Delicious Beef Chow Fun recipe: Step-by-Step Guide

Beef Chow Fun (干炒牛河) stands as one of the most beloved Cantonese dishes for good reason.This classic noodle stir-fry combines soft beef strips with broad rice noodles and a mix of fresh, crunchy vegetables. It all comes together in a tasty sauce that has the unique « wok hei » –It’s that signature smoky taste that gives authentic Chinese wok cooking its unique charm. After years of refining this classic dish—through plenty of trial and error and advice from Cantonese culinary pros—I’m thrilled to share a step-by-step approach to preparing beef chow fun at home that tastes just like the restaurant version.

Why This Recipe Works

What sets this beef chow fun recipe apart is the attention to three critical elements that most home cooks overlook:

1. Our specialized beef velveting technique guarantees exceptionally tender meat that rivals any Cantonese restaurant. The secret lies in the precise marinade timing and ingredients that transform even slightly tougher cuts into silky, flavorful strips.
2. The noodle separation method prevents the dreaded clumping that ruins texture. Through careful temperature control and handling, you’ll achieve perfectly distinct noodles with the ideal chewy bite.
3. A high-heat cooking strategy that creates authentic wok hei flavor even on standard home stoves. By working in small batches and following our timing precisely, you’ll capture that distinctive smoky essence that defines authentic beef chow fun.

Ingredient Deep Dive

Ho Fun Noodles

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The meal begins with a foundation of broad, flat rice noodles. From this point, you have a couple of directions you can take:

• Fresh Ho Fun: The gold standard, available at Asian markets in the refrigerated section. These require gentle separation before cooking. To prevent breaking, let them come to room temperature, then carefully peel noodles apart one by one.
• Dried Rice Noodles: More accessible but require soaking. Look for the widest variety available (often labeled as « rice sticks » or « wide rice noodles »). Let them sit in warm water for 30-45 minutes until they become soft yet still have a bit of firmness

Recommended brands: Wan Ja Shan, Double Phoenix

Beef

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Best cuts: Flank steak or sirloin deliver the perfect balance of tenderness and flavor. The critical technique is slicing against the grain in thin, 1/8-inch strips. Cutting perpendicular to the muscle fibers ensures tenderness even after high-heat cooking.

Sauce Components

The perfect balance of these ingredients creates the signature flavor profile:

• Light soy sauce: Provides saltiness without darkening the dish
• Just a dash of dark soy sauce: can deepen the flavor and darken the noodles slightly — no need to overdo it.
• Oyster sauce: Creates rich umami foundation
• Sugar: Just a touch balances the savory elements
• White pepper: Delivers a mild, nuanced heat that sets it apart from black pepper.

Aromatics

• Ginger: Freshly minced, removes any gaminess from the beef
• Garlic: Thinly sliced rather than minced for optimal wok cooking
• Scallions: Separated into white parts (cooked early) and green parts (added at the end)

Vegetables

• Bean sprouts: Provide essential crunch and freshness
• Onions: Thinly sliced, adding sweetness when briefly cooked
• Chinese chives/scallions: Traditional addition that brings bright color and flavor

Equipment Guide

Essential Tools

• Carbon steel wok: The traditional choice that conducts heat rapidly and develops natural non-stick properties over time
• Wok spatula: A metal spatula with a slightly angled edge works well for stirring and scraping along the wok’s curved surface.

Recommended

• High BTU burner: If available, provides the intense heat needed for true wok hei
• For standard stoves: Work in smaller batches and preheat your wok longer to maximize heat retention

The Recipe: Authentic Beef Chow Fun

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 4
Calories: Approximately 450 per serving

Ingredients

For the Beef Marinade:

• 12 oz (340g) flank steak or sirloin, thinly sliced against the grain
• 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
• 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda (tenderizer)
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon neutral oil

For the Sauce:

• 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
• 1/2 tablespoon dark soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine

For Stir-Frying:

• 1 lb (450g) fresh ho fun noodles (or 8 oz/225g dried wide rice noodles, soaked)
• Use 3 tablespoons of a neutral, high smoke point oil, divided for different steps in the cooking process.
• 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1-inch piece ginger, julienned
• 1/2 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 2 scallions, whites and greens separated, cut into 2-inch segments
• 2 cups fresh bean sprouts
• ¼ cup of Chinese chives, or extra scallion greens if you prefer, cut into 2-inch pieces.

Instruction

Velvet the beef by mixing all the condiment constituents together in a coliseum, icing the beef is completely and unevenly carpeted. Let it sit and marinate for 20 to 30 twinkles — no longer, as extended marinating can alter the texture due to the baking soda pop.

Prepare the sauce Combine all the sauce constituents in a small coliseum and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Set away.

Prepare the polls For fresh ho fun, gently pull the polls piecemeal into separate strands.Using dried polls? Soak them first, also drain and gently dry them off with some paper apkins. crucial tip Keep the polls slightly wettish — they’ll finish cuisine in the wok.

toast your wok Set wok over high heat until it just starts smoking. Add about a teaspoon of oil painting, also cock the visage to spread it out unevenly across the face.

Cook the beef Place the marinated beef in the visage in a single subcaste and let it cook unperturbed for about 30 seconds to get a good sear. also stir- shindig snappily for another 1- 2 twinkles until just cooked through but still tender. Remove beef to a clean plate.

Stir- shindig aromatics Set the wok back over high heat and add a teaspoon of oil painting. Add the gusto, garlic, sliced onions, and the white sections of the scallions. Stir- shindig for 30 seconds until ambrosial.

Cook the polls Push aromatics to one side of wok, add remaining 1 teaspoon oil painting to empty side. Add the polls and gently separate them so they cover the face unevenly. Let them sear for 30 seconds without moving to develop wok hei.

Combine and sauce Toss polls with aromatics, also pour sauce around the edges of the wok( not directly on polls). snappily toss everything to combine.

Add beef and vegetables Return beef to wok along with bean sprouts and green corridor of scallions Chinese chives. Stir- shindig for 1 final nanosecond until everything is well combined and vegetables are just slightly wilted but still crisp.

Serve incontinently Transfer to a serving plate while still hot and enjoy!

Notes

For authentic wok hei, cook in batches if demanded- overcrowding the wok reduces temperature and creates brume rather of sear

You can store any remaining beef chow fun in the fridge for over to two days. To bring the polls back to life, warm them in a hot skillet or wok with a small splash of water.

effects move snappily once you start cooking, so make sure everything is fixed and within reach before the wok goes on the heat.

The Secret to Restaurant- Quality Beef Chow Fun Recipe

The crucial point of great beef chow fun is the perfect blend of textures. You need tender beef, leathery polls, and crisp vegetables. It should also have that special wok hei flavor. Professional cookers achieve this through blazing hot woks, but home culinarians can replicate the effect by

Preheating your wok until it’s smoking hot before adding oil painting

cuisine in small batches to maintain temperature

Allowing constituents to sear briefly before stirring

Using high heat throughout the entire cuisine process

The difference between good and great beef chow fun frequently comes down to timing and heat operation. Do not rush the fix work, but once you start cooking, work snappily and confidently for the stylish results.

Regional Variations

While this form presents the classic Cantonese dry- fried interpretation( 干炒牛河, gan chao niu he), you might also encounter

Saucy Beef Chow Fun With a thickened gravy, popular in some Hong Kong- style caffs

Singapore- StyleAdding curry greasepaint for a distinct taste experience

American Chinese Acclimations constantly incorporating fresh vegetables similar as broccoli or carrots

The dry- fried interpretation presented then’s considered the gold standard among Cantonese beef chow fun dilettantes , showcasing the pure flavors and textures of the dish without hiding behind excess sauce.

Try this authentic beef chow fun form at home, and you will noway need to order takeout again. The combination of tender beef, impeccably cooked polls, and that distinctive wok- seared flavor creates a truly eatery- good dish that honors the Cantonese culinary tradition.

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