Filipino spaghetti
{{short description|Filipino adaptation of spaghetti bolognese}}
{{Unreliable sources|date=November 2024}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2022}}
{{Use Philippine English|date=October 2022}}
{{Infobox food
| name = Filipino spaghetti
| image = File:Filipino Spaghetti 2.0.jpg
| image_size = 250px
| caption = Filipino spaghetti with hot dogs and cheese
| alternate_name = Sweet spaghetti
| type = Pasta
| country = Philippines
| region =
| course = Main dish
| served = Hot
| main_ingredient = Spaghetti, tomato sauce, tomato paste, banana ketchup, brown sugar or condensed milk, giniling, hot dogs, cheese
| variations =
| similar_dish =
| calories =
| other =
}}
Filipino spaghetti (also known as sweet spaghetti) is a Filipino adaptation of Italian spaghetti with Bolognese sauce. It has a distinctively sweet sauce, usually made from tomato sauce sweetened with brown sugar, banana ketchup, or condensed milk. It is typically topped with sliced hot dogs or smoked longganisa sausages, giniling (ground meat), and grated cheese. It is regarded as a comfort food in Philippine cuisine. It is typically served on almost any special occasion, especially on children's birthdays.{{cite news |last1=Halpern |first1=Sue |last2=McKibben |first2=Bill |title=Filipino Cuisine Was Asian Fusion Before "Asian Fusion" Existed |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/filipino-cuisine-asian-fusion-180954947/ |access-date=December 16, 2018 |work=Smithsonian Magazine |publisher=Smithsonian Institution |date=May 2015 |archive-date=September 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210926133901/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/filipino-cuisine-asian-fusion-180954947/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=Filipino-style Spaghetti |url=https://www.kawalingpinoy.com/filipino-style-spaghetti/ |website=Kawaling Pinoy |date=March 13, 2017 |access-date=December 16, 2018 |archive-date=June 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210617063930/https://www.kawalingpinoy.com/filipino-style-spaghetti/ |url-status=live }}
Origins
The dish is believed to date back to the period between the 1940s and the 1960s. During the American Commonwealth Period, a shortage of tomato supplies in World War II forced the local development of banana ketchup.{{cite news |last1=Estrella |first1=Serna |title=The Origins of Sweet Spaghetti: A Closer Look at the Filipino Sweet Tooth |url=http://www.pepper.ph/history-sweet-spaghetti/ |access-date=December 16, 2018 |work=Pepper.ph |date=July 30, 2014 |archive-date=March 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220307115408/https://pepper.ph/history-sweet-spaghetti/ |url-status=live }} Spaghetti with Bolognese sauce was introduced by the Americans and was tweaked to suit the local Filipino predilection for sweet dishes.{{cite web |title=How to make Sweet Filipino Spaghetti with Meat Sauce |url=https://www.asianinamericamag.com/2012/10/filipino-spaghetti-with-meat-sauce-how-to-eat-sweet-spaghetti/ |website=Asian in America |date=October 23, 2012 |access-date=December 16, 2018 |archive-date=July 20, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190720152423/https://www.asianinamericamag.com/2012/10/filipino-spaghetti-with-meat-sauce-how-to-eat-sweet-spaghetti/ |url-status=live }}
Description
File:Spaghetti Filipino Recipe.jpg (ground meat) and grated cheese]]
Filipino spaghetti is relatively cheap and easy to make, which is part of the reason for its popularity. First, minced garlic and onions are sautéed in oil in a large pan until they caramelize. The giniling (ground meat) is added and cooked until it is brown. The sliced hot dogs are then added, though it can be replaced with other processed meat like smoked longganisa sausages, ham, Vienna sausages, meatballs, luncheon meat, Spam, or corned beef.{{cite web |title=Filipino Sweet-Style Spaghetti |url=https://www.spoonfulofbutter.com/filipino-style-spaghetti/ |website=Spoonful of Butter |access-date=December 16, 2018 |archive-date=April 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411012006/https://spoonfulofbutter.com/filipino-style-spaghetti/ |url-status=dead }} It is cooked for a few more minutes before the tomato sauce and tomato paste mixture is poured into the pan. Beef stock, mushroom soup, or evaporated milk may also be added. This is sweetened with a bit of banana ketchup or brown sugar, and spiced to taste with salt and black pepper. Other common sweeteners include condensed milk, syrup, or even carbonated soft drinks.{{cite web |title=Spaghetti with Condensed Milk |url=http://www.panlasangpinoymeatrecipes.com/spaghetti-condensed-milk-sauce.htm |website=Panlasang Pinoy Meaty Recipes |access-date=December 17, 2018 |archive-date=June 23, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210623022048/https://www.panlasangpinoymeatrecipes.com/spaghetti-condensed-milk-sauce.htm |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=Just Like Jollibee Spaghetti Recipe |url=https://jollibeepricemenu.com.ph/spaghatti-menu/ |url-status=unfit |archive-url=http://www.pinoythinking.com/2013/08/making-jollibee-recipe-spaghetti-procedures.html |archive-date=Jan 25, 2025 |access-date=Jan 25, 2025 |website=Jollibee Price Menu}} It is boiled until it reduces to the right consistency.{{cite news |last1=Lee |first1=Sue |title=Sweet and tangy Filipino spaghetti |url=https://www.guampdn.com/story/news/local/bayanihan/2017/04/01/sweet-and-tangy-filipino-spaghetti/99440394/ |access-date=December 16, 2018 |work=Pacific Daily News |date=April 1, 2017 |archive-date=March 31, 2024 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240331131700/https://www.guampdn.com/news/local/sweet-and-tangy-filipino-spaghetti/article_6dc3bb17-d750-5f96-8ca5-25d6131de5b8.html |url-status=live }} Some people use store-bought spaghetti sauce as the base for convenience that, in the Philippines, may already be sold in Filipino-style flavors.{{cite web |last1=Merano |first1=Vanjo |title=Filipino Spaghetti Recipe |url=https://panlasangpinoy.com/2015/05/24/filipino-style-spaghetti/ |website=Panlasang Pinoy |date=May 24, 2015 |access-date=December 16, 2018 |archive-date=May 27, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150527205757/http://panlasangpinoy.com/2015/05/24/filipino-style-spaghetti |url-status=live }}
The spaghetti pasta noodles are almost always store-bought. They are cooked usually to al dente consistency. They may be added directly to the sauce and pre-mixed, or served separately with a large amount of sauce poured over them. Grated or cubed cheese (usually cheddar) is added before serving, though sometimes the cheese is infused in the sauce or melted over the pasta.
Other ingredients that may be added to the sauce include finely minced red and green bell peppers and carrots.{{cite web |title=Filipino Spaghetti |url=https://pinchofyum.com/filipino-spaghetti |website=Pinch of Yum |date=August 22, 2013 |access-date=December 16, 2018 |archive-date=December 13, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201213055059/https://pinchofyum.com/filipino-spaghetti |url-status=live }}
Cultural significance
File:Tanauan,Batangasjf8695 02.JPG]]
Filipino spaghetti has great cultural significance for Filipinos as a comfort food. It is almost always served on special occasions, especially on children's birthdays.{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}
Filipino spaghetti is offered by fast-food chains in the Philippines. It is part of the regular menu of the Filipino chain Jollibee, as well as the Philippine branches of McDonald's and KFC, among others.
In Nueva Ecija, a similar but distinct dish to Filipino spaghetti is bangus spaghetti, which is made from native milkfish, called bangus in the native language.{{cite web |title=9 unique eats in Nueva Ecija |url=https://news.abs-cbn.com/life/03/05/17/9-unique-eats-in-nueva-ecija |website=ABS-CBNnews.com |date=2017-03-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230624053650/https://news.abs-cbn.com/life/03/05/17/9-unique-eats-in-nueva-ecija |archive-date=2023-06-24 |url-status=live |last1=Santos |first1=Kara}}
See also
{{Portal|Food|Philippines}}
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
- Barbecue spaghetti
- Cincinnati chili, another example of a fusion-cuisine spaghetti dish
- Haitian spaghetti, another fusion-cuisine spaghetti dish
- Baasto, Somali word for pasta, with some dishes being eaten with a banana
- Embutido
- Menudo (stew)
- Naporitan, a similar dish from Japan
- Hawaiian pizza
- Pancit
- Sopas
- SpaghettiOs
{{div col end}}
References
[https://jollibeepricemenu.com.ph/spaghatti-menu/ Jollibee spaghetti]{{Reflist|30em}}{{Philippine cuisine}}
{{Pasta dishes|state=expanded}}