Vegan Filipino Spaghetti.

As an Asian American who also happens to be vegan, I sometimes find myself occupying a strange placeon the one hand, Im very familiar with the harm of othering language or behavior, the damage caused by cultural insensitivity around food. On the other hand, my personal values dictate against eating many of the foods that are very endemic to my culture. I think many people have concluded that these are mutually exclusive. Thats a shame. Its very possible to remain respectful and inclusive towards other peoples cultures, their stories, and even the trauma surrounding those stories, while still being true to your values and ethics.
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I cant even tell you how nostalgic it was for me to make this Filipino spaghetti!! That first bite was unREALit tasted EXACTLY like I remembered. Growing up, I thought it was just spaghetti, because thats what my mom called it. It wasnt until I got to college that I learned that most people did NOT put hot dogs and red bell peppers and ketchup in their spaghetti. So, I thought it must be just a thing my mom did. And now, all these decades later, I learn that this is Filipino Spaghetti, which makes sense since my moms best friend at work was Filipino and Omma borrowed Filipino recipes from her friend and made them for us at home (chicken adobo was one of my FAVORITES growing up!).
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Heres the #recipe for my vegan version, which, with the exception of Banana Sauce and syrup, is a one-for-one vegan replica of my mothers spaghetti (she used plain Ketchup instead of Banana Sauce and sugar instead of syrup):

2/3 cup walnuts
5 medium baby bella mushrooms
1 tablespoon oil
3 vegan hot dogs, sliced on a bias
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons Banana Sauce (or Ketchup)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 container Prego tomato sauce (this is what my mom used!)
Optional: 1/4 cup vegetable broth
1 tablespoon sweetener (I used brown rice syrup)
1 lb cooked spaghetti noodles
1/4 cup shredded vegan cheddar cheese

Place your walnuts and mushrooms into a food processor and pulse about 10 times, until you get a crumbly texture that looks a lot like ground beef. Add oil to a large pan over medium high heat. When it begins to shimmer, add your vegan hot dogs and cooked until browned (about 3 minutes). Remove from pan and set aside. To the same pan, add onion, red bell pepper, and garlic. Saute for about 3 minutes, until onions become translucent and garlic is fragrant. Add Banana Sauce and tomato paste and stir until pan contents are evenly coated. Add Prego tomato sauce and stir. Lower heat to medium low, add back hot dogs, and continue to cook for about 15 minutes, until sauce has reduced a little bit and gotten nice and thick (almost like a gravy). If your sauce gets too thick, add a tablespoon or two of vegetable broth to slacken it. Serve with cooked spaghetti noodles and garnish with vegan shredded cheese.

Joanne Lee Molinaro is a Korean American trial lawyer, New York Times best-selling author, James Beard Award-winner, and host of the Are You Ready podcast. With nearly 5 million fans spread across her social media platforms, Joanne has appeared on The Food Network, CBS Saturday Morning, ABC's Live with Kelly and Ryan, The Today Show, PBS, and The Rich Roll Podcast. She's been featured in the Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, NPR, and CNN; and her debut cookbook was selected as one of The Best Cookbooks of 2021 by The New York Times and The New Yorker among others.

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