Truffle Chicken Mushroom Cream Pasta DIY Recipe (Step-by-Step with Pictures)

OMG I’m in love. I really really REALLY love this dish, and I’m so happy it turned out well. The best part? It’s actually quite simple to make – which just goes to show that you don’t need to kill yourself to keep your tummy fed. Yum!

DELECTABLE DISH FOR THE DAY: TRUFFLE CHICKEN MUSHROOM CREAM PASTEA

DIFFICULTY: Easy

SERVING SIZE: Good for 8 people

PREPARATION TIME: 45 minutes

INGREDIENTS FOR TRUFFLE MUSHROOM CREAM PASTA

For the toppings

• 400g chicken breast, cut into thin strips
• Five Spice flavoring
• Salt and Pepper
• 200g shiitake mushrooms, cut lengthwise intro strips
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 4 tbsp light soy sauce (I use Lee Kum Kee)

For the truffle cream pasta

• 750g uncooked spaghetti
• 1/2 cup salted butter (I only had unsalted butter available – so I used 1/2 cup unsalted butter + 1/2 tsp salt). Actually the recipe called for 3/4 cup, but I thought that was a bit too unhealthy…
• 2 1/2 cup cooking cream (I didn’t have cooking cream, so I substituted with Anchor Whipping Cream)
• 3 tbsp truffle oil (I have a really shitty truffle oil brand though – so I ended up using 6 tbsp so that the smell could waft through more strongly)
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 2/3 cup grated parmesan cheese, to taste
• Salt, to taste (I added around 3 tsp worth of salt!)

STEP BY STEP PROCESS TO COOK TRUFFLE MUSHROOM CREAM PASTA

STEP 1: Cook the chicken

• Cut the chicken into thin strips, then rub in salt, pepper and Five Spice flavoring (the ultimate cheat!). Let it marinade for ~10-15 minutes
• Place a dollop of butter on the skillet and cook the chicken for ~5 minutes, or until it’s fully white with no pink meat showing

Cook the shiitake mushrooms

Shiitake mushrooms are SO good. They epitomize the umami flavor. USE SHIITAKE MUSHROOMS FOR THIS DISH

• Wash your mushrooms. As shiitake mushrooms absorb water very quickly, do not place it in a bowl of water. Instead, wash it by running it under the tap and using your fingers to do a quick scrub of the mushroom, then leave to dry
• Cut off the stalk of the mushroom, then slice the mushroom lengthwise into strips. Some people don’t use the stalk of the mushroom because the texture is a bit different, but honestly – just use them all!

• On your skillet, add the shiitake mushrooms, 2 tbsp sesame oil, and 4 tbsp light soy sauce into the pan. Sauté for ~3 minutes or until the mushrooms are soft.

• Once done cooking, transfer to a separate plate to cool

STEP 2: Cook the pasta

• Fill your pot with water, then cover and leave to boil. I usually fill it up halfway only (of course, this depends on your pot size and how much pasta you’re cooking), as I find that having too much water means it takes MUCH longer for the water to boil…
• Once the pot of water starts boiling up (as evidenced by the bubbles), put in the uncooked pasta. I generally snap the pasta into two first before putting in, as really long strands of pasta annoy me. Add a pinch of salt and oil. The salt will flavor the pasta (without being overpowering) and also helps reduce the gelation of the starch in the pasta (aka to make sure your pasta doesn’t stick together). Cover the pot again, and leave cooking for ~8-10 minutes, or until al dente
• Once cooked, pour out the pasta onto a strainer, and make sure to capture the pasta water. The pasta water is the secret to ensure your creamy sauce will stick to your pasta later on

• Wash the paste (in the strainer) under cold water to quickly cool down the pasta. This effectively stops the cooking process (you want your pasta to remain al dente), as well as ensures your pasta doesn’t stick to each other as it “cools”

STEP 3: Cook the truffle cream pasta

• Melt the 1/2 cup salted butter in the heated pan. Once melted, add 2 1/2 cups of cooking cream (or in my case, whipping cream), the 3 tbsp truffle oil (or more), and the 1/2 cup chicken stock. Stir well.

• Continue stirring until the cream sauce is simmering (you’ll know it’s simmering when (a) you notice the sauce has actually mixed together, and you no longer notice buttery bits, and (b) when you see small bubbles)

• Once the sauce is simmering, toss in the cooked pasta and mix well

• Add the 2/3 cup grated parmesan cheese + the cooked chicken + the cooked shiitake mushrooms, all of which add additional flavor to your pasta. Mix well. Taste test and add more salt if needed

STEP 4: Bon appetit!