Naporitan with Arabiki

Naporitan with Arabiki

Recipes with Arabiki Sausage

Naporitan has nothing to do with Naples. A hotel chef in Yokohama invented it in the late 1940s, using what occupied Japan had on hand: spaghetti, ketchup, and canned goods. The dish became a fixture in kissaten, those wood-paneled coffee shops where businessmen eat lunch. Thick arabiki rounds replace the usual thin wieners, and they hold up to the sweet, tangy sauce without falling apart.

Prep Time

10 min

Cook Time

15 min

Servings

2

Difficulty

Easy

Ingredients

  • 200g spaghetti (1.8mm or thicker)
  • 3 arabiki sausages, cut into 1cm rounds
  • 1 green bell pepper, seeded and sliced thin
  • 1 medium onion, sliced thin
  • 4-5 button mushrooms, sliced
  • 4 tbsp ketchup
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil
  • Salt and black pepper to taste
  • Tabasco sauce (a few dashes, optional)
  • Grated Parmesan for serving

Steps

1

Boil the spaghetti in salted water until just past al dente. Naporitan uses softer noodles than Italian pasta. Drain and set aside.

2

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the arabiki rounds until they have brown edges, about 3 minutes. Remove and set aside.

3

In the same pan, cook the onion for 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and green pepper, cook another 2 minutes until the pepper softens but keeps some bite.

4

Return the sausage to the pan. Add the drained spaghetti and toss everything together. Squeeze the ketchup over the top and toss again until every strand is coated and the ketchup darkens from the heat.

5

Drop in the butter, toss one final time, and plate. Finish with black pepper, a few dashes of Tabasco if you like, and grated Parmesan.

Tips

Traditional naporitan uses overcooked pasta on purpose. Some kissaten chefs even cook the noodles a day ahead and refrigerate them so they absorb more sauce. The ketchup should cook in the hot pan for at least a minute to caramelize; raw ketchup tastes sharp and thin. Serve on a hot iron plate (teppan) if you have one.