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Filipino Spaghetti
How To Make Filipino Spaghetti
Background
While it might sound blasphemous to pasta connoisseurs to add sugar and
ketchup to a pasta sauce, it’s a beloved dish in the Philippines. Thanks
to American colonization in the Philippines in the late 1800s, Filipinos
were introduced to a myriad of American products, like hot dogs and
ketchup. There’s a rumor that Filipino spaghetti was created due to the
influence of General Douglas MacArthur during World War II. In Japan,
MacArthur ate Spaghetti Neapolitan, which has ketchup as an ingredient.
Ingredients
Sauce
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 medium yellow onion chopped
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 1 lb ground pork
- 16 fl oz canned tomato sauce
- 4 fl oz banana ketchup
- 1 tbsp dark brown sugar
- ½ tbsp fish sauce
- 5 hot dogs sliced on a bias
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ¼ tsp salt
Spaghetti
- 1 lb dried spaghetti
- 10 c filtered water for boiling spaghetti
- 2 tsp salt
Optional
- Velveeta or cheddar cheese
Instructions
Spaghetti noodles
-
In a large pot, add the water and bring to a boil over medium high heat.
Add the salt and stir until dissolved. Add the dried spaghetti and
follow instructions on the box to cook. This could take anywhere between
8-15 minutes depending on the pasta brand.
-
Test your spaghetti by tasting one strand, it should be cooked
throughout without any opaqueness in the center, but still slightly
firm.
-
Strain the pasta from the boiling water, reserving some of this water in
case you need it to thin the sauce, and set the pasta aside. Do not
rinse the pasta.
Filipino spaghetti sauce
-
In a large pan over medium heat, add the vegetable oil and the onion.
Saute the onion for 3-5 minutes or until translucent.
- Add the garlic and saute until fragrant or about 30 seconds.
-
Add the ground pork and cook for about 5-7 minutes or until the meat is
completely browned.
-
Add the tomato sauce, banana ketchup, fish sauce, and the dark brown
sugar and stir until combined with the meat mixture. Bring the mixture
to a boil and then lower to medium low heat and continue to cook for 5
minutes to slightly thicken the sauce.
- Add the hot dogs and continue to cook for another 5 minutes.
-
Taste test the sauce and add salt and black pepper, adjust to your
preference.
- You have the option of adding cheese on top too.
-
Add the spaghetti on a plate and ladle on the sauce. Serve immediately.
Finished Product