Napolitan (Japanese Ketchup Spaghetti)
ナポリタン · Naporitan
By Aoi, licensed nutritionist · From a Japanese preschool lunch menu
Napolitan is a Japanese take on spaghetti that has nothing to do with Naples: pasta tossed in a ketchup-based sauce with sausage, onion, carrot and green bell pepper. It is a classic of yoshoku (Western-style Japanese cooking), said to have been created at the Hotel New Grand in Yokohama after the war, and it has been a fixture of cafes and school lunch menus ever since. The gently sweet, tangy sauce is a reliable hit with children, and in the preschool kitchen we simmer the ketchup down so the acidity turns mellow and soft. A slightly longer boil gives the spaghetti the pleasantly chewy texture that Japanese kids know and love.
Toddlers to adults. The whole family can eat this exactly as written.
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Ingredients
Amounts for 1 child (1 serving). An adult counts as 2 servings.
One serving here is 1.5× the portion served to a child in a Japanese preschool, sized for Western appetites. An adult counts as two servings. Tap an ingredient to check it off.
Ingredients
- 75 gonion
- 30 gcarrot
- 37.5 ggreen bell pepper
- 37.5 gwiener sausages
- 2.4 gvegetable oil
Seasonings (A)
- 8.1 gsakeSake (Japanese rice wine) is used in small amounts to soften the smell of fish and meat and add depth. Japanese "cooking sake" often contains added salt. Some alcohol can remain after short cooking. If you prefer no alcohol for children, use the substitute. Substitute: The same amount of water (the taste will be a little simpler), or dry white wine.
- 28.5 gketchup
- 3.3 gchuno sauce (Japanese medium-thick brown sauce)A sweet, tangy, fruit-and-vegetable-based brown sauce that sits between thin Worcestershire and thick tonkatsu sauce. Substitute: Tonkatsu sauce, or Worcestershire sauce mixed with a little ketchup.
- 2.7 gWorcestershire sauce
Ingredients
- 0.2 gsalt
- a pinchpepper
- 90 gspaghetti
About the Japanese ingredients in this recipe
- sake (酒)
- Sake (Japanese rice wine) is used in small amounts to soften the smell of fish and meat and add depth. Japanese "cooking sake" often contains added salt. Some alcohol can remain after short cooking. If you prefer no alcohol for children, use the substitute. Substitute: The same amount of water (the taste will be a little simpler), or dry white wine.
- chuno sauce (Japanese medium-thick brown sauce) (中濃ソース)
- A sweet, tangy, fruit-and-vegetable-based brown sauce that sits between thin Worcestershire and thick tonkatsu sauce. Substitute: Tonkatsu sauce, or Worcestershire sauce mixed with a little ketchup.
- Worcestershire sauce (ウスターソース)
- Read the guide: Bull-Dog Worcestershire Sauce: Japan's Everyday Brown Sauce → Guide: japanese-school-lunch.com/articles/bull-dog-worcestershire-sauce/
Directions
Video is in Japanese — the steps below are synced to it, so tap ▶ on a step to jump to that moment.
- 1
Thinly slice the onion, and cut the carrot and green bell pepper into thin strips. Slice the wiener sausages into rounds. Note: To prevent choking, cut the sausages into half-moons for toddlers.
- 2
Put the onion, carrot and green bell pepper in a microwave-safe bowl, mix, and add 1 tbsp water (not included in the ingredient amounts). Cover loosely with plastic wrap, leaving a gap for steam, and microwave at 1200W for about 2 minutes 30 seconds.
- 3
Heat the oil in a frying pan and sauté the sausages over medium heat for about 2 to 3 minutes to bring out their aroma. Add the vegetables and sauté for about 3 minutes to cook off the moisture.
- 4
Add the (A) seasonings and cook over low heat for about 4 to 5 minutes. Note: Simmering the sauce down to mellow its acidity is the secret to school-lunch Napolitan.
- 5
Boil the spaghetti in unsalted boiling water for about 3 minutes longer than usual. Drain in a colander.
- 6
Add the spaghetti to the frying pan from step 4, toss to combine, then season with salt and pepper to taste.
Tips for Best Results
- The key to a delicious Napolitan is cooking the vegetables thoroughly until they are soft and wilted.
- Boiling the spaghetti a little longer than usual gives it a pleasantly chewy, springy texture.
Freezing Instructions
Wrap individual portions in plastic wrap and freeze. To eat, reheat in the microwave still in the wrap.
Keeps for about 2 weeks (but enjoy it as soon as you can).
Nutrition
Nutrition values do not include the noodles.
| Per | 1 serving | 1 adult serving | Your total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 229.5 kcal | 459 kcal | 229.5 kcal |
| Protein | 5.9 g | 11.9 g | 5.9 g |
| Fat | 14.3 g | 28.5 g | 14.3 g |
| Carbohydrates | 22.1 g | 44.3 g | 22.1 g |
| Fiber | 3.4 g | 6.8 g | 3.4 g |
| Salt equivalent | 2.6 g | 5.1 g | 2.6 g |
| Calcium | 37.5 mg | 75 mg | 37.5 mg |
| Iron | 0.7 mg | 1.4 mg | 0.7 mg |
| Potassium | 462 mg | 924 mg | 462 mg |
| Phosphorus | 126 mg | 252 mg | 126 mg |
| Energy | Protein | Fat | Carbs | Fiber | Salt equiv. | Calcium | Iron | Potassium | Phosphorus | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 serving | 229.5 kcal | 5.9 g | 14.3 g | 22.1 g | 3.4 g | 2.6 g | 37.5 mg | 0.7 mg | 462 mg | 126 mg |
| 1 adult serving | 459 kcal | 11.9 g | 28.5 g | 44.3 g | 6.8 g | 5.1 g | 75 mg | 1.4 mg | 924 mg | 252 mg |
Values are per serving (1.5× the Japanese preschool portion); an adult serving is double. They were calculated by a licensed Japanese nutritionist using the Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan. "Salt equivalent" is sodium × 2.54, the standard Japanese measure. Allergen flags cover egg, milk and wheat only and come from the nutritionist's records. Soy sauce and miso are made with wheat but are usually allowed on Japanese wheat-free school menus, so check with your doctor.
