What Makes The Greatest Spaghetti?

Well the answer could be many but having had the dish all over the world, some from highly-starred chefs – I think I have a clue.

I have seen people from many countries exclaim how delightful Filipino style is.  So what makes?  Two things among so many:  the presence of hot dogs (also called wieners) and the addition of sugar to counter the acridity of tomato sauce.  The outcome?  The most delectable spaghetti which will make you wanting for more.   

I tried doing one on my own, even using packaged Filipino style spaghetti sauce, but it was lackluster.  But this time, I used 2 cups of canned crushed tomatoes with a tablespoon of tomato catsup, a tablespoon of brown sugar, a teaspoon of salt, and a cup of meat broth.

To this red sauce, I added ½ cup of sautéed garlic (more if you wish), 1 cup of caramelized onion, 2 cups of lightly-oiled toasted red bell pepper, 2 tablespoons of dried oregano, and a tablespoon of dried basil, lots of ground black pepper.

Brown sugar on the bigger spoon then salt then black pepper on the plate

Of course, by this time you are already boiling your spaghetti noodles al dente.

In a separate pan, brown around 2 cups of ground beef (spiced with 2 tablespoon of garlic powder) until dry and crunchy.  Decant the watery fluid released at the start while heating the meat - you can pour this into the noodle pot to add taste, or later mixed with the red sauce.   

Already pre-cut into half-inches, fry the six or more hotdogs (Philippine-made are vivacious) or wieners (Grimm’s European available at Costco is an alternative).  Then drop both well-cooked ground beef and hot dogs into the red sauce.  

Doing above separate steps of cooking the meats will give a pleasing animated texture countering the inherent snooze of noodles.

For all frying above, I used 100% avocado oil.

Of course, by this time you are already boiling your spaghetti noodles al dente.

Serve with grated cheese on top – either parmesan or cheddar or mozzarella strips or any hard/semi-firm cheese of your preference.

As a coup-de-grace, lightly smother the dish with light olive oil and/or dribble hot sauce – I used Frank’s RedHot.  A hit with non-Filipino guests who had seconds and thirds until gone.