Vegan Asian Bolognese Noodles

To be honest, I never really make a traditional Italian Bolognese sauce, but I do love a spicy noodle so I thought why not combine Asian flavors with vegan ground beef and spicy sambal oelek and see what happens? What happened is an amazing fiery rich noodle dish that really satisfies.

If you can find a fresh vegan noodle to use in this dish I would. It will make it that much better. You can often find an egg free vegan noodle at Asian markets. If you cannot find them, you can use a similar noodle like linguine or even a thick spaghetti.

This comes together pretty quickly, but make sure you have all ingredients on hand. Sambal oelek is a spicy chili paste you can find in some supermarkets or at your local Asian market. It’s super spicy so you can use as little or as much as you’d like if you want it hot. I fall somewhere in the middle with my heat tolerance so the measurements reflect that.

The basil is really key here. You can use traditional sweet basil but if you have Thai basil that would be even better. I bought a Thai basil plant soon after making this as I really want to make it again using this kind.

Use any type of vegan ground beef you like but one of the newer fattier brands would be best as you need that flavor. If you’re really in a pinch you could use burgers and crumble them up.

Vegan Asian Bolognese Noodles

Recipe by Kreg

0.0 from 0 votes

Servings

6

servings

Prep time

20

minutes

Cooking time

1

hour 

A spicy vegan noodle dish combining Asian and Italian flavors!

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

• 1 medium onion, chopped 

• 8 cloves garlic, sliced

• 2” piece of fresh ginger grated or 4 cubes Dorot frozen ginger

• 1 package vegan ground beef (12-16 oz)

• 1/2 pound fresh white or crimini mushrooms, chopped

• 3 tablespoons vegan sugar

• 3 tablespoons tomato paste

• 2 sprigs fresh basil plus more for garnish

• 1/4 cup hot chili paste like sambal oelek

• 1/4 cup soy sauce

• 1/4 cup unseasoned rice wine vinegar

• 1 1/4 cups water

• 1 lb fresh noodles or 1 pack of linguine

• 2 tablespoons vegan butter

• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

• Heat sesame oil in a large flat bottomed sauté or fry pan over medium heat and add the vegan ground beef. Cook about 5 minutes breaking up the pieces and making sure they’re browned on all sides. Add the mushrooms, sprinkle with a little salt and cook for about 5 minutes more until the mushrooms release their liquid.
• Add garlic, ginger and sugar and cook for a few minutes. Add tomato paste and basil sprigs and cook for two more minutes.
• Add chili paste, soy sauce, vinegar and water and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and cook uncovered for about 30 minutes.
• Just before the sauce is done, cook the noodles in salted water until done. Using tongs, add noodles to sauce with the vegan butter and mix for a few minutes until the noodles are well coated with sauce. If too thick, add a bit of the pasta water to thin it out somewhat. Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Top with basil leaves and serve in individual bowls.

Notes

• Use a fatty vegan beef for best results.
• If you cannot find chili paste, you can use a teaspoon (or more) of red pepper flakes.

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