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.)
Recipe Instructions:
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 sauce, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, 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!
Chinese Spaghetti Bolognese
Ingredients
- 8 oz. dried spaghetti (225g)
- Salt
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 12 oz. ground beef (340g)
- 1 medium onion (finely diced)
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 2 teaspoons Shaoxing wine (or dry cooking sherry)
- 2 cups chicken stock (475 ml)
- 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)
Instructions
- 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!
nutrition facts
Where I live there is no such thing as a good Chinese restaurant. I know because I’ve had good Chinese food in, of all places Fowl River AL and Mexico City. The point is than if I want something with real Chinese flavor I have to make it myself.
This recipe came along at just the right time, I haven’t been eating much beef but I bought some ground chuck the other day because I had a rare craving for beef. I really got the beef flavor from the sauce. The blending of the flavors knocked me out. It’s very filling. It was so good and easy to make I’m going to make it again tonight.
Hi Liz, sounds like for now, you’re doing well without access to a Chinese restaurant. Just try some of our other recipes and keep up the great cookin!
As a Malaysian Chinese living in UK over 30 years, using different types of Italian pasta fused with Asian/Oriental inspired sauces, condiments, stir fries, etc became a habit and frequently a staple in place of rice or noodles. I smiled as I read your recipe :)
Hi tan, I definitely relate – why not use Asian spices sometimes for a change-up ;-)
Superb comfort food! This will scratch almost any itch for a satisfying pasta dish or for Chinese Take-out…..and is superior to most “to go” food available locally. So good! Thanks! (Have made this MANY times, but think I’d forgotten to rate it.)
Hi Katwyn, thanks for your comment and coming back to rate the recipe :)
Hahah My brothers and I used to make a variation of this all the time when we were kids, and I do mean kids! We came home from school grade 3 to 5 and we had an hour to ourselves. We had the run of the home kitchen since my parents were at work.
Hi Richard, my sisters and I did the same too – thanks for sharing the memory :)
This recipe is fantastic. I have a hard time eating spaghetti any other way now.
Awesome to hear you enjoyed it Ken. This Chinese bolognese is a great way to change up the usual Italian version :)
We do this with left over homemade mapo tofu liquids after all the tofu has been fished out and saved for leftovers. This sounds great, and either way, I am adding frozen peas!
Hi John, great way to use that precious and tasty mapo tofu sauce!
When I first saw this recipe, I thought “what the heck!!” 😂. But I made it and tweaked two ingredients: ground Turkey instead of ground beef and kale instead
of peas. I really enjoyed it! I’m reducing red meat and also salt so Thai was savory enough but not enough to make me feel bloated! Thank you for sharing this recipe!!!
Hi Vidi, awesome that you kept the faith, made the recipe and enjoyed it!
What can you use instead of wine (I don’t consume alcohol)?
Hi Melissa, you can replace the wine with a bit of additional stock.
Yum! And so easy!
Glad you liked our Chinese bolognese Marja!
I grew up on this dish and I thought it was something my mom created haha. I haven’t had this in decades and it tasted exactly like I remembered. Thank you for another amazing recipe that took me down memory lane.
Hi HelenK, wow, I love it whenever dishes create nice food memories. Happy cooking!