Beef Chow Fun (30 minutes)

An easy Beef Chow Fun recipe consisting of tender beef slices stir fried with flat wide rice noodles and gai lan, seasoned with soy sauce.

*This post may contain affiliate links which helps bring you delicious recipes for free.

Beef chow fun is a classic Cantonese stir fry dish that typically consists of flat wide rice noodles (such as ho fun noodles), beef, bean sprouts, onion, ginger and green onions. For an authentic “wok hei” taste like the ones served in restaurants or your favorite hawker stall, the dish is cooked in a wok over high heat to get that smokey charred flavor. However, if you don’t have a wok on hand, you can still stir fry it on a non-stick pan to get that hearty and savory taste. It’ll just be without the charred element.

Stir fry dishes are pretty versatile when it comes to the ingredients used. I personally love gai lan (Chinese broccoli) in mine, but you can substitute it with bok choy as well, and it’s just as good! It’s quite easy to make, especially when you prep the ingredients beforehand, and only takes roughly 30 minutes!

NOTES FOR BEEF CHOW FUN

• Slice beef against grain to maintain the tenderness of the beef.
• Baking soda is used for the beef marinade as it helps in tenderizing the meat.
• Wide rice noodles – You can usually find the fresh rice noodles in the refrigerated section of your local Asian grocer. But if it’s not available, don’t fret. Dried rice noodles are fine as well.
• Seasoned wok or non-stick pan – Rice noodles tend to easily stick to the pan when you stir fry and become burnt, which is why it’s better to use a seasoned wok or non-stick pan.

Looking for more noodle recipes? Here you go:

• Easy Scallion Oil Noodles
• Delicious Garlic Noodles
• Easy Chow Mein (10 Minutes)
• Malaysian Chili Pan Noodles

RECIPE

Print Recipe

No ratings yet

Beef Chow Fun

An easy Beef Chow Fun recipe consisting of tender beef slices stir fried with flat wide rice noodles and gai lan, seasoned with soy sauce.

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time20 mins

Total Time30 mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Asian, Chinese

Keyword: beef chow fun, better than takeout, chinese food, chow fun, easy asian recipe, takeout recipe

Servings: 2

Ingredients

• 3/4 lb beef flank/skirt steak
• 12 oz wide rice noodles see notes
• 1/2 onion sliced
• 3 cloves garlic sliced/minced
• 3 slices ginger
• 1 green onion cut into thirds and slice vertically
• 1/2 cup bean sprouts
• 1 stalk gai lan (chinese broccoli) separate the stem and leaves

Beef marinade

• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp sugar

Noodle Sauce

• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt if needed

Instructions

• Slice the beef into 1/4 inch slices, cutting against the grain.
• Marinate the beef with all the ingredients listed for at least 15 minutes.
• Prepare all the other ingredients listed. Slice the stem of the gai lan into smaller pieces and tear the leafy part into 2 or 3.
• If using fresh noodles straight from the fridge, rinse and cut with a knife to desired width without separating the noodles to prevent breaking (see notes).
• In a wok or non-stick pan, heat up 2 tbsp oil over medium heat and fry the beef until it's cooked.
• Remove the beef and set aside. In the same oil, sauté the onion for 30 seconds.
• Add garlic and ginger and sauté for 2-3 minutes.
• Add the stem of the gai lan and continue sautéing for another minute.

If using fresh noodles (straight from the fridge)

• Next, add the fresh wide cut rice noodles (see notes).
• Let the noodles heat up for a few minutes and turns softer. Gently separate it with chopsticks.
• Once the noodles are soft and have been separated, add the green onions, gai lan leaves, bean sprouts and beef and stir for 1 minute.
• Season with light soy sauce, dark soy sauce and sugar. Stir until well combined.
• Taste for seasoning and add salt if needed. Serve and enjoy!

If using dried noodles

• Boil the noodles according to package instructions and drain the water.
• Add the green onions, gai lan leaves, bean sprouts and beef into the wok/pan. Stir for 1 minute.
• Add the noodles. Season with light soy sauce, dark soy sauce and sugar. Stir until well combined.
• Taste for seasoning and add salt if needed. Serve and enjoy!

Notes

*If you are using fresh noodles straight from the fridge, the fresh noodles will become soft and slowly separate once heated up in the wok/pan. This can take anywhere from 3-5 minutes. Separate it with chopsticks or whatever cooking utensils you’d like. 

*Alternatively, you can leave the noodles out at room temperature until it turns softer. Cut and separate the noodles for cooking. If you are separating it beforehand, cook it per the instructions for dried noodles.

*You can also boil/soak the fresh noodles in hot water and separate it beforehand. However, I find that by doing this the noodles become too soft and breaks apart when cooking later. 

*If you can’t find gai lan, bok choy is great too. Otherwise, just leave it out and increase the amount of bean sprouts.

Other recipes you'll like:

Garlic Chili Oil Noodles (10 minutes) Easy Chow Mein (10 Minutes) Chili Oil Beef Stir Fry (10 minutes)