Japanese-Style Mizuna and Chicken Pasta
A quick Japanese-style spaghetti with juicy chicken thigh, garlic, and crunchy mizuna (Japanese mustard greens), seasoned simply with dashi, soy sauce, and sake. Ready in about 35 minutes.
Mizuna, also known as Japanese mustard greens, is one of the most versatile leafy vegetables in Japanese cooking. Its flavor is milder than spinach, green onions, or kale, and it is more tender than bok choy or napa cabbage.
What makes mizuna special is its texture: crisp, juicy, and refreshing, so it works in almost any dish. Here it is tossed into a garlicky chicken pasta at the very end, seasoned with dashi, soy sauce, and sake, so the greens stay crunchy.
What you'll need
- 100 g spaghetti
- 1 bunch mizuna (Japanese mustard greens)
- 80 g chicken thigh
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- Salt, to taste
- Black pepper, to taste
- 2 tsp dashi (Japanese soup stock)
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp sake
- 1 tbsp neutral cooking oil
How to make it
Cook the spaghetti in well-salted boiling water for the time shown on the package, or about 1 minute less for al dente (recommended). Set aside a little of the cooking water.
Add 1 tbsp oil to a frying pan, add the garlic while the oil is still cold, then turn on the heat.
When the garlic becomes fragrant, add the chicken thigh, cut into bite-sized pieces, and sauté.
When the outside of the chicken is browned, add a little of the pasta cooking water, cover, and steam for 2 to 3 minutes.
Once the chicken is cooked through, add the sake, soy sauce, salt, and dashi. The pasta sauce is now ready.
Cut the mizuna into 3 to 4 cm lengths. Add the cooked spaghetti and the mizuna to the sauce and toss together.
Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt.
Transfer to a plate and finish with a sprinkle of black pepper.