Spaghetti in Japan.

yukio_michael · 3 May 2006

I thought I might cook my girlfriend some spaghetti once. I'm part Italian I thought, it's my birthright to cook spaghetti. I Ran the water, put some olive oil in it so that the noodles wouldn't stick to the bottom, & started a smaller second pan for the sauce.

I got fairly cheap sauce at a 99 yen store, but how bad could it be right, I mean, no worse than 'ragu'...? I took the noodles out and ran them through some cold water (to wash off the starch)... then served the noodles with a good deal more sauce than you get in Japan when you're eating Italian...

Mmmm it tastes just like.... CHEF BOY ARDEE??? Exactly. For some reason, more than one spaghetti sauce tastes exactly like what you would find in a can of spaghetti-o's... I'd learned my lesson, and from then on bought jars (diminutive though they were) of sphagetti sauce from the grocer's section at Jusco... but, was this what Japanese thought spaghetti should ever taste like? Anyone have similar experiences?

As for Italian, I do remember in my prefecture there was a restaraunt called Konnichiwa Italian Diner, which was so questionable in it's name that even my girlfriend didn't want to go there.

Mikawa Ossan · 3 May 2006

You speak of "meat sauce". There is some variation, but basically you're right, they all taste pretty much the same. But remember, there are other flavors of spaghetti. Try some of the other sauces at the store.

yukio_michael · 3 May 2006

Mikawa Ossan said:
You speak of "meat sauce". There is some variation, but basically you're right, they all taste pretty much the same. But remember, there are other flavors of spaghetti. Try some of the other sauces at the store.

If it came in a jar it turned out to be pretty good. If it came in a plastic pouch, not so good. I don't know why this didn't seem like an obvious thing before, but frankly, if I could buy something for 99en instead of 465en, I bought the 99en product.

DoctorP · 3 May 2006

Please understand that you should never, under any circumstances, buy food items from the Y100 store!

misa.j · 3 May 2006

You can use a can of crushed tomatos and add minced garlic, oregano, black pepper, salt and some wine.

I will assure you it will taste much better than the sauce in a jar.

yukio_michael · 3 May 2006

CC1 said:
Please understand that you should never, under any circumstances, buy food items from the Y100 store!

But, people are broke these days!

DoctorP · 3 May 2006

Have you noticed how many foods in the Y100 store are past expiration dates? Enough said!

ArmandV · 4 May 2006

Ever thought of making your sauce from scratch?

yukio_michael · 4 May 2006

CC1 said:
Have you noticed how many foods in the Y100 store are past expiration dates? Enough said!

So, you're saying when pork gets down to 50en it's not safe to eat? I'm in big trouble.

ArmandV said:
Ever thought of making your sauce from scratch?

I'm not skilled enough as a cook or an Italian for that.

epigene · 4 May 2006

Very interesting thread!!

yukio_michael said:
So, you're saying when pork gets down to 50en it's not safe to eat? I'm in big trouble.

It's all right! Expiration dates are set to make foods 100% safe for consumers. I've used products that had expiration dates that passed on my kitchen shelves... Just cook your pork as soon as you buy it and make sure it's well cooked!

I'm not skilled enough as a cook or an Italian for that.

If you're using the meat sauce in the plastic bags, just add an extra can of ripe tomatoes, garlic & basil (with salt, pepper and sugar to taste). It's sure to turn out very good!

ArmandV · 4 May 2006

epigene said:
Very interesting thread!!
It's all right! Expiration dates are set to make foods 100% safe for consumers. I've used products that had expiration dates that passed on my kitchen shelves... Just cook your pork as soon as you buy it and make sure it's well cooked!
If you're using the meat sauce in the plastic bags, just add an extra can of ripe tomatoes, garlic & basil (with salt, pepper and sugar to taste). It's sure to turn out very good!

And don't forget to add wine into the mix!

ArmandV · 4 May 2006

yukio_michael said:
So, you're saying when pork gets down to 50en it's not safe to eat? I'm in big trouble.
I'm not skilled enough as a cook or an Italian for that.

I'm sure if you got an Italian recipe book you can do it. If you can read, then you can follow a recipe.

misa.j · 4 May 2006

yukio_michael said:
I Ran the water, put some olive oil in it so that the noodles wouldn't stick to the bottom, & started a smaller second pan for the sauce.

A few more tips about this; olive oil in the hot water is not necessary, in fact, it will prevent the sauce to stick to the noodles by making them slippery. What you need is enough water in a big enough pot and frequent stirring for pasta to be cooked evenly.

yukio_michael said:
I took the noodles out and ran them through some cold water (to wash off the starch)...

You can skip this, too. Starch, salt and cooking liquid will enhance the flavor of the sauce and add body to it.
Taste pasta as it cooks, empty the pot immidiately before it's completely done, concidering the time you mix it with the sauce.

Minty · 4 May 2006

Why don't you do a search on the internet for recipes, if you want to cook cheaper kind of pasta go for vegetarian ones. You can also select dried pasta that is not a branded one. I have bought cheaper brands of pastas and they don't taste bad because the most important thing is the sauce, more so than the brand of pasta.:42:

I'm not skilled enough as a cook or an Italian for that.

Don't you have a relative that is Italian you can ask?

Grandpa Frank · 4 May 2006

A surprise!

The first time I ordered spaghetti in Japan, the cook took out some precooked pasta , tossed it in a fry pan , dumped a bunch of ketchup on top and heated it up. NOT what I was expecting, LOL.

Frank

yukio_michael · 4 May 2006

Aaah, I'm not that bad of a cook, I prefer my grandmother's cooking really when it comes to Italian, but I'm afraid all of her recipies went with her to her grave... eek.

I have used a can of tomato base to add to sauce, aregano, spices, etc. Personally I'd rather cook chicken, beef, fish, rice dishes than Italian... so if I do, I don't make too much fuss with it.

Normally, I find that when the noodles come out of the water, they are already too wet for me, so I never thought about the oil making them worse, maybe I'll try salt instead.

Though I have always heard that you should wash off the startch... this has been an informative thread for me though, not only that, I'm hungry now.

I think I'll start with the bottle of wine first, two for me... one for the sauce, two for me...

Minty · 4 May 2006

The first time I ordered spaghetti in Japan, the cook took out some precooked pasta , tossed it in a fry pan , dumped a bunch of ketchup on top and heated it up. NOT what I was expecting, LOL.
Frank

You are kidding right?

Aaah, I'm not that bad of a cook, I prefer my grandmother's cooking really when it comes to Italian, but I'm afraid all of her recipies went with her to her grave... eek.
I have used a can of tomato base to add to sauce, aregano, spices, etc. Personally I'd rather cook chicken, beef, fish, rice dishes than Italian... so if I do, I don't make too much fuss with it.
Normally, I find that when the noodles come out of the water, they are already too wet for me, so I never thought about the oil making them worse, maybe I'll try salt instead.
Though I have always heard that you should wash off the startch... this has been an informative thread for me though, not only that, I'm hungry now.
I think I'll start with the bottle of wine first, two for me... one for the sauce, two for me...

My husband is half Italian and his Italian cooking is superb!! But he uses a lot of ingredients so in total it is not really budget food, but it is also not expensive.

The Olive oil does not make it worse, my husband puts Olive oil and salt in the pasta water, and his family on his dad's side is from Northern Italy. So I think his Italian food is authentic alright. If your noodles are too wet it means you have overcooked it, the best thing to do is to try it before you take them all out.:haihai:

yukio_michael · 4 May 2006

Minty said:
So I think his Italian food is authentic alright. If your noodles are too wet it means you have overcooked it, the best thing to do is to try it before you take them all out.:haihai:

Hmmm... then I think I'll stick w/ the oil... They aren't mushy--- they've been cooked long enough, and not too long, just that when the water drains off them, and you add the sauce, the residual water on the noodles tends to make it seem like the sauce isn't thick enough...

oddly, leftovers are my favourite part... the sauce/noodle ratio is perfect.

Minty · 4 May 2006

yukio_michael said:
Hmmm... then I think I'll stick w/ the oil... They aren't mushy--- they've been cooked long enough, and not too long, just that when the water drains off them, and you add the sauce, the residual water on the noodles tends to make it seem like the sauce isn't thick enough...
oddly, leftovers are my favourite part... the sauce/noodle ratio is perfect.

I think you didn't drain the pasta properly. To make the sauce stick to the noodles you need more butter and flour.

epigene · 4 May 2006

Frank D. White said:
The first time I ordered spaghetti in Japan, the cook took out some precooked pasta , tossed it in a fry pan , dumped a bunch of ketchup on top and heated it up. NOT what I was expecting, LOL.
Frank

Frank,

That style of cooking spaghetti is a very old recipe invented in Japan (in the 1960s). Because people weren't used to Italian dishes yet in those days, some cook in Japan created it to match Japanese tastes, imitating the style you cook "yakisoba." It's called the "Napolitan" (no offense to Naples and its citizens).

It's no longer popular now that the Japanese know more about Italian cuisine but has become "fond memory" among the postwar baby boomers (like my husband). For this reason, it is being reintroduced into menus in restaurants (excluding those that claim to serve authentic Italian, of course )

Personally, I'm not fond of it, but my husband prefers it over meat sauce, carbonara, etc.

yukio_michael · 4 May 2006

Minty said:
I think you didn't drain the pasta properly. To make the sauce stick to the noodles you need more butter and flour.

I've never used butter or flower when making sphagetti!

jonerik · 5 May 2006

yukio_michael · 5 May 2006

I think the word Viking in japan refers to the fact that you can go back and get more if you so choose... in different fami-resu they have "Drink Viking", where you go back and refill your glasses...

It comes from the katakana word baikingu バイキング - meaning smorgasbord.

Minty · 5 May 2006

yukio_michael said:
I've never used butter or flower when making sphagetti!

Well that's the way Italians do it. If you don't want suggestions don't ask for it. I said flour not flower. I gave my suggestions to help you, but I can see I am wasting my time.

yukio_michael · 5 May 2006

Minty said:
Well that's the way Italians do it. If you don't want suggestions don't ask for it. I said flour not flower. I gave my suggestions to help you, but I can see I am wasting my time.

Woah! Take it easy--- I just said I've never used flower or butter... though I did grow up in a big Italian family, and that I thought it was strange, how did a light-hearted conversation about spaghetti escalate into something that someone had to throw down the gauntlet on?

Spaghetti in Japan.

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