Japanese pasta with mushrooms and watercress in soy and butter sauce

I love Japanese pasta because it's so easy to make

and has so much depth of flavor. This one is an earthy and savory 

mushroom pasta with some fresh watercress 

to add a little something peppery and interesting.

Ingredients:

- 3/4 lb dry spaghetti

- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

- 1/4 lb shiitake mushrooms

- 1/4 lb beech mushrooms (bunashimeji) or other Japanese mushroom

- 1 tbsp sake

- 2 tbsp soy sauce

- 3 tbsp butter

- 2 tbsp neutral oil

- 2 shallots, finely chopped

- a handful of fresh watercress, roughly chopped

- 1/2 cup pasta water

- fresh ground black pepper

Directions:

Fill a large pot with salted water and bring to the boil.

In a large pan over high heat, add oil, 1 tbsp butter and garlic. Cook for 2 minutes and add mushrooms and cook for 3 minutes. Add shallots and cook for 2 minutes. Add half of the watercress and mix well. Turn heat off and wait until the pasta is cooked.

While the pasta is boiling, reserve about 1/2 cup of pasta water. Drain your pasta and add to the pan of cooked mushrooms. Turn the heat to low and add what's left of the watercress. Mix well and add soy sauce and sake. Mix well again, making sure all the pasta is coated with all the ingredients. Add a good amount of fresh ground black pepper and a little bit of the pasta water to make the sauce more unctuous. 

Serve with fresh parmesan.