Japanese Spaghetti Meat Sauce (スパゲッティミートソース)

Spaghetti meat sauce is one of the most popular pasta dishes in Japan. El dente spaghetti topped with ground meat, onions, carrots and celery all coated in a deliciously sweet tomato sauce. There's a good reason why kids love it!

What Is Spaghetti Meat Sauce?

Japanese spaghetti meat sauce is very similar to Italian bolognese, there's no doubt that the ingredients and flavours were inspired by bolognese.

But in true Japanese style, the taste has been adjusted to suit the Japanese pallet. So, what are the main differences?

1. Spaghetti meat sauce is a lot sweeter

First difference is spaghetti meat sauce is a lot sweeter than bolognese.

It usually uses tomato ketchup and sugar, and because of that, Japanese kids love spaghetti meat sauce more than adults.

2. It uses a lot of tomatoes

As far as I know, spaghetti meat sauce uses more tomatoes (specifically tinned tomatoes) and the sauce tends to be less meaty than bolognese sauce as well.

So more tomatoes, less meat. This contributes to the sweetness.

3. Spaghetti meat sauce always uses spaghetti

True bolognese in Bologne uses tagliatelle pasta right? But spaghetti meat sauce is always made with regular spaghetti.

4. Usually not mixed with sauce

Another thing is, spaghetti meat sauce is actually not mixed together when served.

This means that the spaghetti is served with the meat sauce on top of it, not mixed.

And I believe that's not common thing to do in Italy right?

Ingredients

Even though there are differences, the ingredients to make the spaghetti meat sauce are very similar to spaghetti bolognese.

Spaghetti meat sauce uses:

• Mince meat
• Tinned tomatoes
• Celery
• Onion
• Garlic...etc

It's Similar To Spaghetti Bolognese in England?

So I lived in England for a long time and I've seen a lot of English families make bolognese there too.

In my opinion though, this Japanese spaghetti meat sauce is very similar to the bolognese that I saw in England rather than the ones you might see in Italy.

Check out the video "How to make Spaghetti Meat Sauce"

White T-Shirt VS. Meat Sauce

There's a funny thing about spaghetti meat sauce.

I mentioned earlier that spaghetti meat sauce is a favourite dish amongst kids, right?

When you are in Japan, you might encounter some kids wearing a white t-shirt with a big orange stain on the front. Here's the thing, when you eat spaghetti meat sauce as a kid, for some reason, you'd always be wearing a white t-shirt.

Why? No one knows. That's how the universe works it seems.

It pretty much guaranteed.

And trust me, you will never learn, even if you get told off by your mum as well. It's like some kinda rebellion, even though we probably didn't know we'd be eating meat sauce that day.

Kids always happen to wear white t-shirts when they're taking on some risky activity (Like eating spaghetti meat sauce haha).

Is it the same in your country?

Step by step recipe

Japanese Spaghetti Meat Sauce (スパゲッティミートソース)

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• Author: Yuto Omura
• Total Time: 30 minutes
• Yield: 3 Portions 1x

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Description

How to make Japanese Style Spaghetti Meat Sauce. A quick and deliciously sweet sauce made with ground meat, onions, carrots, celery and tomatoes served on top of perfectly cooked el dente spaghetti. 

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 240g Dry spaghetti
• ½ White onion
• ¼ Carrot (25g)
• ¼ Stick of celery (50g)
• 1 Garlic clove
• 1 Tin of Tomatoes (400g)
• 1 tbsp Butter
• 150g Minced meat (beef or beef/pork mixture)
• 1 tbsp Red wine
• 2 tbsp Ketchup
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp Black pepper
• 1 tsp Sugar
• ½ tsp Oregano
• 1 pinch Nutmeg
• 1 pinch Cinnamon
• 1 Bay leaf
• A sprinkle of parmesan cheese (optional)
• A sprinkle of fresh parsley (optional garnish)

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Instructions

1. First cut your vegetables. Finely dice ½ of a white onion, ¼ of a carrot and and ¼ a stick of celery.
2. Finely dice one garlic clove. 
3. Heat a frying pan on medium and once hot, add 1 tbsp of butter.
   
4. Add the onion, celery, carrot and garlic to the pan and fry until the onion is soft and transparent.
   
5. Next, add the mince meat to the pan and fry until browned.
   
   
6. Pour in 1 tbsp of red wine, 2 tbsp ketchup, 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce and 1 tsp pepper.
   
7. Mix together and add one tin of tomatoes (400g) as well as 1 tsp sugar, 1 bay leaf and ½ a tsp oregano.
   
8. Simmer on a low heat until reduced by half.
   
9. While it's simmering, cook 240g of dry pasta (for 3 portions) in about 2 litres of boiling water with a pinch of salt.
   
10. When the meat sauce is reduced, remove the bay leaf and add a small pinch of nutmeg and cinnamon. Mix well.
    
11. Drain the spaghetti and dish up. Using a ladle or spoon, pour the meat sauce on top of the spaghetti. It should be a little thick and just sit on top.
    
12. Sprinkle some cheese and parsley (optional) and serve.
    
13. Enjoy!

Notes

The alcohol in the wine is cooked off during the process so it's safe for kids to eat.

If you prefer not to use wine, you can substitute for an equal amount of grape, pomegranate or cranberry juice.

• Prep Time: 5 mins
• Cook Time: 25
• Category: Pasta
• Method: Fry
• Cuisine: Italian / Japanese

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