Spaghetti a la Murakami

Couldn't be simpler

Haruki Murakami has long been one of my favorite authors. I read The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle in high school then went on a tear and read pretty much everything he’s written before and since. Murakami’s writing can best be described as “magical surrealism” (at least by me), and combines modern takes on Japanese culture, history, fantasy, myth, and, shockingly, a lot of cooking.

I took a Murakami class in college. The professor was a friend of Murakami’s, so it was fascinating to hear how his works changed in translation. The final assignment was to write pretty much anything on Murakami — I naturally chose to write a Murakami cookbook.

I can’t remember which book (or short story) this recipe came from, but it’s pasta and butter and soy sauce and parm cheese and is delightful with a cold beer.

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add spaghetti (or any other pasta you have on hand), and cook just shy of al dente. Drain, reserving some pasta water, and add back to the pot. Toss in a healthy serving of butter and several splashes of soy sauce, and mix to combine over low heat. If you need, add some of the pasta water. When the pasta is done, toss it in a bowl, top with parm cheese and enjoy.

There you go. Sounds weird, but tastes great. Some weekend reads, on style, an adventure I’d love to take, and some other stuff that caught my eye.

• The North Face is everywhere… [High Snobiety]

• …just like Carhartt [Esquire]

• How to choose your own adventure in Baja [Outside]

• There’s no reason to eat three meals a day [The Atlantic]

• The Alaskan Ice Bath [Ten Thousand]