Mushroom Pasta Stir-Fry

By Hetty Lui McKinnon

Total Time: 30 minutes
Rating: 4(2,280)
Notes: Read community notes

While stir-fries have long gone hand-in-hand with rice, this recipe shows the versatility of the dish. Here, a quick stir-fry is transformed into a flavorful, unconventional pasta sauce. Five spice is a Chinese seasoning that is said to incorporate all five tastes: sweet, sour, bitter, salty and umami. In this recipe, its blend of star anise, cloves, Chinese cinnamon, Sichuan peppercorns and fennel intensifies the robust flavor of the mushrooms. Don’t overcook the broccolini; it should be crisp, with a bright green vibrancy. You could easily substitute broccoli, green beans, snow peas or other crunchy greens. And don’t skip the butter (or use vegan butter, if you prefer), as it provides a beautiful richness which brings the sauce and ingredients together.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

For the Pasta

Kosher salt and black pepper
1pound spaghetti or other long pasta
4tablespoons neutral oil, such as grapeseed
1pound mushrooms (any small variety), trimmed and cut into ¼-inch-thick slices
2garlic cloves, grated
1¼teaspoons five-spice blend
¾pound broccolini, trimmed and cut into 3-inch pieces, thick stems halved lengthwise
3tablespoons unsalted butter
2scallions, thinly sliced

For the Sauce

2tablespoons oyster sauce (or vegetarian mushroom oyster sauce)
2tablespoons maple syrup or brown sugar
1tablespoon soy sauce
1tablespoon sesame oil
1tablespoon chile oil or chile crisp

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to package instructions, until al dente. Reserve 1 cup of pasta cooking water, then drain the pasta.
Step 2
Meanwhile, heat a large (12-inch), deep skillet over medium-high. When hot, add 2 tablespoons oil and the mushrooms. Cook for 7 to 8 minutes, giving it a stir every 2 minutes or so. The mushrooms will release lots of liquid, but it will evaporate as it cooks. When the mushrooms start to turn golden, add the garlic, five spice and ½ teaspoon each salt and black pepper, then cook for 1 minute. Transfer the mushrooms to a plate and set aside.
Step 3
While the mushrooms are cooking, make the sauce: In a small bowl, whisk the oyster sauce, maple syrup, soy sauce, sesame oil and chile oil with ¼ cup water until combined. Set aside.
Step 4
Heat the same skillet back over medium-high. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil and the broccolini. Season with salt and pepper and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, tossing occasionally, until the broccolini is tender but still quite crisp.
Step 5
Add the pasta to the pan, along with the sauce and the butter. Using tongs, toss to combine, then add the reserved pasta cooking water, ¼ cup at a time, just to loosen the sauce. When the butter has melted, add the mushrooms and toss again. Remove from the heat. Serve topped with scallions.

Ratings

4 out of 5

2,280 user ratings

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Private Notes

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Cooking Notes

Heather Lim3 years ago

Added some minced ginger and cut red chillies to the broccolini whilst stir frying for a kick!! Love this amazing recipe . Thank you.

Mike3 years ago

I love pasta stir fries! So versatile. To cut down on calories and to increase the amount of vegetables in the dish, I will use a mixture of squash noodles with the spaghetti. One can make asian, Italian and African spiced versions depending on one's mood.

Joe3 years ago

Enjoyed this with whole wheat spaghetti and proportions as written, but next time will cut pasta a bit and up the veggies

Paulina3 years ago

Good, but kind of oily, what with the neutral oil, the sesame oil, the chili oil, and the butter ... XD

Suzanne3 years ago

I made this last night for our family of four with two teens. We all had seconds, it was so delicious. Easy, filling, and quick weeknight meal. The modifications I recommend: Use whole wheat spaghetti for the pasta. Double the sauce quantity. Add ginger and red peppers to the broccolini mixture. Enjoy!

Vicky3 years ago

This was delicious! I took others' tips and made all of the sauce for only 5 ounces of pasta (for 2 people). I used 3 cloves of minced garlic, about 1 T. minced ginger and some minced jalapeno. I also added sliced red bell pepper. I used much less of the neutral oil and only 2 tsp of sesame oil and chili oil instead of the full T. of each. Also, used only 1 T butter. I think it would have been too oily if I had used all of the butter and oil.

tammy3 years ago

This is one of those life saver recipes that I can see relying on when I just don't have the time or inclination to make a meal! No broccolini - no prob - those thick asparagus languishing in the back of the veg drawer, that impulse buy of snow peas, happily some Baby Bellas - yay. No spaghetti - vermicelli works just fine. No Oyster Sauce - Hoisin fills in. This is SO going to be in the rotation!

Teri3 years ago

This was delicious! My partner and I both really enjoyed it! I substituted squash noodles for the pasta and also eliminated the maple syrup/brown sugar, using just a touch of non-sugar sweetener (made from monk fruit). It was already on the sweet side, and next time, I will eliminate additional sweetener entirely.

Philly Annie3 years ago

Loved this as a quick midweek dinner. I subbed Trader Joe’s frozen mushroom medley for the mushrooms, which made it even quicker. I only had chili garlic sauce but it worked out fine without too much heat. I used whole wheat pasta and it was delicious.

krena3 years ago

Cooking the broccoli in the same skillet without washing allowed some brown residue to form. That wouldn’t have been too bad, except as soon as the pasta hit the skillet it stuck on firmly and I never could scrape it all up. I recommend using some of the pasta water to deglaze the pan BEFORE adding the pasta back in. It was an OK dish, good for a change but not something I will make again.

lowcountrygayle3 years ago

We loved this. Used broccoli, no broccolini at grocery. 1 1/2 lb mushrooms, 8 oz pasta, could have used less. Per other reviews upped garlic and added ginger. Used all the butter, loved the flavor it added, used chili crisp too. Will make again!

Babbo3 years ago

Rinse the pasta after draining/toss w cold water. Dbl mushrooms and dbl sauce. Add crunchy topper. Bok choy thin slice and carrot/pepper. Dbl scallions

Maryanne3 years ago

I used asparagus instead of broccolini but otherwise followed the recipe. Interesting flavors. No complaints

Aliska3 years ago

Interesting flavor profile and quick to make. I rated as 4 stars because as written the recipe is a bit too oily (and I omitted the butter). Next time I’ll reduce the amount of oil.

pamintucson3 years ago

Cook soba for two minutes only

QUAASAM6 days ago

Delicious. Made the sauce quantity for 4 people for 2 2 people serving. Added 1 tbsp fresh ginger. Will do it again.

notes1 month ago

It surprised me how tasty this was! Made as is but with fusilli (only because that’s all I had in the cupboard) but the spirals really held the flavor and made for a nice added texture. 12yo loved it too. Very easy dish to make, so will definitely keep this in my weeknight rotation!

Cravin' Good Cuisine2 months ago

We like strong flavors but felt this was a bit heavy on the 5-spice powder. Used an 8-oz package of gluten-free black bean spaghetti, which was very thin & complemented the other ingredients well. It was plenty for 4 medium-sized servings.

Diane Baker2 months ago

Has anyone tried this with tofu noodles?

Gabe3 months ago

Added a heaping tablespoon of white miso to the sauce mix for an added umami boost. Also used less pasta because was trying to only feed two of us dinner, with each of us getting a smaller lunch portion for tomorrow. Two thumbs up from both cook and eater.

Mel4 months ago

There are shelf stable Asian noodle that require no boiling. They can’t found on AmazonYou stir-fry the noodles and set aside the. Then make he the vegetable in a wok or deep skillet the add sauce at the end.with noodles and stir

Jan4 months ago

+Browned sliced almonds

NHchickens5 months ago

Tasty... Left out black pepper (chili oil was plenty) and butter. Restaurant-level oily without the butter.

mmb5 months ago

Used Udon noodles (2 packs frozen), snow peas instead of broccolini, double the sauce.

Keith LAw5 months ago

Loved this. It was pretty spicy for us, and I only used about 2 tsp of chile oil (vs the full Tbsp). The sauce/pasta ratio is perfect. Don't use less than the pound of pasta unless you want soup. This isn't Olive Garden.

mmb5 months ago

Decr sesame oil. Probably extra veggies

Susie Moloney6 months ago

I wish they wouldn't say "five spice blend." Just tell us what the blend is. Chances are good we have the spices, but not the pre-made blend! (Canada here ... this is not a common spice). But recipe was incredible! It goes into the rotation!

Mel7 months ago

Great recipe Mae many times.it got simpler when I discovered shelf stable stir-fry noodles which eliminates boiling spaghetti and doesn’t stick to a pan as spaghetti does

Tim7 months ago

My wife prefers bland recipes, while I enjoy spice, thus this recipe is perfect. Terrific umami for both of us, four stars; but add the chile crisp and it's *five stars* for me. Don't be fooled by the recipe's generic sounding name, it's good!

JL7 months ago

Put less sugar, half even. And less 5 spiced powder.

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