If you haven't noticed before, I am OBSESSED with Japanese food. Ever since my trip to Tokyo many years ago, there hasn't been one week where I didn't have a Japanese meal. I'm constantly looking for the best Japanese restaurant here in LA just to bring me a bit closer to Tokyo. Today, I'm bringing it to the kitchen, creating a dish inspired by Japanese and European cuisines. Here is my new favorite seafood pasta dish, spaghetti with clams and nori miso butter.

You may be thinking, "Nori miso butter?" But that's outrageous!" Trust me, it's delightful. The combination of salty, a little sweet, and a punch of umami dresses up the pasta in a unique and delicious way. If you need a little excitement on your table tonight, I urge you to give this dish a try!

Recipe

Print Recipe

Spaghetti with Clams and Nori Miso Butter

Total Time45 minutes mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Japanese

Keyword: pasta

Servings: 4

Author: Christine Ma

Ingredients

Nori miso butter

• ¼ cup butter softened at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon white miso
• 1 tablespoon mirin
• ½ tablespoon soy sauce
• ¼ cup nori crumbled into small pieces

Seasoned breadcrumbs

• 1 teaspoon furikake
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ cup panko
• 1 tablespoon oil

Remaining ingredients

• 1 lb spaghetti
• 1 shallot minced
• 3 cloves garlic sliced
• 1 tablespoon ginger thinly sliced
• 1 Thai chile chopped
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes halved
• ¼ cup sake
• 2 lb clams
• 2 scallions thinly sliced

Instructions

• Prepare nori miso butter. Combine all ingredients from butter to nori in a small bowl and mix until well combined. Set aside.
• Prepare breadcrumbs. Heat 1 tablespoon oil nonstick pan over medium heat. Stir together breadcrumbs with furikake and garlic. Add breadcrumbs to the pan and cook until golden brown, stirring constantly about 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
• Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Cook pasta until al dente, about 8-9 minutes. Drain pasta, reserving ¼ cup of the pasta water.
• Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large saute pan over high heat. Add shallot, garlic, ginger, and chile and saute until aromatic, about 30 seconds. Add cherry tomatoes and cook until the tomatoes begin to soften about 3 minutes. Add clams and sake. Cover the pan and cook clams until the shells begin to open about 4-5 minutes.
• Remove lid and toss in the cooked pasta, nori butter, and reserved pasta water. Season with salt and pepper. Stir the noodles with the clams and sauce, making sure to coat the noodles with the sauce. Remove from heat and sprinkle pasta with seasoned breadcrumbs and scallions. Serve immediately.

**Helpful tips and common mistakes

This spaghetti with clams and nori miso butter dish can come together pretty quickly, a great factor when preparing dinner during the week. Prepare the nori miso butter and seasoned breadcrumbs several days in advance to save you even more time.

For the nori miso butter, I used roasted salted seaweed, similar to the ones sold as snacks. Just be careful and taste the seaweed before adding it to the butter. Certain brands tend to be saltier than others. If your roasted seaweed is on the saltier side, reduce the amount of soy sauce. It's also best to use softened butter as it will be easier to mix all the ingredients together.

For the seasoned breadcrumbs, use panko for the best results. Panko breadcrumbs have more of a crunch, adding texture to the pasta dish.

Cook the spaghetti until al dente, reserving ¼ cup of the pasta water. The starchy water will help bring all the flavors together when combined. This tip can be applied whenever you make a pasta dish with a sauce!

Now, prepare the clams. Once the cherry tomatoes begin to soften and burst, add the clams and sake. Make sure to cover the pan as the steam will help the clams open up. They won't take long to cook, about 4-5 minutes.

Add the pasta, nori butter, and reserved pasta water and toss it all together. Let the butter melt and coat the noodles as well as the clams. Season with salt and pepper and finish the spaghetti with seasoned breadcrumbs and scallions.

I was a little unsure of how this spaghetti with clams and nori miso butter would turn out but wow! I loved every bite. The nori adds a wonderful umami flavor to the pasta, complimenting the miso and clams beautifully. Definitely saving this recipe for the future!

For more pasta inspiration check out these kimchi pastas with chorizo breadcrumbs!