Hong Kong Style Spaghetti Bolognese

If you ask anyone whom I've talked about food to, then it is more than likely I have mentioned my favorite dish at my all time favorite restaurant.  It's hong kong style spaghetti bolognese from R.H. Garden Cafe in Rowland Heights.  This dish that I order all the time since I was literally 5 years old, is not just confined to that restaurant but I definitely use it as a gauge to rank my favorite hong kong style cafes.  I'd like to call myself a connoisseur of this dish, but I guess that's pushing the obsession a bit.  Now I have tried to imitate this dish countless times, but there's always something I feel like that's missing and I dont know what.  However, this recipe is very close to my favorite dish, very sweet and ketchup-y unlike the traditional Italian Spaghetti Bolognese.  It wont ever be able to replace the dish from actual Hong Kong cafes, but rather it's used as a simple to make, tasty dish, to satisfy my persistent cravings when I can't have it when I'm at school.  Please enjoy this recipe.  Cook. Eat. Love. Smile.

04.03.12: Hong Kong Style Spaghetti Bolognese

Hong Kong Style Spaghetti Bolognese

1 lb of ground beef

1 lb of spaghetti

½ large onion

1 carrot

~5 large button mushrooms

4 large cloves of garlic

1 can of diced tomatoes

½ can of tomato paste

½ jar of favorite spaghetti sauce

1 ½ cups of ketchup

1 cup of shredded cheese

2 tbsp brown sugar

2 tbsp honey

1 tbsp of soy sauce

1 tbsp garlic powder

1 tbsp cream cheese

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp of red pepper flakes

Prep-work:

1.     Mince very finely the carrots, garlic, mushroom. 

2.     Finely dice the onion

Procedure:

1.     Heat a large pan with medium high heat. 

2.     Take a large stock pot and boil water for the pasta

3.     When the pan is hot enough, add a 3 tbsp of olive oil and sauté the carrots, onions, and mushrooms until soft

4.     Then add the garlic and cook until fragrant

5.     Add the ground beef and cook until almost cooked all the way

6.     If the water in the stockpot has come to a boil, add the pasta and cook until well done. 

7.     Then add the spaghetti sauce, diced tomatoes, and tomato paste and stir to combine well

8.     Add the ketchup, soy sauce, Worcestershire, and cream cheese

9.     Add the brown sugar, honey, garlic powder, and red pepper flakes

10. Then add the pasta into the creamy sauce and combine well

11. Add onto a baking pan (line with foil for easy cleanup) and then top with at least a cup of shredded cheese (a little more couldn’t hurt)

12. Bake at 400 for 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted on top

13. Serve hot and fresh out of the oven.