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Japanese-style Meat Sauce

Japan · No.26 / 103

Japanese-style Meat Sauce

Japanese-style Meat Sauce

A familiar yoshoku dish of spaghetti topped with minced meat and onion simmered briefly in a sweet, ripe tomato sauce.

20 min · Difficulty ●●○○○ · 1videos

Cook this pasta on video

Watch the creators’ original videos for the method and finish.

Keita YugeFor Anyone Living Alone: The Fastest, Delicious Meat SauceWatch on YouTube ↗

Meet the dish

Japanese home cooking

Put the sweetness of softened onion and ripe tomato ahead of a deeply reduced, meat-forward sauce.

Pasta shapes to use

  • Spaghetti

Key ingredients

  • Mixed beef and pork mince
  • Onion
  • Ripe tomato sauce
  • Olive oil

Follow the cooking scenes

  1. Japanese-style Meat Sauce: Soften the onion.

    Step 1: Soften the onion

    Cook finely chopped onion in olive oil until soft and sweet, without chasing a dark sear.

  2. Japanese-style Meat Sauce: Cook the meat and tomato.

    Step 2: Cook the meat and tomato

    Add the mince and break it up. Once colored, add tomato sauce, bring briefly to a simmer and season.

  3. Japanese-style Meat Sauce: Spoon over the pasta.

    Step 3: Spoon over the pasta

    Cook the spaghetti to the package time, plate it, and spoon the sauce generously over the center. Add parsley and grated cheese if desired.

What to watch for

  • Softening the onion thoroughly first removes its raw edge and links it naturally with the sweetness of ripe tomato even in a short simmer.
  • Spoon the sauce over the pasta to leave a gradient from plain strands to meat-rich tomato sauce as it is mixed at the table.

What sets it apart

Compared with long-cooked Bolognese, this style emphasizes sweeter tomato flavor and a sauce served over the noodles.