You’re probably thinking, “Did I just read that right? Chinese Spaghetti Bolognese?!!”
Yep, that’s right–Chinese Spaghetti Bolognese. The name popped into my head as I was making this dish for the family. It’s ground beef in a silky Chinese-style brown sauce with plenty of delicious Asian flavors. Cooked until fragrant, mixed with green peas, and tossed with your favorite pasta, it’s similar to a traditional beef “Yook Soong,” but instead of serving it over rice, it’s tossed with spaghetti! (Of course, I’m definitely using the term “bolognese” here very loosely. Wouldn’t want to offend any of our Italian readers!)
This recipe is so satisfying and easy to make, it will wow your family (especially the kids). Plus, this comes together much more quickly than a traditional Italian Spaghetti Bolognese. It’s definitely an original one-of-a-kind dish, so don’t worry about the strange looks you first get when you approach the table with a plateful of spaghetti, noticeably absent of tomato sauce. Once your family digs in, you’ll know what I mean. Give this original dish from our family recipe archives a try!
(QUICK SIDE NOTE: Hey everyone, this is Sarah. I’m interrupting my dad’s post here to say that this “Chinese Spaghetti Bolognese” idea is one of my favorite recipes to come out of the blog in a long time. Suffice it to say, I demolished an embarrassingly large bowl of this spaghetti. Props to dad on this one.)
You’ll need:
- 8 oz. dried spaghetti
- Salt
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 12 oz. ground beef
- 1 medium onion, finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons Shaoxing wine or dry sherry
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 3 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon dark soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/8 teaspoon white pepper
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch, mixed with 2 tablespoons water
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil for the spaghetti. Cook the spaghetti according to the package instructions, undercooking it by about a minute (it will finish cooking in the sauce). While the pasta is cooking, start the sauce.
Heat a wok over high heat and add a tablespoon of oil. Add the ground beef and cook until slightly browned, breaking up any large chunks of beef.
Add the onion, garlic, and Shaoxing wine, and turn the heat down to medium. Cook until the onion is transparent, and then add the chicken stock.
Bring to a boil and lower the heat to a simmer. Stir in the oyster and soy sauces, sesame oil, and white pepper. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the cover, add the peas, and stir for one minute.
Stir up the cornstarch slurry (since the starch will separate from the water when left to sit), and drizzle the slurry into the sauce while stirring constantly. The sauce should thicken until it coats a spoon.
Drain the pasta, and add it directly to the wok. Toss until the pasta is coated in sauce. Feel free to add some of the pasta cooking liquid if the sauce is too thick, and add more cornstarch slurry if the sauce is too thin.
Serve your Chinese spaghetti bolognese hot!
If you like pasta dishes, Asian or otherwise, you must try some of Sarah’s other favorites like Roasted Pasta Ratatouille , Thai Basil Pesto Pasta with Spicy Shrimp, or Soy Sauce Butter Pasta with Shrimp and Shiitakes. Take your pick and I’m sure you won’t be disappointed!
- 8 oz. dried spaghetti
- Salt
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 12 oz. ground beef
- 1 medium onion, finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons Shaoxing wine or dry sherry
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 3 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
- ½ teaspoon dark soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- ⅛ teaspoon white pepper
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch, mixed with 2 tablespoons water
- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil for the spaghetti. Cook the spaghetti according to the package instructions, undercooking it by about a minute (it will finish cooking in the sauce). While the pasta is cooking, start the sauce.
- Heat a wok over high heat and add a tablespoon of oil. Add the ground beef and cook until slightly browned, breaking up any large chunks of beef. Add the onion, garlic, and Shaoxing wine, and turn the heat down to medium. Cook until the onion is transparent, and then add the chicken stock.
- Bring to a boil and lower the heat to a simmer. Stir in the oyster and soy sauces, sesame oil, and white pepper. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the cover, add the peas, and stir for one minute.
- Stir up the cornstarch slurry (since the starch will separate from the water when left to sit), and drizzle the slurry into the sauce while stirring constantly. The sauce should thicken until it coats a spoon.
- Drain the pasta, and add it directly to the wok. Toss until the pasta is coated in sauce. Feel free to add some of the pasta cooking liquid if the sauce is too thick, and add more cornstarch slurry if the sauce is too thin. Serve!
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Hi, Is hoisin sauce interchangeable for oyster sauce in this recipe?
Hi Amy, not really, as they both have very different flavors! That said, you could get a little wild and crazy and try it!
I made this flavor-packed dish for Christmas Eve this year and it was perfect! The sauce has the silky velvety texture of a traditional bolognese paired with the punch of awesome Chinese flavors. I used fresh Chinese wheat noodles from my local grocery store (Berkeley Bowl, the best place on earth) and decided to omit the peas and garnish with green onion instead for a nice bright color. Served it with Easy Chinese Yu Choy Sum (https://thewoksoflife.com/2016/01/yu-choy-recipe/) and spent time socializing instead of cooking all night. Outstanding recipe, can’t wait to make it again!
So glad you enjoyed it! Happy new year :)
Look forward to try
Hope you like it, Kevin :)
The kids LOVED this and gobbled it up – peas and all. I used ground turkey to try to make it a bit healthier.
Definitely a hit!
That’s great! Next time you can sneak in more peas :)
Wow! This was a hit with my family and we have now had this several times. Great the next day for school lunches (when there are leftovers). Tonight I substituted hoisin sauce for oyster sauce. Different flavor, but just as delicious!
Glad you enjoyed it, Leigh Ann! This is one of our favorites too :)
Loved this one, and so easy as a weeknight meal!
Couldn’t agree with you more, Vicky!
its nice trying it
Made this for dinner tonight . It was good! Kinda like a beef stroganoff. A nice break from a tomato based spaghetti sauce.
Will definitely make it again and maybe add some grated carrot too. ?
Another success, love it! Thank you for commenting.
Hi,
Can I make this with rice or egg noodles instead? I only have those in the house at the moment!
Finally could you suggest an alternative to Oyster sauce? I am looking for a vegetarian, alcohol free alternative.
I tried one of your noodle recipes-delicious!
Hi Sam, I have not tried this with rice or egg noodles, but the difference in using other noodles will mostly be the texture. The flavor should be the same. I have seen vegetarian oyster sauce, which is made with mushrooms – you may want to take a look at a picture of vegetarian oyster sauce on our Chinese sauces page HERE.
This recipe was delicious! I made it for my brother and I and he ate a good 3 servings. I just wanted to say how much I love all the recipes on here. I’ve made several and each one has turned out perfectly. I hope you guys keep posting!
Glad you enjoyed it Genna and thanks for your kind comment. We’ll do our best to keep the recipes coming!
Love the recipe. I keep making it, often vegetarian, replacing the meat with Tofu or soy and stuffing it into vegetables (Aubergines, Courgettes). It’s so yummie.
We love this one too. There aren’t actually that many recipes that we make over and over again, because we’re always experimenting with new stuff. But I keep coming back to this Chinese spaghetti bolognese. A stroke of brilliance on my dad’s part for sure!
Am going to try this sometime this week. Looks great!
Make that “tomorrow” as in today.
Wonderful dish.
Thank you! Hope you enjoy it.
I made this tonight for a quick dinner and oh my goodness was it ever fantastic. So glad there are leftovers!
Hi Ashley, glad you enjoyed it and will again tomorrow ;-)
Delicious!
I already made it with soy instead of meat which turned out lovely as well and used the sauce as a stuffing for aubergines (together with the inner parts of the aubergines). Both was divine.
Sounds delicious Schantall – thanks for sharing!
This was SO amazing. I’ve been eyeing this recipe for weeks now and I finally got around to making it – so glad I did because it’s perfect for finals week – rich, hearty, full of umami, yum! It was totally not what I expected (now that I’ve had it, I don’t know what I was expecting …) but it was really good. I didn’t have any dark soy sauce so I just omitted it, and it turned out great. I think I’ll add some five spice next time. :) Thank you!!
Hi Liana, Glad you enjoyed this and hope it helped you in your finals week!
Hi! I am Muslim, but i follow n try ur recipes (non-pork ones) quite regularly! My family loves the Milk Bread and i bake it every 2 weeks!!
We do not consume alcohol – what is the best substitute for the shaoxing wine?
Hi Iza, You can leave the wine out of most recipes as I have not actually thought about a non-alcoholic replacement for it. You’re not the first to ask though so when we come up with something, we’ll share it with everyone;-)
Hi Iza, from my experience, alcohol-free beer works finde as a replacement.
cheers,
dd
What kind of speghetti did you use for this recipe?
Hi Wendy, We just used Barilla dry thin spaghetti from a box but any good brand or cut of dry pasta would work!
Need to cook this ..sounds delish…..Thanks for sharing….
You are very welcome, Margaret!
We don’t have any Sherry or Shaoling wine in my house, is there another substitution that will be as effective?
Hi Olivia, You can leave out the wine if you don’t have any, but even a dry white wine or even some beer will work. I would avoid any red wines as they are too strong for the dish.
Just made it tonight… went down like a treat…
Excellent Swetha! :)
I tried this recipe and it does grow on you with every bite.
I tried adding chili garlic oil, which sounded like the most logical progression for this dish, but found that somehow, a splash of Tabasco rounds it out so much better.
Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Glad you liked it Didi! The tabasco sounds like it was a good addition. :)
Reminds me of a similar pasta my grandma would make, that was literally lost in amnesia land until this read. She used green pepper instead of peas and I think there was a hint of hoisin but not sure. Thanks again for all the recipes and this time the bonus nostalgia!
How fabulous, Arlen!
This was so delicious! My 4 year old son who eats only tomato based pasta finished this up (even though on the side he kept asking for the tomato sauce). So glad I cooked this. Looking forward to trying more recipes from this website.
Thanks Pamela!
First time using your one of your recipes and this was delicious! I used rice noodles (no spaghetti in the house) and added a little heat for my liking. Thanks so much! I look forward to making this with spaghetti. Looking forward to trying your other recipes!
Thanks Sherry and happy cooking!
Made it for dinner last night. We really enjoyed it. I added some Sichuan peppercorn oil and crushed red peppers to my plate after dishing it up. Sooo good. Thanks Bill!
Hi Chip, Thanks for sharing! Most Cantonese palates, especially the older generation, avoid spicy food in favor of the more traditional mild and fresh tastes but I think you got the right idea with kicking up the heat on this dish! Happy cooking :)
We were intrigued by the Chinese Bolognese title (of course). And then we read the post. And then we were drooling!:)
This is a FANTASTIC idea Bill! Panos adores Bolognese and I know he’ll adore this one too! He is sitting next to me and is rumbling about how amazing this recipe is!:)
Thank you so much! You guys are such EXCELLENT cooks!
xoxoxo
Thank you so much, hope you give this one a try!
I just made this for lunch (and will eat this again for dinner haha) and it was so yummy and satisfying! I added some hot chili oil in my bowl for some kick and it was all over from there! What a fantastic dish, thank you for sharing. This will be on our rotation for sure! :)
Happy to hear that Victoria. the hot chili oil is definitely in order for this dish! We love using our homemade chili oil recipe. Thanks for sharing!
Made for dinner tonight. This will certainly be on the rotation going forward. Thanks for sharing!
Yeahhhh! Super!
Hey, don’t be afraid to insult Italians, because there’s no such thing as Spaghetti Bolognese there. That’s an American invention.
Hi ozur, thanks for sharing that. I was never knew bolognese was American!
I’m very curious as to whether this is a new idea or something you’ve been doing for a while. It’s very similar to something I ate quite often, growing up with Taiwanese parents in the Middle East where Chinese ingredients were hard to get. The dish I remember didn’t contain oyster sauce, but included bell peppers and a bit of ketchup. Possibly related?
Oh, and don’t worry about offending any Italians, they’d never put ragu on spaghetti anyway.
Hi Andrew, we have been cooking this for years but my mom made the first version over rice rather than spaghetti
Is it possible to replace the minced beef with minced chicken? Btw..love all your recipes. I tried the sweet and sour pork today…it tasted good.
Hi Angie, yes, you can use ground chicken, turkey or lamb.
Made this today. AWESOME fusion recipe! I look forward to some more original recipes to accompany the traditional ones (which I’m addicted to). Many thanks.
You’re welcome! So glad you enjoyed it. :)
What an awesome idea! I will try it out next week when normal life resumes after the holidays. I love mince and always have some in the fridge. I love that this recipe is so simple and quick to prepare.
Whenever I have leftover Keema, Punjabi spiced mince, I thoroughly enjoy coming up with creative ways to use it. With pasta is one of the ways I love it. I also sandwich it between tortillas for a Quesadilla or I make a mince Biryani with saffron and rose water perfumed rice.
Your recipes really make my mouth water…
Thanks for sharing your experiences and hope you enjoy it!
OMG! This was AWESOME! I made it tonight and used ground lamb instead of beef because that was what I had on hand. My boys devoured them. My three-year-old is going through a phase of not eating meat but he ate the whole thing tonight.
Hi Lu, awesome job – glad to hear your family enjoyed it!
What a wonderful recipe! My 83yo Chinese Cantonese father LOVES spaghetti, and loves a good Bolognese, but in recent years, tomato is not agreeing with his tummy. Spaghetti Bolognese is the only “western” dish he will eat as he is not a fan of anything that is not Chinese food. This recipe is perfect! I’m sure my kids will love this too!
It does sound perfect, Gloria––I’m sure your family will love this. Like I said in the post, this is one of my favorite new recipes on the blog.
Wow, what an intriguing recipe! Thanks. There’s no doubt I will be making it this week.
Hi Judy, Let us know how you like it!
simple and very good
Thanks George – hope you try it!
An excellent offering… Thank you… :O)
You’re welcome Ross!
Is it possible for you to refrain from posting recipes that cause me to lick my ipad? ;-)
I will be making this tonight – yay!
A wonderful New Year to the entire family :-)
Hi Sandra, Hope you and you family enjoy it and Happy New year to you too!
wow this looks so delicious! i thought initially it was spiced similar to mapo tofu. what do you think about the addition of red chili’s?
Hi Jenny, You could definitely add some heat with red chili pepper!