As the name suggests, Simple Shiso Garlic Butter Pasta is a quick and easy pasta recipe that uses a plenty of shiso (perilla) leaves. The addition of a distinct Japanese seasoning, yuzu koshō, gives a touch of chilli flavour to the pasta.
See the video.
Don't forget to see the section 'MEAL IDEAS' below the recipe card! It gives you a list of dishes that I have already posted and this recipe that can make up a complete meal. I hope it is of help to you.
- 160g/5.6oz dried spaghetti No. 3 (note 1)
- 20g/0.7oz shiso (perilla) leaves (about 20-25 leaves)
- 1 tbsp garlic finely chopped
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 20g/0.7oz butter
- ½ tsp yuzu koshō (green, note 2)
- ¼ tsp salt
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Trim the stem of shiso leaves. Pile the shiso leaves on top of each other, facing the back side up.
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Starting from the end close to you, roll the pile together loosely, away from you.
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Slice the rolled shiso leaves into about 2mm/3⁄32" wide strips. Line up the sliced coiled strips, then cut them into short strips.
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Cook spaghetti as per the instructions on the package. Cooking time should be 30 seconds less than the instructed time (note 3). Reserve ¼ cup of pasta water before draining the pasta.
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While pasta is cooking (note 4), heat olive oil and garlic in a frying pan over medium heat.
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When the garlic pieces start browning slightly around the edges (about 1 minute), add yuzu koshō, salt, and butter to the pan and mix.
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When the garlic butter sauce starts bubbling gently and the pasta is just cooked, go to step 10.
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If the pasta is still cooking when the sauce is ready, turn the heat off the frying pan and wait for the pasta to be ready.
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When the pasta is ready, reheat the sauce in the frying pan over medium heat until the sauce starts bubbling.
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Add the drained pasta to the frying pan with a couple of tablespoons of pasta water. Mix for about 20 seconds.
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Turn the heat off and add perilla to the pasta. Mix quickly ensuring that the perilla pieces wilt and coat pasta evenly.
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Serve immediately (note 5).
1. Because the shiso flavour is delicate, I used thinner spaghetti (No. 3) instead of standard No. 5. But you can use standard spaghetti.
2. You can buy yuzu koshō at Japanese grocery stores and some Asian grocery stores. You can even buy it online.
There is green yuzu koshō and red yuzu koshō. For today’s dish, the green one is better suited, but if you only have red yuzu koshō, you can substitute it. Please read the post for more details about yuzu koshō.
3. My No. 3 pasta required 5 minutes to cook. So I cooked for only 4½ minutes.
4. It takes less than 2 minutes to make the garlic butter sauce. If you start step2 about 2 minutes before the pasta is ready, you can add the pasta when the sauce is just done.
But if you can’t be bothered to synchronise the two activities, you can start making your garlic butter sauce as soon as the pasta is in the boiling water. Make the sauce and rest it until the pasta is ready, then reheat the sauce before adding the pasta to it.
5. I recommend eating the pasta immediately so that you can best enjoy the scent and flavour of the shiso.
6. Nutrition per serving.
serving:113g calories:439kcal fat:16g (21%) saturated fat:6.3g (32%) trans fat:0.3g polyunsaturated fat:1.5g monounsaturated fat:7.2g cholesterol:21mg (7%) sodium:406mg (18%) carbohydrates:62g (23%) dietary fibre:3.4g (12%) sugar:2.2g protein:11g vitamin D:0mcg (0%) calcium:48mg (4%) iron:4.0mg (22%) potassium: 246mg (5%)