Selfmade beef chow enjoyable options thick, chewy noodles, tender juicy steak, and crisp veggies introduced along with a aromatic brown sauce. Prepare dinner these restaurant-style fried noodles in your house kitchen with ease utilizing my recipe! {Gluten-Free Adaptable}
Beef chow enjoyable is a basic and standard Cantonese dish that everybody loves. The dish combines huge rice noodles (ho enjoyable) with beef slices and greens stir fried with aromatics and a brown sauce. It could be a dish that you simply typically order from a Chinese language restaurant. However do you know that it’s fairly simple to make it in your personal kitchen so long as you may collect the fitting elements?
Beef chow enjoyable elements
What kind of rice noodles to make use of?
The kind of rice noodles you utilize makes the most important impression on beef chow enjoyable.
Contemporary rice noodles
The perfect kind of rice noodles are the recent rice noodles and it’s the sort we all the time use in China. They’re fats, chewy noodles made with rice flour and water. Typically they’re offered in massive sheets, and typically reduce into noodles. You will discover them in Chinatown, Chinese language markets, and Thai markets. The noodles are often in a plastic bag and offered with different recent elements (not refrigerated).
It’s one of the best kind of noodle to make use of, if you could find them, as a result of they yield one of the best texture.
Dried Chinese language ho enjoyable
Sha he fen (沙河粉), also called ho enjoyable or sha hor enjoyable, are huge, flat rice noodles that originate from the city of Shahe in Guangzhou, China. These noodles are a staple in Cantonese delicacies and are recognized for his or her clean, barely chewy texture.
My favourite kind of dried ho enjoyable is the one from the Mala Market. As soon as cooked, it has a skinny, mild and clean texture, and it absorbs sauce very properly.
Dried Thai or Vietnamese rice noodles
The opposite extra generally seen rice noodles are the Thai or Vietnam kind. Each Style of Thai and Three Girls have the huge kind that’s nice for beef chow enjoyable.
In comparison with the Chinese language sha ho enjoyable, the Thai and Vietnamese kind rice noodles are thicker and chewier. You may want this texture relying in your private style, however I believe the Chinese language fashion works barely higher on this dish.
A phrase on beef chow enjoyable sauce elements
There are numerous methods to place collectively the meat chow enjoyable sauce. I’ve seen many recipes that use oyster sauce. However my Cantonese chef good friend instructed me that they solely use soy sauce, for a cleaner, extra refreshing style.
My beef chow enjoyable solely incorporates 4 elements:
- Rooster broth
- Gentle soy sauce (for umami)
- Darkish soy sauce (for the sunshine caramel taste and the darkish brown colour)
- Sugar
In case you use loads of recent aromatics (like on this recipe) and a few good rice noodles, you solely want this straightforward sauce for a really flavorful noodle dish that is stuffed with umami.
Mise en place
Since cooking beef chow enjoyable requires you to maneuver rapidly, you need to have every part ready previous to the stir fry:
- Sliced and marinated beef
- Combined sauce
- Sliced aromatics (onion, inexperienced onion white half, ginger, and garlic)
- Bean sprouts
- Ready rice noodles
- Sesame oil
Be aware, I grouped some elements collectively as a result of you’ll add them on the similar level within the stir fry. It makes the workflow simpler, plus you’ll have fewer plates to scrub.
How one can prepare dinner beef chow enjoyable
Put together the rice noodles
Dried rice noodles
If utilizing dried rice noodles, you have to to pre-soak or prepare dinner them previous to the stir fry. You must all the time comply with the bundle directions, however soak or prepare dinner the noodles somewhat shorter for an al dente texture. This fashion, the noodles received’t collapse simply through the stir frying and can preserve a pleasant, chewy texture.
Contemporary rice noodles
If utilizing recent noodles, you have to to chop the rice noodle sheets into huge noodles. After slicing, use your fingers to separate the noodles so that they don’t stick collectively.
NOTE: Don’t use water to rinse the noodles. It would make the separation course of simpler, however this step makes the noodles soggy and vulnerable to falling aside through the stir fry.
You must also keep away from storing the recent noodles within the fridge, which makes them inflexible and arduous to separate later.
Make the stir fry
Making beef chow enjoyable is kind of simple after getting all of the elements prepared:
- Sear the meat and switch it to a plate
- Prepare dinner the aromatics
- Toss the noodles
- Add again the meat
- Pour within the sauce and toss every part collectively
- Stir fry with the bean sprouts
- Add the inexperienced a part of the inexperienced onion
- Last toss
As soon as finished, you should have a plate of tremendous aromatic noodles that style similar to those you discover in Chinese language eating places. The noodles shall be chewy and stuffed with taste, the meat juicy and tender, and the greens crunchy and crispy.
Cookware for making beef chow enjoyable
You don’t want a wok
In case you take a look at any genuine beef chow enjoyable recipe, it all the time requires a wok and a gasoline vary. Nonetheless, this setup won’t be sensible for each residence prepare dinner, particularly when you may have an electrical range, or a gasoline range that’s not tremendous highly effective. Learn extra on why I don’t suggest a wok for novices, and how to decide on between a wok and a skillet on your stir fry station.
In case you comply with my recipe, you may obtain nice outcomes with a big nonstick skillet.
Put together a big skillet with a pair of tongs
If doable, choose a heavy nonstick skillet on your beef chow enjoyable and each different stir fry you prepare dinner. We aren’t utilizing a wok right here, however excessive warmth remains to be an important issue to creating an important dish. The rationale we want a big skillet is that it’s going to warmth up quicker on a median vary because of its massive contact floor. And a heavier pan all the time holds warmth higher, so the pan temperature received’t drop the second you add within the sauce; such a drop would trigger all of your elements to be steamed as an alternative of seared.
A pair of tongs (or cooking chopsticks) is a must have for tossing noodles, so that you don’t find yourself splashing half of the elements onto your kitchen counter.
How one can make the proper beef chow enjoyable
(1) How one can create juicy tender beef with a superbly seared floor
First, all the time reduce towards the grain. It’s OK to slice the meat thinly, akin to 1/8-inch thick items. Or you may reduce it into 1/4-inch thick strips. Your name.
Second, all the time marinate the meat and use some cornstarch in your marinade. Not solely will it make your beef additional flavorful, however it can additionally tenderize the meat and defend it from overcooking. It’s an “historical” Chinese language cooking hack that I take advantage of even when searing meat for pasta and different Western dishes.
In case you comply with these two steps, you may select virtually any reduce of the steak and nonetheless produce nice outcomes. Nonetheless, my favourite alternative is all the time flank and skirt steak, that are cheaper in worth, but well-marbled.
(2) Use a beneficiant quantity of oil
Don’t skimp on the oil when making beef chow enjoyable. In case you order this dish in a restaurant, typically you even see oil pooling on the underside of the dish. The do-it-yourself model makes use of much less oil than the restaurant, however you continue to want sufficient to correctly prepare dinner the noodles. The oil not solely prevents the noodles from sticking and falling aside, it additionally infuses the nice taste from all of the aromatics to make the noodles tastier.
You additionally want to make use of extra oil if you don’t use a nonstick pan, as a result of rice noodles have a tendency to stay to the pan.
(3) In the case of fried noodles, much less is extra
Identical to with pizza toppings, utilizing fewer elements will yield higher outcomes as a result of the elements received’t crowd your pan and rework the noodles right into a stew.
(4) How one can exchange elements
Beef chow enjoyable is a really versatile dish and you may tweak it with different elements you may have at residence. Actually, I’ve requested my Cantonese pals about this dish and everybody has their very own model.
Be happy so as to add some greens akin to gai lan (Chinese language broccoli) or bok choy. You’ll be able to skip the bean sprouts and use a bit extra white onion for texture. As a rule of thumb, you need to use some crisp, crunchy veggies to reinforce the feel of the dish.
Need to study extra about stir fry?
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Beef Chow Enjoyable (干炒牛河)
Elements
Stir fry
- 7 oz (200 g) dried rice noodles (or 12 oz / 360 g recent thick rice noodles)
- 3 tablespoons peanut oil (or vegetable oil)
- 1 thumb ginger , julienned
- 3 cloves garlic , sliced
- 1/4 white onion , sliced
- 4 loosely packed cups (4 oz / 120 g) bean sprouts
- 4 inexperienced onions , sliced to 2” (5 cm) items, white halved, white and inexperienced separated
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
Directions
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Slice beef towards the grain into 1/8” (3mm) thick and a pair of” (5 cm) lengthy items, and switch the items to a small bowl. Add the sunshine soy sauce, Shaoxing wine. Use your hand to softly combine the meat till the sauce is totally absorbed. Add the cornstarch and blend once more till evenly distributed. Let marinate for quarter-hour whereas getting ready the remainder of the elements.
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Mix all of the sauce elements. Combine properly and put aside.
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If utilizing dried noodles: Prepare dinner (or soak) the rice noodles in line with the directions minus 1 minute, till cooked by means of, however nonetheless a bit chewy inside. Rinse rice noodles with chilly water and drain. To keep away from sticky rice noodles throughout stir fry, add 1 teaspoon sesame oil to the drained noodles. Gently toss noodles by hand to separate and evenly coat them with a skinny layer of oil.
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If utilizing recent noodles: slice the rice noodle sheet into noodles, then separate the noodles along with your palms. Don’t soak the noodles in water.
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Warmth 1 tablespoon of oil in a big nonstick skillet over excessive warmth till sizzling. Unfold the meat slices within the skillet in a single layer. Prepare dinner till the underside aspect of the meat turns golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Flip the meat and prepare dinner the opposite aspect till browned, however the inside remains to be a bit pink, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Switch beef to a plate instantly.
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In the identical skillet, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil and switch to medium warmth. Add the ginger, garlic, white onion, and the white a part of the inexperienced onion. Stir and prepare dinner till the aromatics flip mild golden on the perimeters, 1 minute or so.
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Toss the cooked noodles once more to separate gently, and add them into the skillet. Use a pair of tongs to toss the noodles with the remainder of the elements to coat properly with the oil.
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Add the meat again into the skillet. Pour within the blended sauce. Instantly use a pair of tongs or chopsticks to toss and blend every part.
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Add the bean sprouts. Hold tossing gently (to keep away from breaking up the noodles) till the bean sprouts simply begin to soften, 1 to 2 minutes. Then add the inexperienced onion. Toss a number of extra instances, till the sauce is absorbed by the noodles, and the veggies are softened however nonetheless crunchy. Flip off warmth and switch every part to serving plates instantly. Serve sizzling as a predominant dish.
Vitamin
Serving: 1serving, Energy: 706kcal, Carbohydrates: 100g, Protein: 13.6g, Fats: 27.2g, Saturated Fats: 4.8g, Ldl cholesterol: 22mg, Sodium: 1555mg, Potassium: 299mg, Fiber: 4.9g, Sugar: 5.9g, Calcium: 52mg, Iron: 6mg
Recipe replace notes
This recipe was printed again in 2017 and I up to date it in 2024. I’ve made it numerous instances through the years, making an attempt to good the recipe. Within the newest model, I eradicated the broccolini and elevated the quantity of bean sprouts, to present the dish a extra genuine presentation. For the sauce, hen broth is used rather than Shaoxing wine for a extra balanced style. The ratio of sunshine and darkish soy sauce was barely adjusted for the proper darkish brown colour (Complete remains to be 3 tablespoons. Relying on the darkish soy model you utilize, you may nonetheless need to use 2 tablespoons mild and 1 tablespoon darkish.)
