Kanpung Spaghetti Mandu: A Chinese-Style Stir-Fry Instead of Pasta
🍝 A Special Chinese Stir-Fry Dish: Kanpung Spaghetti Mandu Recipe (No Pasta Needed!)
I was planning to make traditional Kanpung Mandu (Korean sweet and sour fried dumplings) but suddenly had a brilliant idea to stir-fry them with spaghetti! This resulted in a brand-new dish that perfectly blends chewy dumplings with springy spaghetti noodles in a sweet and tangy Kanpung sauce. It’s a unique menu item that both kids and adults will absolutely love! ^^
Key Ingredients
- 1 Onion
- 5-6 stalks Spring onions or white parts of leek
- 0.5 pound (approx. 200-250g) Bacon
- 1/2 tsp Minced ginger
- 1 Tbsp Minced garlic
- 4 Tbsp Sweet chili sauce or ketchup
- 2 Tbsp Soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp Oyster sauce
- 2-3 servings Spaghetti
- Frozen dumplings (recommended for pan-frying)
Cooking Instructions
Step 1
First, prepare your vegetables. Peel and finely dice the onion. Chop the spring onions or the white parts of the leek into small pieces. Slice the bacon into pieces no larger than 1cm thick.
Step 2
Now it’s time to pan-fry the dumplings until golden brown. Lightly oil a pan and place the frozen dumplings in it. Fry them on both sides until they are nicely golden. Once cooked, transfer the dumplings to a plate and set aside.
Step 3
While the dumplings are frying, or immediately after, cook the spaghetti. For about 2 servings, I started by boiling 6 cups (approx. 1.2 liters) of water in a frying pan. It might seem like less water than you’d typically use for pasta, but I adjusted it this way because it’s going into a stir-fry. This method allows the water to reduce as the noodles cook.
Step 4
Normally, pasta requires plenty of water to cook properly. Boiling with just 6 cups of water will cause it to reduce quickly and might seem insufficient. However, since it will be stir-fried, I deliberately used less water to avoid the hassle of draining. The trade-off is that you must stir and toss the noodles frequently to prevent them from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
Step 5
After about 8 minutes of cooking, the water had almost evaporated, and the spaghetti was perfectly cooked! To prevent the noodles from clumping, add a small drizzle of olive oil and toss them gently. You can reserve some of the starchy cooking water if you like.
Step 6
If there’s a little oil left in the pan from frying the dumplings, use that. If not, add just a tiny bit more. Add the chopped spring onions (or leek), onion, minced ginger, and minced garlic to the pan. Stir-fry over high heat until fragrant.
Step 7
Once the vegetables have slightly softened, add the sliced bacon and continue to stir-fry them together. The bacon fat will render, adding delicious flavor to the vegetables.
Step 8
When the moisture from the onions and scallions has mostly evaporated and the bacon is nicely browned, add the sweet chili sauce (or ketchup), soy sauce, and oyster sauce in the specified amounts. These will combine to create a delicious Kanpung sauce with a balance of sweetness and savory notes.
Step 9
Stir-fry everything together until the sauce coats the ingredients well. At this point, you can optionally scoop out a little sauce to mix with the fried dumplings beforehand. (If you forget, it’s okay to mix them in the next step!)
Step 10
Once you feel the ingredients are sufficiently stir-fried with the sauce, add the cooked spaghetti noodles. Toss and stir-fry everything together, ensuring the sauce evenly coats the noodles and other ingredients. Making sure the sauce is well distributed will enhance the flavor.
Step 11
When the noodles and all the ingredients are perfectly combined with the sauce, you’re almost done!
Step 12
Finally, plate the stir-fried spaghetti noodles and the dumplings (pre-mixed with sauce, if you did that step) attractively. Your delicious Kanpung Spaghetti Mandu is ready to be served! Enjoy your meal!
