In addition to coffee, tea and an assortment of drinks, the Japanese coffee shops usually serve common western style foods adapted to the Japanese palette. One of these is the Spaghetti Neapolitan. So, after all these years I looked up Neapolitan pasta and on Wikipedia found that the Neapolitan sauce is basically a tomato sauce. However, in Japan this dish is basically pasta and ketchup. That does not sound appetizing, but if prepared in the following way it is actually quite tasty.
Spaghetti Neapolitan
Ingredients:
- cooked spaghetti
- sliced onions
- thinly sliced ham
- sliced green pepper
- ketchup
- granulated chicken stock
- salt/pepper to taste
Method:
In a frying pan, add enough oil to coat pan and heat. Fry onions until translucent, then add green onions and ham. When cooked add the cooked spaghetti and fry it all together. Then generously squeeze the ketchup over all the ingredients, add chicken stock, salt and pepper and blend it together. It makes a quick, simple and cheap meal – good for college students!
I thought only the Japanese ate pasta and ketchup but last year my son went to France on a three week exchange program and stayed with a French family in Nantes. He said he was given a bowl of hot pasta and there was grated cheese and ketchup on the table. Not knowing what to do, he decided to observed and copy his French host. All he did was squeeze the ketchup on his pasta, sprinkled cheese and mixed away. So, now we know, the French enjoy it too! Bon Appetite!
Photo: Pixabay
