Japanese Ketchup Pasta Recipe
Super easy ketchup pasta recipe also known as Napolitan in Japan is a popular Japanese sweet pasta dish which is popular with the kids. Since it is made with their all time favourite ingredient tomato ketchup. It taste so delicious, and is easy to make.
- 120 grams Spaghetti
- 1 litre Water
- 1 tbsp Salt
- 3 tbsp Olive Oil
- 4 cloves Garlic (peeled & chopped finely)
- 1 large Onions (peeled & sliced thinly)
- 1 medium Green Bell Pepper (sliced)
- ⅔ cup Tomato Ketchup
- 1 tbsp Soy Sauce
- 1 tsp Black Pepper Powder
- 1 tsp Salt (to taste)
- 1 tsp Sugar
- 1 tbsp Butter
- Cooking Pasta - Bring water in a sauce pan to a full boil, add in salt to taste. Add in pasta and cook pasta in salted boiling water as per package directions. Strain through a colander, reserve the pasta cooking liquid which we will use later.
- Saute Aromatics - Heat oil in a pan. Add in garlic and cook on low heat for a minute. Add in sliced onions into the garlic and saute for a minute. Now add in bell peppers and stir fry for couple of minutes.
- Make Sauce - Add in tomato ketchup, soy sauce and mix that well with onions. Let them cook for couple of minutes. Add in sugar, salt, black pepper powder and mix well.
- Making Ketchup Pasta - Now add in the cooked pasta into the sauce along with butter and 1/4 cup pasta cooking water and toss well. Let the sauce coat the strands of noodles. Serve.
Imagine if you don't have much time on hand to make dinner or trying to make a quick pasta dish for your kids lunch box. This interesting Ketchup pasta might come handy. All you need is tomato ketchup to create the sauce.
About Tomato Ketchup Pasta (Napolitan)
Can you believe ketchup added in pasta instead of pasta sauce. This is a popular Japanese dish called as Napolitan. It is also known as Japanese Ketchup Spaghetti popular with kids. The main ingredient is tomato ketchup. For some of you, it may sound weird adding ketchup to pasta, But it actually works.
If you are out of tomatoes, tomato sauce, pasta sauce. Then this recipe comes handy. It is made using ketchup and I am sure it is one of the staple ingredients in everyone house specially with the ones with kids. Then this recipe can be put together in under 15 mins.
I am sure Italians are going to come after me, once they see this dish. But this combination actually works. I am not sure how, but it works.
The combination of the slightly sweet and tangy ketchup when combined with the onions and peppers gets into a sauce. It coats pasta beautifully and taste so yummy.
More Pasta Recipes
Imagine a sweet, thick tomato flavoured sauce coating each strands of noodles. It just clings to the pasta so much better that regular sauce making it so delicious.
You start by sauteing garlic in olive oil along with onions and peppers. This adds flavour to the oil. Add in ketchup, salt and sugar. Cook this with garlic until the sauce starts to caramelize.
The addition of butter, pasta cooking liquid makes this pasta sauce irresistable. I used spaghetti, you can use any noodles of choice. This is one dish which is so popular in Japan specially for its sweet taste.
Peppers and onions is sauted in garlic flavoured olive oil which makes the base for the sauce. You can also add sliced mushrooms into the onions and peppers.
Also depending on the amount of pasta, add in required ketchup to the pasta. Also you can use chopped olives or cooked chicken into the pasta.
Pasta - I used spaghetti for this dish, you can use any pasta shapes or even noodles.
Olive Oil - use olive oil for best taste. You can use butter for best taste.
Garlic - I used fresh garlic which I chopped finely and used to stir fry for a minute. It adds aroma and flavour.
Onions & Peppers - Saute onions, peppers in oil for couple of minutes which forms the base of the sauce.
Tomato Ketchup & Soy Sauce - Main base of the sauce is ketchup, soy sauce adds the umami taste.
Seasonings - salt, sugar, black pepper are the main seasoning for the pasta.
Butter - butter added to pasta emulsifies and create creamy texture.
1)Bring lots of water to a full boil. Season generously with salt. Add in spaghetti to boiling water and cook as per package directions. While the pasta is cooking, make the sauce.
2)Heat olive oil in a sauce pan. Add in finely chopped garlic and saute until fragrant. Add in sliced onions into the oil and cook for couple of minutes until translucent.
3)Add in sliced bell peppers into the onions and stir fry for couple of minutes.
4)Once the onions and bell peppers are softened.
5)Add in tomato ketchup and soy sauce into the onion and peppers.
6)Stir fry the tomato ketchup for 2 to 3 minutes in the oil until it begins to caramelize.
7)Add in sugar.
8)Add in salt and black pepper powder. Mix that into the sauce.
9)Add in cooked spaghetti into the sauce.
10)Toss that well with onions and peppers.
11)Add in butter and some of the starchy pasta cooking water.
Expert Tips
This pasta dish is slightly sweet, so you can skip sugar if you want. You can increase the chilli to balance the sweetness.
Any pasta shapes can be used for this pasta dish. Even boiled noodles can be added.
Cooked vegetables can be tossed into the sauce like mushrooms, corn, peas.
You can add some grated parmesan cheese into the sauce.
Ketchup Pasta taste best when made and served immediately. You can enjoy with garlic bread or toast of choice.
Is ketchup OK with pasta?
There's no reason why ketchup couldn't be used in a pasta sauce. It is entirely possible to make a perfectly good pasta sauce with ketchup by combining other seasonings and ingredients.
What countries eat pasta with ketchup?
In Sweden, many people use ketchup instead of marinara sauce on their pasta dishes. Even in many Filipino dishes ketchup is used.
