sweet surrender

I wanted a fancy dish to kick start the new year. Something sweet and divine perhaps, or something rich and savory.  Well that was the plan but then again work and life got in the way.   

So I was sitting at my desk when I received an email from my daughter.  She sent me pictures of what she had for lunch.  She took the photos just before devouring the spaghetti I prepared for her that morning.  

Mom you should blog about this... Filipino spaghetti is the bomb!

My husband chimed in, "When I was a kid I loved the spaghetti at Makati Supermarket, it was so sweet with very little meat and I had to add extra ketchup, but as a child I thought it was the best.", he reminisced.

"Then the sweet taste is distinctively Pinoy", my daughter added.

It sounds foreign indeed, but yeah we Pinoys have our own version of our spaghetti.  And you'll be surprised with some of the ingredients included.

My conversations with my daughter reminded me of a commercial I heard over the radio in my hometown some years back.  The radio ad for a new Chinese restaurant blared :  "Leng-lengs's Chinese Restaurant, It's authentic Chinese cuisine... try our spaghetti!"

Authentic what? Spaghetti?  Really?  I know the Italians got noodles from China, but Chinese noodles use rice flour.  And in tomato sauce??  Really?  

Before I digress further, let me share with you what my daughter said is a must-try Filipino food.  And yeah it prompted me to include it as my first post of the year, forget fancy, forget gourmet cooking, I just loved the idea that my daughter took time to plate the dish the way I wanted it to be, and to take photos of it just the way I do.

Filipino Spaghetti ala Jollibee

Ingredients:

1/2 lb ground pork

1/2 lb ground beef

5 pcs hot dog, sliced diagonally

1 packet of deli salami, sliced (you could also substitute it with other deli meats like pastrami)

1 c diced ham

1 large can tomato sauce

1 cup banana ketchup

1/2 c pineapple juice or juice from a jar of pickles (cucumber)

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 bulb onion, chopped

bay leaf

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 c brown sugar (if you want it sweeter, you may add more)

broth

Directions:

Saute the beef and pork with garlic and onions in a pan.  Add  black pepper and bay leaf.  Stir until golden brown or when the mixture is almost dry.  This may take about 5 - 10 minutes

Add the tomato sauce and ketchup. Add a cup of beef broth and let it simmer on low heat.  Make sure to stir it so you won't burn the bottom.  

Add the hotdogs, ham and salami.  Let it simmer and allow all the flavors to fuse.  Pour the pineapple juice or juice from pickled relish. Add sugar, salt and pepper to taste. 

Pour it over a bowl of cooked spaghetti noodles.  Grate some cheddar cheese on top... voila, that's Filipino Spaghetti for you.. it's sweet and tangy... you'll love it and that's a promise!

watch my you tube posting on HOW TO MAKE SPAGHETTI ALA JOLLIBEE here: