPTIONAL:

4 pcs Mushrooms (White Button or Shiitake are OK), sliced (OPTIONAL)

5~6 pcs French Bean / Asparagus, Boiled then Sliced (OPTIONAL)

1 tablespoon Mirin

Steps:

Note: If you can't handle 2 pots together and prefer to cook pasta separately, you can do it before making the sauce. Cook pasta in a separate pot. Bring water to a boil and salt it well. Cook pasta until just BEFORE it turns al dente (so you want it a little tough). Strain and keep a cup of pasta water. 

1. In a pan, heat butter on low heat until its melted.

2. Then add onions and cook until translucent. If you have mushrooms, add it after onions are translucent then cook well.

3. Turn off heat, add flour and mix well. Don't worry if everything starts clumping.

4. Add milk and mix well. Turn on the heat and continue to mix on low heat. You will see that the mixture starts to thicken. Don't worry if you find it too thick, you can adjust this later after adding the pasta. 

5. Add Shoyu and Mirin. Mix well.

6. (You can skip this if you cooked the pasta before step 1) In a separate pot, bring water to a boil to cook the pasta. Salt it well. Cook pasta until just before it turns al dente. 

7. Add pasta into the sauce and stir well so that every strand is coated with sauce. At this point, if you find the sauce too thick, add the pasta water or water to the sauce bit by bit to adjust. 

8. Let the pasta cook until it is al dente, or to your preferred donenness. 

9. Then add Smoked Salmon and boiled vegetables (if any) and mix well before turning off the heat to serve. Salt & pepper to taste.

DONE!