Name: Filipino Spaghetti
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Filipino
Ingredients: 400 g spaghetti; 300 g pork mince; 4 hot dogs, about 200 g, sliced; 1 onion, about 150 g, chopped; 3 cloves garlic, crushed; 400 g tomato sauce; 100 g banana ketchup; 1 tbsp sugar; 100 g cheddar, grated; ½ tsp salt

Filipino Spaghetti

Spaghetti in a sweet banana ketchup and tomato sauce with sliced hot dogs, minced pork and cheese.

40 min total Serves 6 servings Easy

The Case for Filipino Spaghetti

Spaghetti, banana ketchup, sliced hot dogs and pork mince: four things that look odd together and make a loved party dish. It is sweet by design, closer to a sauce for children than an Italian ragu.

Brown the pork and sliced hot dogs together until the fat renders and the edges colour. Fry the onion and garlic with them, then add the tomato sauce, banana ketchup and a little sugar. Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring now and then, until the sauce is thick and glossy. Taste it before the pasta goes in. It should be sweet first and savoury after.

Boil the spaghetti until just soft, drain and toss through the sauce. Top with a thick layer of grated cheese that melts into the heat.

It feeds a crowd and holds well on a buffet. Banana ketchup is sold in Asian shops, and regular tomato ketchup is the nearest substitute.

What Goes With It

Garlic bread
Fried chicken
Green salad
Fruit salad

Sides from the same cuisine on this site: Ginisang Munggo, Sinangag.

Making Filipino Spaghetti, Step by Step

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Fry the pork and hot dogs in a wide pan for 8 minutes until browned.
Add the onion and garlic for 4 minutes until soft.
Stir in the tomato sauce, banana ketchup, sugar and salt and simmer for 15 minutes until thick.
Meanwhile boil the spaghetti for 10 minutes and drain.
Toss the spaghetti through the sauce and top with the cheese.

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Worth Knowing Before You Cook

Brown the meat before the sauce goes in.

Taste the sauce for sweetness.

Stir the pasta through the sauce hot.

Add the cheese last so it melts on top.

Swaps and Variations

An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the stand-in usually given when you are out of fresh garlic; it will not brown the same way, and it burns easily, so add it with the liquid.

Keeping What's Left

Keeps in the fridge for 3 days. Reheat with a splash of water.