Last night some of us in Oakhouse Kichijoji 2 had a small pasta party. I cooked one of my favorite “penne all’arrabbiata”, which is a spicy tomato sauce pasta. 4 housemates including the one living in Kichijoji 3 joined and we shared the food.
Taka, the guy on the right is actually my coworker who has been working with me for a couple of years now. and he is the one who told me about Kichijoji 2. Thomas recently moved in the house and looking for a job in Japan.
While cooking, I found something very interesting. When a tomato sauce is too sour, add salt. It sounds like counterintuitive but it really worked. salt turns sourness into something else and it was good.
I’ve been working on this tomato sauce for many years now. The research has been on and off but I think I’ve reached the point that I’m fairly happy with the quality. The ingredients of the tomato sauce are, onions, celery, and carrots. Chili peppers and garlic is what I add when I mix the tomato sauce and olive oil at the end of the cooking stage. I added my favorite smoked bacon from Hokkaido to flavor it up. Last but not the least, a hint of fresh basil from the front yard makes a big difference.