The Internet Is Shook Over How Different Cultures Make Their Spaghetti, (And Suddenly I'm Having A Noodle-Induced Identity Crisis)
We've been underestimating the power of the noodle. Recently, Reddit user Soopah_Fly made a fascinating observation: There is one dish that has the ability to unite cultures while also revealing what sets them apart. And that dish is...spaghetti.
The Redditor shared a story about visiting a friend's house for a party and trying his French friend's spaghetti. It tasted completely different than the version he was used to eating at home, which made him wonder... how do other people make their spaghetti?
Here's what he wrote: "A friend of mine invited me to a house-blessing ceremony at his new house. His family prepared a bunch of dishes, and I was pretty stoked since he said he would be cooking some food from his country. He's French."
"Being a Filipino and having not been outside the country for 39 years, My taste is pretty much totally local or foreign cuisine adjusted for the Filipino palette. He prepared about a dozen dishes for the forty-ish people there. After trying a few dishes of food I couldn't pronounce the name, I tried the good 'ole Spaghetti."
"It was not what I was expecting. It was good, but it threw me off. I could really taste the basil and oregano and the sour flavor of the tomato. There was no meat in it. I even got to dust it with parmesan cheese. I then realized that Filipino spaghetti must be really weird for him."
"Filipino spaghetti is sweet. A lot of people use banana ketchup instead of tomatoes. We also add ground pork and slices of hotdog to it. We mostly season it with pepper, and if you're feeling fancy, you can add some diced bell pepper and button mushrooms to it. Did I say that it's sweet? Yeah, we add some sugar to it too."
You can find a classic recipe for Filipino Sweet Spaghetti — and hundreds of other spaghetti recipes — by downloading the free Tasty app, no subscription needed.
Another user, Fishwhocantswim, chimed in: "I love Pinoy (Filipino) spaghetti! I'm sure Italian nona's around the world would collectively clutch their pearls at the thought of making spaghetti like this though. Still, I love how the same dish gets adapted into different cultures."
The Redditor's curiosity about noodles immediately went viral, resonating with people around the world. Thousands reacted, and hundreds shared how spaghetti is made in their own households. Here are some of the most fascinating responses:
1."My spaghetti is a modified version of my best friend's mom's spaghetti. I was obsessed with it growing up."
"It calls for a pound of ground beef (I like 93%), a jar of chunky marinara sauce, a pack of McCormick Thick and Zesty Spaghetti Powder, and a can of tomato paste and olive oil (I use the good stuff).
First, heat the oil in the pan and add the ground beef. Once it is browned entirely, add the McCormick powder. Then add the can of tomato paste and stir. I like to cook the tomato paste for 3 minutes, add in the sauce, and let the whole thing simmer for 10 minutes or until the pasta is done boiling.
It's super easy, and my boyfriend loves it."
2."As someone who loves authentic Italian spaghetti, I also enjoy Japanese Neapolitan spaghetti. It has a sweet flavor, but the combination of sausage, mushrooms, onions, and bell peppers adds a savory depth — much more so than Filipino spaghetti, in my opinion."
3."I currently live in Japan, and it seems people here don't like tomato-based sauces very much. Most of the options for spaghetti sauce in the grocery store are oil-based, like pesto or carbonara. Another common one seems to be pounded cod roe (mentaiko)!"
4."I’m Somali and we were invaded by Italians. We make ours with lots of ground beef, tomato sauce, and spices (no basil or oregano). We eat it with a squeeze of lemon on the pasta, a banana, and a small side salad. Always need the side salad."
5."My Persian family makes a version of spaghetti where the sauce is basically chili. It's made of beans, ground turkey, tomato, garlic, onion, turmeric, cayenne pepper, ginger, salt, and sometimes other veggies if we have them."
6."Everyone has their way of doing spaghetti. I use beef and pork mince, slow-cooked with finely diced onion, mushroom, capsicum (bell pepper), zucchini, carrot, celery, fresh garlic, and herbs from my garden. A generous cheese topping when serving. Also, since my family loves spicy food, I often throw in some chile in."
7."I'm Italian, and my spaghetti is very close to the one your French friend cooked. I probably use even more tomato sauce and have it cook longer with more olive oil. I'll add something — tuna (but then you'll have to ditch the cheese), or a bit of bacon (then I use goat cheese instead of Parmigiano) — to the sauce if I'm fancy."
8."I use hot sausage with crushed tomatoes, garlic, oregano, basil, green olives, and olive brine. I call it 'dirty spaghetti,' and I love it."
9."I thought about this too not too long ago. When we were kids, we would always get spaghetti at each other's houses, and all of them would be drastically different. The worst one was easily the one that substituted the tomato sauce for milk... good lord."
10."I don't like my spaghetti sauce sweet. When I make sauce, I add a teaspoon or so of sugar to cut the acidity of the tomatoes, but that's it. Ideally, I like 8 oz ground beef, 8 oz hot Italian pork sausage, a large jar of a good tomato sauce, and I add a finely diced onion, red pepper, and garlic. I simmer it all for as long as I can."
11."My two favourite ways of having spaghetti are spaghetti bolognese and seafood spaghetti:"
"For the bolognese, I heat olive oil with garlic, ground onion, and minced beef. Then, I add chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, beef stock, red wine, and a bunch of Italian herbs. I also sometimes add even more garlic.
Then, I add either a small piece of dark chocolate or a small spoon of sugar. This isn't to make it sweet but to bring out the flavors of other ingredients.
For the seafood version, I'll cook any type of seafood: prawns, clams, salmon, mussels, squid in either some tomato sauce or just in olive oil with some seasoning and a dash of chili.
No matter what, I always have a bit of parmesan or pepper on top."
12."Spaghetti at my house is different every time we make it. One of our favorite versions involves using leftover pot roast and about a gallon of tomato sauce, a couple of onions, a couple of heads of garlic, oregano, basil, thyme, marjoram, rosemary, and a dash of chili flakes. Throw it all in a slow cooker and let it cook all day until the meat is falling apart, then dump your pasta in the sauce itself and let it cook. (You need a lot of leftover meat for this, so save and freeze leftover roasts until you have a couple of pounds.)"
"Another favorite and way cheaper version: slice a bunch of green onions lengthwise and cut into three-inch long strips. Saute in oil and butter. Add a couple of cloves of minced garlic, a dash of red chili flakes, parsley if you have it (dry is okay, but not as good), and a pinch of ginger powder. Cook that for a minute or so, add soy sauce, take it off the heat immediately, whisk, and pour over cooked spaghetti or angel hair. Toss together and serve."
13."I grow garlic, and my husband is getting over a virus (but even aside from that), so I use a lot of garlic when cooking. I usually sauté an onion with celery, chopped fairly fine, and add broth, wine, lots of herbs from my garden, mushrooms, tomatoes, and about two cloves of garlic peeled and minced. Then, I cook meatballs and add those to the plates of those who eat meat, with pasta and sauce and freshly grated Parmesan for those who like it. My kids love garlic bread and baked potatoes to go with it — I know, carbs, carbs, carbs. But we’re all active, and it’s delicious."
14."I’m probably considered a monster in that I always use very lean beef (no pork, unless I throw in some chorizo), and if I don’t have time to simmer it for a few hours, I add a pinch of baking soda, to take the sharp edge off the tomatoes. I also serve the bolognese sauce on top of a nest of plain spaghetti rather than being mixed in. It’s how my mum did it, so it’s what I learned to prefer."
15."I like the traditional American meat sauce spaghetti topped with a ridiculous amount of powdered parmesan."
"When I make it, I'll fry off some meatballs in a Dutch oven, and then make a sauce with San Marzano tomatoes, lots of garlic, onion, and a carrot, and simmer it in the oven until it's deep red and full of umami flavor, toss some fresh basil in when I pull it out and add the meatballs back in."
16."Sure, I like a good tomato sauce on pasta, but I also have enjoyed other combinations... like a sauce of walnuts, anchovies, olive oil, garlic."
17."Growing up, my mom occasionally made spaghetti as a treat for me. Her version had shredded chicken instead of minced beef. The tomato sauce was soupy, so I had to slurp it up after I had finished all the pasta. Nowadays, she makes it the conventional way, and I feel kinda sad about it. I want my soupy spaghetti."
18."In our family, we don’t even use spaghetti noodles for ‘spaghetti’ — we prefer angel hair. None of us like the thickness of traditional spaghetti pasta. We start by browning 2 pounds of lean ground beef, seasoning it generously with salt, pepper, garlic, basil, onion powder, and a heavy sprinkle of Italian seasoning. When the meat is nearly cooked, we add about two yellow squash, sliced and diced, and let them soften. Then, we stir in 1 to 1.5 jars of marinara sauce and let it simmer on low until warmed through. Finally, we add the cooked angel hair pasta, toss everything together, and serve it straight from the pot with fresh parmesan on top!"
19."Growing up, we had three distinct sauces: the traditional Italian style, the 'Cincinnati chili' style, and what we called 'orange sauce' — a mix of tomato soup, cream of mushroom soup, ground beef, onions, jalapeño, chili powder, and Tabasco sauce."
20."I’m Bahamian, but I don’t think we have a specific way of making spaghetti. My mom always used ground beef, tomato paste, tomato sauce, diced onion, bell pepper, and herbs. I also add sugar and mushrooms as well, and I like to top it with cheddar cheese or shredded parmesan. Sometimes, I make it with just ground lamb, tomato paste, and crushed tomato."
21."I remember a phase in our household during childhood involving tuna spaghetti, mackerel spaghetti, and pumpkin spaghetti. I don’t recommend it."
"I know it was due to finances, but not a single person in my family will eat spaghetti now, and this was more than 30 years ago."
Now, it's your turn: What's your personal go-to when it's time to make a comforting bowl of spaghetti? Tell us about it in the comments.
Note: Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
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