Kat Lieu is behind the popular Instagram account Subtle Asian Baking. She has a dessert coobook, but she's working on a savory cookbook, so she joined the show for a sneak peek of one of the recipes! Kat’s Favorite Waifu Pasta with Mentaiko Roe Tip: If you’re time poor, you can make a simpler version of this dish by skipping step one. This means your pasta won’t have cooked onions, garlic, or protein. When making the sauce in step 2, add in 2 tablespoons of melted butter. It’ll still be super delicious and craveable. Serves: 4 | Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 15 minutes INGREDIENTS: -2 to 3 tablespoons unsalted butter or vegan butter, melted -1/2 onion, chopped -2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced -4 ounces of diced, cooked protein of choice, like ham, firm tofu, mushrooms, bacon, clams, squid, or a mix (optional) -1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce -1 teaspoon yuzu or lemon juice -1 tablespoon sake or Shaoxing wine -1 teaspoon mirin or a dash of sugar -2 pieces of mentaiko (pollock roe) with the membrane removed (though I find the membrane is chewy and delicious, LOL) -4 tablespoons heavy cream -Salt and pepper to taste -About 8 ounces spaghetti or fettuccine or 1 pound frozen udon -1 large pasteurized egg (optional) OPTIONAL TOPPINGS: -Sesame seeds -1 scallion, chopped -Chili pepper flakes -Shredded nori seaweed -Shredded shiso leaf DIRECTIONS: 1. Preheat a skillet, wok, or pan over medium-high heat. Melt the butter and add the onions. Sauté until golden and add the garlic. Stir in the cooked protein of choice and sauté until hot. Remove from heat and set aside for now. 2. In a large bowl, combine the soy sauce, juice, sake or wine, mirin or sugar, heavy cream, mentaiko roe, and salt and pepper. Add the cooked onions, garlic, and proteins. Cover and set aside. 3. In a pot of boiling water, add 2 tablespoons kosher salt, and cook the spaghetti or fettuccine according to the package instructions until al dente. (If cooking udon, frozen udon is ready in about 3 minutes.) Reserve about 1/4 cup of hot pasta water before draining. 4. Add the pasta to the large sauce bowl and mix. Crack in the egg, if using, while the pasta is still hot. If there isn’t enough sauce, drizzle in some of the reserved pasta water otherwise discard the water. 5. Garnish with the optional toppings of your choice and serve immediately. It is not recommended to reheat this pasta, as that will overcook the mentaiko; however, if you must, it is ok to pan fry leftover pasta the next day. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- KING 5's New Day Northwest is Western Washington's only local daytime talk show. Watch it weekdays at 11 a.m. PST on KING 5 TV and streaming live on http://www.king5.com. #newdaynw 🢒 Follow New Day Northwest! 🢐 FACEBOOK 🢒 https://www.facebook.com/newdaynw TWITTER 🢒 https://twitter.com/newdaynw INSTAGRAM 🢒 https://www.instagram.com/newdaynw