“J-Simple Recipes” is the abbreviation for “Japanese Simple Recipes.”
We explain Japanese recipes you can easily cook, as well as typical meals, foodstuffs & table manners.

J-Simple Recipes title

Japanese Food Tips

Napolitan Spaghetti (Fried Spaghetti with Ketchup)

March 23, 2020

Our Napolitan spaghetti

Our Napolitan spaghetti

Napolitan spaghetti cooked from retorts sauce

Napolitan spaghetti cooked from retorts sauce

Cooked frozen Napolitan spaghetti

Cooked frozen Napolitan spaghetti

Napolitan spaghetti is cooked by frying bacon (ham or sausage), onions, and green peppers in oil in a frying pan, adding boiled spaghetti and ketchup, and then frying some more. Many Japanese sprinkle grated cheese or tabasco sauce over it. This fried ketchup spaghetti dish is unique to Japan. It seems that one chef of a Japanese hotel invented it in the 1940s based upon American spaghetti with meatballs. There are various theories about the origin of the name, but one of them seems to be because spaghetti was eaten with tomato sauce first in Naples around the 17th and 18th centuries. By the way, this Napolitan spaghetti is not eaten in Naples. In Japan, Napolitan spaghetti is served in home cooking and at restaurants, and is also sold at supermarkets and convenience stores. Recently, Napolitan spaghetti sauce kits are sold in retorts, and it's easy to make by simply boiling the kit and then pouring the sauce over the cooked spaghetti. There is also frozen Napolitan spaghetti, and it can be prepared just by heating in the microwave. If you are interested in Napolitan spaghetti, try cooking our recipe.

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