Kitchen notes · a little help before you start
Miso Butter Pasta with Tuna and Cabbage
Miso butter pasta makes a simple plate feel especially savory. Soft cabbage and little pieces of tuna catch among the spaghetti, with butter rounding out the sauce. Twirl a forkful while it is warm and enjoy the cabbage and noodles together.
- Prep
- 5 min
- Cook
- 10 min
- Total
- 15 min
- Original yield
- Serves 2
- Ingredients
- 12 listed
Make it part of your week
Recipe categories & planning details
- Meal type
- Main course
- Primary protein
- Fish
- Cuisine
- Japanese · Asian
- Preparation & total time
- Prep: 15 minutes or less · Total: 30 minutes or less
- Dish type
- Pasta
A few quick notes
1. Start garlic in cooler oil
Add the sliced garlic while the pan's oil is not yet hot, coating it as the oil takes on its flavor.
2. Save pasta water before draining
Reserve the measured pasta water for the pan, where it helps mix the butter, miso and other ingredients together.
3. Dissolve the miso fully
Shake and mix the pan after adding pasta water, checking that the miso is dissolved before the soy sauce and mirin.
Get to know the ingredients
Core the cabbage leaves
Remove tough cores and cut the remaining leaves into the listed square pieces before coating them in the garlic oil.
Drain the albacore
Drain the tuna before its addition to the cabbage; break any large chunks smaller if you prefer that texture.
Thin garlic slices
Peel and thinly slice the garlic for gently flavoring the oil at the beginning of the skillet stage.
Let’s make it
Choose your servings, then check things off as you go.
Original recipe: Serves 2. Original quantities shown.
Check ingredients as you prepare them. These checks stay on this page.
How to make it
0 of 15 steps completeMake room for Miso Butter Pasta with Tuna and Cabbage
Review ingredients in your pantry before anything is added. Meal plans use your household size; grocery-only additions use the servings selected above.
The last little job
Toss noodles through the sauce
Add the cooked spaghetti to the pan and toss well, then taste with black pepper and add salt only if needed.
A little more help as you go
Keep spaghetti a little shy
Try stopping its boil a minute early because the pasta continues cooking when tossed in the pan.
Melt the butter completely
Stir butter, miso and pepper through the tuna and cabbage until the butter is fully melted before adding pasta water.
A few questions you might have
Does the tuna go in before the cabbage?
Coat and cook the cabbage briefly in garlic oil first, then add the drained tuna and toss together.
Is the pasta water salted?
Salt the spaghetti water at the start. Taste the finished pasta before adding more salt because some cooking water joins the sauce.
Where does the mirin go?
Add it with soy sauce after the pasta water has helped dissolve the miso, before the spaghetti is tossed through.
Can I transfer pasta with tongs?
Yes. Lift the cooked spaghetti into the pan with tongs, or quickly drain it first before adding and tossing.
Does the cabbage cook in the pasta pot?
It has a separate skillet stage in garlic oil, followed by tuna, butter and miso before the spaghetti joins it.
Storage & reheating safety
For cooked, perishable leftovers, refrigerate within 2 hours (1 hour above 90°F), using shallow containers for prompt cooling. Keep the refrigerator at 40°F or below, use refrigerated leftovers within 3–4 days, and reheat hot leftovers to 165°F, checked with a food thermometer. Follow any shorter package limit.
These are general safety limits, not a tested storage or freezing recommendation for this particular dish. USDA leftovers guidance · Safe cooking temperatures
Recipe source: justonecookbook.com. Ingredient names and quantities may be adapted for the pantry.
Preparation notes follow the recipe shown here.
