Filipinos are the most ingenious when it comes to adopting a foreign dish to suit the local palate. Take the case of spaghetti for example. Though it has some serious Italian influences, you’d be hard-pressed to find spaghetti on the menu in restaurants in Italy. Just as the Americans have added meatballs to come up with ‘spaghetti and meatballs,’ we, too, have given spaghetti our own spin. We called it our very own Filipino-Style or Pinoy-Style Spaghetti!
So what exactly is Filipino-Style Spaghetti? Unlike its American (and Italian?) counterpart, Filipino-Style spaghetti is distinctively sweet. And our answer to meatballs? Tender, juicy hotdogs, the red ones in particular. Sweet, cheesy, and meaty – that’s how we like it in the Philippines.
99% of birthday parties in the Philippines will probably have spaghetti on the menu so you can bet your bottom dollar that it will show up on the dinner table for Noche Buena as well. All the major fast food restaurants and the carinderias serve spaghetti to their customers and every Filipino household has their own recipe for spaghetti. If the dizzying array of Pinoy spaghetti recipes does not discombobulate you, I don’t know what else will. However, it gets especially more popular during Christmas that even the government has to monitor the prices of spaghetti ingredients every year. Crazy, huh? When I was a kid, I was given the all important task of prepping the ingredients. From cutting the onions to grating the cheese, I graduated to actually sautéing the meat and making the sauce. I still have great memories of those times. Looking back, I think it’s those memories that made me love cooking.
This recipe…
I can’t remember the exact recipe that we used back then but we settled on this version (with slight modifications) a few years back. This version is definitely my favorite. There’s plenty of sauce (more than double the weight of the pasta) and it’s very cheesy (half a block of cheese was mixed into the sauce). Some people use banana ketchup for the sauce. I haven’t tried using banana ketchup yet since we always made ours with spaghetti and tomato sauces. Filipino Style spaghetti sauce can be readily bought from the supermarkets but if you can’t find one, just adjust the amount of sugar accordingly. You can save some of the hotdog slices and the grated cheese to put as toppings for the spaghetti later. They make for a killer (and delicious) presentation in any party. I can’t wait to make this for Christmas!
filipino style spaghetti
Ingredients
- 2 tbsps oil
- 1 large onion sliced
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 6 hotdogs sliced thinly
- 500 grams minced beef
- 400 grams spaghetti boiled as per package instruction and drained
- 3 250 gram packs Sweet or Filipino style spaghetti sauce
- 3 250 gram packs tomato sauce
- 1 150 gram pack tomato paste
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
- sugar to taste
- 180 grams cheddar cheese grated
Instructions
- In a large casserole, heat the oil over medium heat.
- Once the oil is hot enough, sauté the onion and the garlic until the onion is translucent.
- Add the hotdogs and sauté for a few minutes, until the hotdogs are lightly browned.
- Add the minced beef and cook until the beef loses its pink color.
- Add the spaghetti sauce, tomato sauce, and tomato paste. Mix well until combined.
- Season with salt and pepper. Add sugar by the tablespoonful, adjusting the sweetness to your taste.
- Cover and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add half of the cheese to the sauce and simmer for a few minutes or until the cheese melts.
- Turn off the heat. Add the spaghetti and mix until the strands are covered with the sauce.
- Transfer to a large plate. Top with cheese and hotdog slices before serving.
Video
Notes
If you are adding the cheese to the sauce, you may want to hold off adding the salt until after the cheese is mixed in. Cheddar can be salty, and you don’t want to add to much salt to the sauce.
You can also add some diced bell peppers to add a bit of spice.
About Filipino Style Spaghetti
Filipino Style Spaghetti is an easy, yet tasty way to prepare pasta. The ingredients are simple: Pasta, Sauce, Ground beef, and cheese. You can even use your favorite cheese! Just make sure to read the recipe instructions carefully to make sure your spaghetti is made the right way. In this article, I’ll cover the sauce and ground beef, and also share my own tips for cooking Filipino Style Spaghetti. Read on to learn how to make Filipino Style Spaghetti in your own kitchen!
Pasta
One of the great things about Filipino-style spaghetti is its versatility. The sauce is made from a mixture of tomato and soy sauce and can be enhanced with various spices and flavors. Filipino-style spaghetti is one of the most popular dishes in the Philippines. Its sweet, sticky taste will definitely bring a smile to your face. And if you want to add some extra spice to the mix, try adding some sugar. You’ll never go wrong with this dish.
Sauce
If you are looking for a new way to prepare spaghetti, consider trying a Filipino style sauce. This sauce is made with banana ketchup, condensed milk, and liver spread. While the ingredients are not exactly the same, you can still find a few familiar flavors in it. For example, you can use cheese in place of the traditional cheddar. It is also possible to use cheese that is not flavored with milk, such as queso de bola or Edam cheese.
Ground beef
The Philippine Style Spaghetti Recipe is one of the most popular foods in the Philippines. This spicy and sweet dish always includes hot dogs, Vienna sausage, ground beef, and banana ketchup. The spaghetti itself is made from lean ground pork and ground beef. It is also flavored with laurel leaves and bell pepper. Finally, it has a cup of water. Once the ingredients are mixed together, the spaghetti is ready to eat!
Cheese
The Filipino version of spaghetti is similar to the Italian spaghetti with Bolognese sauce, but is distinctly sweet. Instead of tomato sauce, it is often sweetened with banana ketchup or brown sugar. Spaghetti is usually topped with smoked longganisa sausages, giniling, and grated cheese. While the sauce may be sweet, Filipinos typically don’t eat it plain.
Onion
The Filipino style of spaghetti sauce is a tasty choice for a delicious family dinner. While you can use any kind of grated cheese, cheddar is the most common. Quickmelt cheeses and Edam cheese also work well. In this recipe, the shredded parmesan cheese is added in the last five minutes of cooking. The shredded cheese gives the Filipino spaghetti the perfect seasoning. You can even try a little bit of dried oregano for a more authentic flavor.
Garlic
This classic Filipino dish can be prepared easily and can feed large numbers. You can serve this spaghetti with a side of garlic bread or a green salad. The sauce is so tasty that it can even be eaten as a snack. Before cooking, you should make sure that you have everything you need to make this dish. The meat sauce should be stored separately in an airtight container. You can keep it fresh for three days or freeze it for two months.
Portobello mushrooms
If you love a savory and flavorful sauce, you will love the Filipino Style Spaghetti with Portobella mushrooms. This recipe is delicious and is full of healthy ingredients, including red pepper, cucumber, and portobello mushrooms. The sauce is made with two cups of tomato sauce and 2 tablespoons of sugar. To add a bit of sweetness, mix in banana ketchup before simmering the pasta.
