Filipino Spaghetti is best known for being one thing: sweet…but not dessert sweet, savory sweet. If you’re a Filipino food enthusiast then you know what I’m talking about. Otherwise, there’s only one way to find out, right?

Growing up in the Philippines, the Filipino version was the only way I knew how a Spaghetti should taste like, so you could just imagine how shocked I was when I had my first Italian version. I wailed it was too sour and that it didn’t have enough sauce.  How embarrassing to folks who overheard me. Now, I’ve developed my appetite and appreciation for both. Win-win for me.

 

To cook Filipino Spaghetti, you have to have 3 things prominent: sweet sauce, cheddar cheese, and red hotdog. To achieve having all these vegan, here’s what you’ll do:

Sweet Sauce. Aside from using tomato sauce, banana sauce is a must to sweeten the pot, literally. Brands like Jufran or UFC does an amazing job.

Cheddar Cheese. I recently discovered the wonders of nutritional yeast and nuts as cheese substitute. See recipe below.

Red Hotdog. Aside from ground beef, hotdog plays a big part in this dish. And yes, red hot dogs are even better because they have a sweet, flavorful taste which is of course made of mysterious ingredients that I’m guessing not only are loaded with animal products but also of artificial flavors. I was able to achieve the same taste-but vegan. I feel like I deserve a certificate for this hehe.

 
Now on to the full recipe:

Serves 4-6
 
INGREDIENTS:

• spaghetti pasta (I used whole wheat for healthy goodness)
• cooking oil
• 4-6 cloves of garlic, crushed or minced
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1/2 tomato, chopped
• 1/2 red bell pepper, minced

• 2-3 stalks of celery, grinded
• 2-5 carrots, grinded  (2 if large ones, 5 if organic small ones. I recommend using organic because they’re sweeter)

• 1/2 cup tomato sauce
• 1/4 cup banana sauce
• 2 tbsp tomato paste

• dash of salt and pepper
• 1/2 firm tofu, finely minced (I used the brand, Tofu Yu)

• 3-4 vegan hotdog, sliced (I used the brand Smart Dogs)
• 1 cup vegan ground beef (I used the brand, Harmony Valley Vegetarian Hamburger Mix) (I’m not sure why it’s called vegetarian when it has vegan ingredients.)

 

It’s easy to cook this spaghetti: just saute the ingredients, boil the pasta, and grind the cheese ingredients.
 
DIRECTIONS:

1. Boil a pot of water, add the pasta and some oil. Mix the pasta every once in a while until al dente. Turn off the heat. Drain out the water. Set aside.
2. Meanwhile, in a pan, saute the garlic in oil over medium heat.
3. Add the onions, tomatoes, and bell pepper. Saute for about 5 minutes.
4. Add the hamburger mix. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Add the celery and carrots. Let all the flavors marry for about 5 minutes.
6. Add the tomato sauce, tomato paste, and banana sauce. Mix well. Add more salt and pepper to taste. Let it simmer for about 5-8 minutes.
7. Meanwhile, in a separate pan, fry the tofu until crispy.
8. Add the fried tofu and red hotdog to the sauce. Mix well and let it simmer again for about 10 minutes.
9. Turn off the heat. Your sauce is done. Serve on top of the Spaghetti pasta.

 
TO ACHIEVE THE RED HOTDOG:

1. Slice the vegan hotdog to pieces. Soak them in water and vegan red coloring for about 5 minutes.
2. In a pan over medium heat, fry the hotdog in oil. Season with salt and sugar.
3. Turn off the heat. Add the hotdog to the spaghetti sauce.

 
FOR THE “CHEESE”:

1. In a food processor, grind about 8 pieces of walnuts.
2. Mix in about 3 tbsp of nutritional yeast and a dash of Himalayan pink salt.
3. Process until the ingredients are well mixed.
4. Add the cheese on the spaghetti.

 

 
 
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May is #pastalove month!

Please join in on the #pastalove fun by linking up any pasta recipe from the month of May 2012. Don’t forget to link back to this post, so that your readers know to come stop by the #pastalove event! The twitter hashtag is #pastalove .

I’m co-hosting with these lovely and talented friends. Feel free to head over and check their pasta recipe or link up your own to join in our bloghop:

Badger Girl Learns to Cook http://www.learntocookbadgergirl.com
BigFatBaker http://bigfatbaker.com
Bon à croquer http://www.bonacroquer.com/
Cake Duchess http://www.cakeduchess.com
Elephant Eats www.elephanteats.com
Hobby And More http://hobbyandmore.blogspot.com/
Mis Pensamientos http://juniakk.blogspot.com
No One Likes Crumbley Cookies http://tcrumbley.blogspot.com/
Oh Cake http://cake-o-cake.blogspot.com/
Rico sin Azúcar http://ricosinazucar.com
Simply Reem www.simplyreem.com
Soni’s Food for Thought http://sonisfoodforthought.blogspot.com/
Teaspoon of Spice www.teaspoonofspice.com
The Spicy RD www.eastewart.com/blog
The Wimpy Vegetarian http://thewimpyvegetarian.com
Vegetarian Mamma www.vegetarianmamma.com
You Made That? http://www.you-made-that.com/
Vegan Yack Attack http://veganyackattack.com

 

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