Napolitan (ナポリタン, ketchup spaghetti)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large pot for boiling spaghetti
• •Wide skillet or frying pan
• •Tongs
• •Warm wide plate, preferably the kissaten-style brown ceramic plate

Instructions

1. 1

   Boil the spaghetti

   Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the spaghetti until just past firm, about one minute longer than the package's al dente timing. Napolitan wants a softer noodle because it will be fried in the skillet and should bend easily into the sauce. Reserve a small cup of the cooking water, then drain well.

   If the noodles will sit for more than a few minutes, toss them with a few drops of oil. Kissaten cooks often work with rested noodles, and that slightly drier surface helps the ketchup cling.
2. 2

   Cook the vegetables

   Heat the oil in a wide skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until it softens and turns translucent at the edges, about three minutes. Add the green pepper, ham, and mushrooms if using, and cook until the pepper smells sweet and the ham edges take on a little color. This short frying wakes up the vegetables and keeps them from tasting raw under the ketchup.

3. 3

   Fry the ketchup

   Push the vegetables and ham to one side of the skillet. Add the ketchup to the bare metal and let it sizzle for thirty to sixty seconds, stirring it in place until it darkens slightly and looks glossy. This is the first secret. Cooking the ketchup drives off its raw acidity and turns it from a condiment into a sauce.

   Don't scorch it. You want a deeper red and a sweet tomato smell, not a brown paste stuck to the pan.
4. 4

   Season the sauce

   Stir the ketchup through the vegetables, then add the Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, and two tablespoons of pasta water. The Worcestershire gives a faint spiced edge, and the soy sauce brings salt without making the dish taste plainly of soy. The pasta water loosens the sauce so it can coat the noodles instead of sitting in clumps.

5. 5

   Toss and gloss

   Add the drained spaghetti and toss with tongs until every strand is coated and the sauce tightens around the noodles, one to two minutes. If the skillet looks dry before the pasta is coated, add another spoonful of pasta water. Turn off the heat and fold in the butter until the noodles shine. Butter last keeps its fragrance and gives the sauce a round finish.

6. 6

   Plate and serve

   Mound the Napolitan with a little height on a warm plate, leaving room around the edge. Grind black pepper over the top and serve with grated cheese and Tabasco at the table. The cheese and Tabasco are not decoration; they are part of the kissaten grammar, added by the eater in the amount that makes the plate their own.

Chef Tips

• •Use the green pepper. Its slight bitterness is what keeps the ketchup from becoming childish, and the color matters on the plate. Red sauce, green pepper, pale onion, pink ham, white cheese: the five-color logic does its quiet work even here.
• •Ham is the standard home choice. Wiener sausages are also common in Japan, sliced on the bias and fried with the vegetables. Bacon changes the dish with smoke and fat, so use it only knowing you've moved away from the usual plate.
• •Cook in a wide skillet, not a small saucepan. Napolitan needs contact with the hot pan so the ketchup fries and the noodles take on the sauce. Crowding turns it into dressed spaghetti, and that's not the same thing.
• •Tabasco belongs on the table. Add it after plating, not in the skillet, so its sharpness stays bright against the sweet sauce.

Advance Preparation

• •The onion, green pepper, ham, and mushrooms can be sliced up to one day ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator.
• •For the kissaten texture, the spaghetti can be boiled a few hours ahead, tossed lightly with oil, cooled, and refrigerated. Bring it near room temperature before frying so it warms evenly in the skillet.
• •Napolitan is best eaten as soon as the butter is folded in. Leftovers keep one day refrigerated, but reheat them in a skillet with a spoonful of water, not in a dry pan.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 410g)