It could send an Italian into a coma but soup pasta isn’t Italian and that’s exactly why it works in Japan.

First reaction – shock (cit)

“You should have a look at it,” my Japanese friend told me, saying soup pasta would be the “next maritozzo”. 

As an Italian, when I first typed “soup pasta” into Google and saw the images I wanted to throw my phone away. My first reaction was the very stereotypical Italian outrage when one of our dishes is turned upside down and denatured. Something very familiar like carbonara or pasta al pomodoro, that we eat since childhood, put under the sink, mixed and enjoyed as if it were even better than the original. Help….

Three Reasons for its popularity 

The more I looked at it, the more expressions of doubt grown on my face.

Then I read an article explaining that rice prices are  rising in Japan pushing consumers to look for alternative staples ( that actually made sense). 

From the analysis another reason for the success it looks is the Instagram effect with the visual appeal of the soup pouring and the steam rising (meh) . 

And finally the dish is apparently good and satisfying ( at least, this is what people say).

Thinking about Japanese culture – Ramen and soup pasta, yoshoku 

If you think about it, soup pasta isn’t that different from ramen, right? It’s a soup with noodles after all. Italian pasta sauces have nothing to do with ramen broth but maybe for Japanese consume the concept might not feel strange at all. 

In Italy, when we say “pasta” as in pasta alla carbonara, we mean the short form of “pastasciutta” , which is pasta + asciutta, literally dry pasta . The word itself implies that it shouldn’t be watery. 

But Japan has a long tradition of adapting Western dishes to local tastes with results that can be exceptional like tempura or anyway national favourites like Naporitan.

Thinking about Italian culture – Italian recipes of soup pasta 

Here is the twist: Italy does have dishes where pasta and soup meet . They don’t look like Japanese soup pasta but they exist. Examples are

• tortellini in brodo: stuffed pasta served in clear broth, almost like gyoza in a soup ( Japanese readers, how does this sound?)
• minestrone with ( a small amount of ) pasta
• Pasta in brodo: broth with small shaped pasta

Final thoughts 

From a purely Italian point of view, this trend still feels strange. 

But considering Japan’s familiarity with ramen culture, rising rice prices, and instagram-driven food trends, soup pasta could absolutely become a hit. 

That said, if you are looking for a “real” Italian pasta soup, try one of the recipes we actually have in Italy. And leave carbonara sauce a sauce instead of a lake.