The tale of Japan’s most famous spaghetti dish is worth repeating.
The Hotel New Grand near the Yokohama waterfront was built and came to prominence just after the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake that had razed the city and surrounding prefectures. The storied hotel, somehow untouched during World War II, was then requisitioned during the American occupation as Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s headquarters. To cater to American tastes, the hotel’s then-head chef used what ingredients were at hand during that turbulent time to create the spaghetti napolitan — and accidentally kickstart the now-booming genre of itameshi (Japanized Italian food).
The modern napolitan is often maligned for incorporating ketchup, though early recipes were in fact based on tomato puree. In this recipe, cherry tomatoes take its place, with sausage, onion, mushrooms and green pepper in tow, as is tradition. Any mushrooms will do, but bunashimeji (brown beech mushrooms) are easy to work with.