Spaghetti Napolitan

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My husband doesn’t like ketchup very much. So, with J out of town, it’s my chance to make spaghetti Napolitan: spaghetti with ketchup sauce—hardly a typical Italian pasta dish. The recipe comes not from Naples but from Yokohama, Japan. Recipes include mushrooms, peppers, onions, hot dogs, tonkatsu sauce, and ketchup. Sometimes other kinds of sausages, slices of ham, or bacon are used instead of the hot dogs. Sometimes the sauce includes other vegetables such as Eggplant, D, Carrots, Broccoli, And so on.
[no dill, dates, daikon, dandelion, durian, nor dioscorea (yam)]

After World War II, the Hotel New Grand in Yokohama was used by GHQ—apparently there is a room where Douglas MacArthur stayed. The hotel must have cooked some Western-like food for GHQ, and a chef came up with the idea of making spaghetti with ketchup and other bits like ham and green pepper. Tomato sauce might originally be from the Italian city of Naples, and that explains the name, spaghetti napolitan. The recipe spread to ordinary restaurants, and has been popular as a light meal in kissaten (coffee shops), and in homes.

This blog is written by a fellow who eats napolitans almost everyday. He even considers the ancestors of napolitan today! Obsessive? But happy…

He was happily surprised when visiting Korea:
(sorry, poor computer-type translation, but you get the idea?)
“You do not have the chow mein stir-fried with ketchup?”
Ready to be happy ok! Thank you! Neapolitan moment the world is spread chow mein! Yakisoba + wood ear mushrooms + onions + carrots + + + The Neapolitan sprouts shrimp chow mein. Universal form of stability is excellent.

From what I read, it seems that the Japanese consider ketchup a very healthy food, as more of an ingredient than a condiment.

While Heinz is instantly identified in North America with ketchup, camping & backyard barbecues, the brand image of Heinz in Japan is associated with cold nights & cozy families. Why the difference? Because for the Japanese consumer, Heinz is identified with its demi-glace (for beef stew) & white sauce (for casserole), both dishesperceived as comfort food. Even now, after so many years, I have memories of eating casserole around the family table, feeling warmly secure against the cold and darkness outside. So their brand is tied to the concept of “high quality homey comfort food.”

There was a time in the U.S. when ketchup, or catsup, was considered a vegetable by the United States Department of Agriculture. The lasting legacy of that is the spelling of the word ketchup has been standardized among major U.S. food companies.

Ketchup or Catsup?
When Heinz introduced commercial ketchup to American kitchens it became so popular that other manufacturers rushed to catch-up to the ketchup craze. Soon there were Ketchup, Catsup, Catchup, Katsup, Catsip, Cotsup, Kotchup, Kitsip, Catsoup, Katshoup, Katsock, Cackchop, Cornchop, Cotpock, Kotpock, Kutpuck, Kutchpuck and Cutchpuck. All were tomato based and bottled and vied to become a household word. Only 3 major brands remained to steal the spotlight…Heinz Ketchup, Del Monte Catsup, and Hunts, who could not decide on a spelling and bottled under the names Hunts Catsup (east of the Mississippi), Hunts Ketchup (west of the Mississippi), and Hunts Tomato Cornchops (in Iowa only). In the 1980’s ketchup was declared a vegetable by the government for school lunch menus. Suddenly Del Monte’s Catsup, because of its spelling, was not on the approved list. Shortly afterward Del Monte changed the product’s name to Del Monte Ketchup. So ketchup it is.

“Ketchup” was historically a general term for “sauce” originating in Eastern Asia that was made from mushrooms or fish brine with herbs and spices – it contained no tomatoes. The word “ketchup” is derived from the Chinese Indonesian please read this very informative correction in the comments “kecap manis” – which roughly translated means the brine of pickled fish or shellfish. (As you can see, there is some dispute about the origin of the word.) The original sauce more closely resembled Soy or Worcestershire sauce. I’m not sure if tomato ketchup was used in Japan before the war, but I found an article indicating that tomatoes were grown commercially.

Ichitaro Kanie, Kagome’s founder, first succeeded in cultivating tomatoes in Japan in 1899. His success led to the formation of Kagome Co., Ltd. of Japan (Kagome Japan.) From Kanie-san’s humble tomato garden has grown a company that is now the largest producer of tomato products in Japan. And no longer just a tomato company, Kagome Japan has expanded its product line to include a range of fruit and vegetable products, beverages, microwavable meals, and pro-biotic drinks, all of which follow the company’s mission to provide foods that are close to nature.

And this article from a newspaper about some Japanese people living in New Zealand: (text version)

The Bruce Herald was published at Milton from 1864 to 1971. It was one of New Zealand’s longest running country newspapers.
…Dinner is served under the name of Shiroo-Meshi at one o’clock, and consists of a goodly variety of dishes, from boiled rice to broiled fish served with ketchup or soy. …

Spaghetti Napolitan
Japanese version of Spaghetti and Tomato Sauce
serves 2-3

• 6 oz. dry spaghetti (cappellini or thin spaghetti)
• 4 wiener sausages (hot dogs)
• 1 large sweet pepper (I used ½ pablano and ½ cubano peppers)
• 6 button mushrooms
• 2 Tbs. butter
• ½ medium onion
• Salt and pepper
• ½ cup ketchup (Heinz)
• 2 Tbs. heavy cream (I used 3 Tablespoons of half and half)

Cook the spaghetti, in salted vigorously boiled water. For a more authentic Japanese version boil the pasta a bit softer than al denté. But if you are planning to microwave some of this for lunch, then don’t overcook, Microwave re-heating is no friend to pasta!
Drain, but leave a little of the pasta water with the noodles. Mix with 1 Tablespoon butter. Keep warm by covering the pot.
Slice the hot dogs diagonally into oval pieces.
Cut the pepper into ¼-inch by 2-inch pieces.
Slice the mushrooms.
Chop the onion medium fine.
Add 1 Tablespoon butter to a large skillet or heavy bottomed pot. Or a wok. When the butter melts over medium heat, add the onion and cook until the onion is translucent. Add the peppers. Stir and fry for about 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and stir and fry until they are soft. Add the ketchup and let it get hot. (If the sauce seems thick (or ungenerous), add a spoonful of water.) Turn the heat to low, and add the cream. Stir. Then add the spaghetti. Stir to heat.
Serve.
Note that I put the sauce on top of the plain noodles in my pictures. That was because I planned to have a bonus lunch from this cooking-for-one makes 2 recipe. For my lunch I mixed sauce and spaghetti together. The pasta got softer, and the flavors blended.

Also note that I personally did not like this recipe. I HATE green peppers…
otherwise, I’d say you should try this!!!

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