Japan
Wafu Pasta
Japanese-style spaghetti with chirimenjako or shirasu (baby sardines) and buttery shimeji
20 min·2 servings
chirimenjako or shirasu
Tiny young sardines or anchovies, boiled in salted water and dried; white, thread-thin and mildly salty.
Shirasu are the fry of sardines, anchovies and related species, barely two to three centimetres long, cooked in salted water right after the catch. Shirasu usually refers to the soft, still moist little fish, chirimenjako to the more thoroughly dried kind, which is firmer and slightly crumbly. They taste mildly of the sea, lightly salty and hardly fishy, and are eaten whole, heads and bones included. The moist kind suits being scattered over rice or salads as it is, while the dry kind can be toasted until crisp. They are sold in Asian grocers, usually chilled or frozen, in Japanese or Korean shops, and by mail order.
Substitute:
The smallest dried anchovies from a Korean shop come closest, though they are often somewhat larger, saltier and stronger in flavour; a quick rinse in hot water softens them. For the soft, moist form there is no good substitute, as ordinary anchovy fillets are far too salty and intense.
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