Full of flavor, this comforting beef chow fun is an easy and quick stir-fry perfect for a weeknight dinner.
Whenever we get Chinese food, without fail I order beef chow fun. Beef chow fun, also known as beef ho fun and gōn cháau ngàuh hó, is a classic Cantonese stir-fried dish from Guangzhou consisting of tender beef, wide flat rice noodles, bean sprouts, and scallions. I gave up the idea of making it at home after failing multiple times to recreate the flavor of beef chow fun from Mom Kitchen that I love so much.
Then I found a recipe for beef chow fun from The Complete Illustrated Guide to Chinese Cooking: Techniques, Ingredients & Recipes cookbook with clear instructions and a step-by-step pictorial guide for how to make this popular stir fry. My husband and I were blown away by the end result. The flavor was better than any beef chow fun that we have tasted. The noodles were well seasoned with distinctive charred and tender beef slices.
Ingredient Notes
- Beef: use either sirloin or flank steak for this recipe. Skirt steak or flap steak is a good alternative. Remember to slice the beef against the grain.
- Noodles: use fresh white, rice noodles for this recipe.
- Soy sauce: Soy sauce is a brown, salty liquid condiment made from fermented soybeans. One of my favorite soy sauces is from HEYDOH, made from single origin black soybeans with a balanced yet complex flavor profile.
- Dark soy sauce: is less salty than classic soy sauce, with a thicker consistency, darker in color, with a slightly sweet flavor. It’s used to lend color and flavor to dishes.
- Oyster sauce: is a common condiment used in Asian cooking for stir-fries marinade, and a finishing touch on steamed vegetables. Made from a mixture of boiled down oyster juices (which have caramelized), along with salt and sugar, it lends an earthy, slightly sweet, salty, and umami flavor. You can read more about oyster sauce here. My favorite brand is Lee Kum Kee and you can find oyster sauce at Asian supermarket stores or online.
- Baking soda: baking soda is commonly used in a Chinese cooking technique called velveting where a tough cut of meat is marinated with cornstarch or baking soda to tenderize it. The baking soda raises the pH level of the meat and allows the proteins in the meat to relax resulting in tender meat.
- Rice wine: use mijiu, a rice wine made from fermented glutinous rice. Mijiu is used in marinades to impart flavor and tenderize meat and seafood. Sake is a great substitute for rice wine.
How to Make Beef Chow Fun
- Marinate the beef. Cut beef into ⅛ inch thick slices. Marinate beef with the sauces,rice wine, sugar, black pepper, cornstarch, and baking soda for 30 minutes.
- Season the noodles. This step is essential for keeping the noodles well seasoned.
- Put it all together. Cook the beef and remove them from the pan. Stir-fry the onion and white scallion. Add the seasoned noodles and cook until they’re seared. Add the green scallions and mung bean sprouts. Add the beef back in the pan. Stir to combine and taste. Season with additional soy sauce or sugar if needed.
Make Ahead and Storage
All the ingredients can be prepped the night before and refrigerated. The beef chow fun is best eaten on the day it's cooked. Store any leftovers in a lidded container for 24 hours and reheat in the microwave before serving.
For more noodles inspiration:
- Vietnamese garlic noodles with shrimp
- Vietnamese crab cellophane noodles
- Miso salmon soba noodle bowl
Beef Chow Fun (Beef Ho Fun or gōn cháau ngàuh hó)
Ingredients
- 10 ounces sirloin or flank steak, sliced into ⅛ inch
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice wine
- 1 ½ teaspoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 5 tablespoons neutral oil, divided
Noodles
- 1 ½ pounds cooked rice noodles, separated
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
- 1 ½ teaspoons sugar
- ½ cup white onion, sliced
- 2 scallions, sliced into 1 ½ inch length, separate white and green parts
- 4 ounces mung bean sprouts
Instructions
- Cut the beef against the grain into thin strips, about ⅛ inches.
- In a large bowl, whisk oyster sauce, soy sauces, rice wine, sugar, cornstarch, baking soda, and pepper together.
- Add the beef slices and toss until they're evenly coated with marinade. Marinate beef for 30 minutes in fridge.
- In a large bowl, whisk oyster sauce, soy sauces, and sugar. Add noodles and stir to coat evenly.
- When ready to cook, remove beef from fridge and add 1 tablespoon of neutral oil.
- Set a large wok or nonstick skillet over high heat until a drop of water evaporates within a second or two of contact. Heat 3 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat. Add meat and cook for 2 minutes on each side until they're seared and browned. Transfer cooked beef to a plate and set aside.
- In the same wok or skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of oil and saute the onion and white parts of the scallion for 1 minute.
- Add the seasoned noodles and cook over high heat for 3 minutes until they're seared at the edges. Add the mung bean sprouts and green parts of the scallion and cook for 1 minute. Return the beef to the skillet. Toss everything together until well-mixed and heated through or another minute.
- Divide the noodles between serving plates and serve immediately.
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