Asian Spaghetti

The other day I was looking in the freezer and the pantry as I was trying to decide what to cook for dinner.The freezer offered up a pound of hamburger and ground pork while the pantry revealed a package of spaghetti just waiting to be cooked. I remembered that Ming Tsai's latest cookbook, One-Pot Meals had a recipe that would use all three of these ingredients. Even though the kid wasn't around I know that this would have pleased her; she might even have asked for seconds.

The soy sauce adds a mysterious dimension to the sauce and gives it great depth of flavor. Ming says that this will feed four. I would say that it would satisfy six hungry people.

Asian Spaghetti

1. 1 pound spaghetti
2. Kosher salt
3. 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for coating the pasta
4. 2 large onions, cut into 1/4-inch dice
5. 2 tablespoons minced garlic
6. 1 pound ground beef
7. 1 pound ground pork
8. freshly ground black pepper
9. One 32-ounce dan roma tomatoes with their liquid
10. 1/4 cup soy sauce
11. 2 tablespoons tomato paste
12. 1/2 cup loosely packed Thai basil

 

Fill a large bowl with water and add ice cubes. In a large pot, cook the pasta in abundant boiling salted water until al dente, about 11 minutes, drain, and ad to the bowl. When the pasta is cold, drain, coat lightly with oil, and set aside.

Heat the pot over medium-high heat. Add the 1 tablespoon oil and when hot, add the onions and garlic. Saute, stirring, until the onions are translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the beef and the pork, season with salt and pepper, and saute, stirring to break up the meat, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes with their liquid, the soy sauce, tomato paste, and basil and bring to a simmer. Adjust the seasoning, if necessary, and simmer until the liquid is reduced by a quarter about 25 minutes. Add the reserved pasta to the pot and stir gently. transfer to a platter and serve.