Filipino Spaghetti: Banana Ketchup is Born!
Invented by - Filipino war veteran and food technologist - Maria Orosa
Filipino Spaghetti is a unique culinary creation that was introduced to the Philippines by the Americans in the late 19th century. During World War II, the Philippines experienced a shortage in its supply of tomatoes. Plump red tomatoes, which were used for spaghetti, didn’t grow in the Philippines and had to be imported from the U.S. The country ran out of tomato-based ingredients, including ketchup—the most important condiment for Americans at the time. Because of the shortage of tomato ketchup, Filipino war heroine and food technologist, Maria Orosa, devised a way to make a similar substitute out of bananas. The banana ketchup was born. One day, when General Douglas MacArthur craved for his favorite Neapolitan spaghetti, his Filipino staff made one supposedly with the banana ketchup. Instead of putting meatballs, chopped hotdogs became the substitute. Sweet spaghetti was born. Through the years, Filipinos would modify and improve on their spaghetti sauce, mixing it with ground meats and spices.
Source: Esquire Magazine - Philippines
NEW YORK
HIGHLIGHTS
I hope everyone had a great Memorial Day Weekend and had a chance to rest. No doubt we all have our responsibilities including family and work, but, hopefully, you were able to take a nap, soak in a little sun and eat some good food.
Rest is what I did after my residency at WSA! I had dreamt of a Rat Pack-inspired-Las Vegas-Modern Dinner-Performance Art with an abundant buffet featuring nostalgic and modern Filipino dishes created with Chefs Woldy Reyes and LJ Almendras, music and karaoke by DJ Tito Vida, hosting and performances by multi-hyphenate Renee Rogoff, and production with Jeff Buan. The room was transportative to a Fantasy Island right in the heart of the island of Manhattan and New Yorkers, Chefs and Industry-insiders sang, ate, and celebrated Filipino Hospitality.
This event was held at WSA in the financial district, and it's an immaculate space with each floor gutted, redesigned and art-directed with 1980s vintage furniture (including Italian, Scandinavian, American and German pieces) and design elements that truly feels like a time machine.
The collective at WSA — rentable office space, restaurants and art space/photo studios — is dedicated to the cross sections of art and commerce. Every time I walked into this high rise building — that was the former AIG headquarters — I was in awe. The juxtaposition of diverse creative executives in the Financial District was a commentary on the future of New York. It felt inclusive, inspiring and influential. You can read more about WSA here.
In fact, in my 20+ year career, I have never felt as supported and collaborative as during this residency, and I would like to give a special shoutout to Sue Chan, Gaby Domingo, Jake Stavis, Gabriella Khalil, Darrell Raymond and Sam Wessner.
For images and vibe-check, please check out these instagram posts by Woldy Reyes and Care of Chan.
It was a dream, and I can't wait to do it again.
Love,
Nicole
MIAMI
Don’t knock it till you’ve try it!
A fun Filipino version of the classic spaghetti is now available in Miami. Homemade, slow-cooked banana ketchup and tomato sauce with organic ground beef, basil and soy sauce, served with organic, non-GMO beef sausage, parmesan cheese and fresh basil.