This beef chow fun is a quick and easy Chinese stir fry you need to try soon.
Beef Chow Fun, also known as Beef Ho Fun or Beef Hor Fun, is a popular Cantonese dish in Chinese cuisine. It consists of stir-fried flat rice noodles (ho fun or chow fun noodles) with slices of beef, bean sprouts, green onions, and other flavourful ingredients.
The dish is well-known for its wide, flat rice noodles, which have a soft and broad texture. Cantonese cuisine is famous for its emphasis on freshness, simplicity, and balanced flavours.
You will notice when you first dig in to your homemade beef chow fun that it is a good example of all of these characteristics. If you have trouble getting the chow fun noodles, no worries! This beef chow fun is delicious prepared with any wide rice noodles.
What is the history of beef chow fun?
Exactly how long Beef Chow Fun has been a popular dish in China is not known but as it is such a big part of cultural and family gatherings, you would be safe to bet that it’s been around for hundreds of years. Beef Chow Fun is a popular Cantonese dish with origins in southern China, particularly in the Guangdong province.
The dish has a rich history that reflects the culinary traditions of the region. You will now find many different versions around the world but they are all quite similar.
Do you need to tenderise the meat before cooking it?
At Chinese takeaways, the meat is usually tenderised before cooking. This is an easy job so it is worth taking the time to do. You can read my detailed instructions on how to velvet beef along with how to slice it here.
Once you have velveted the meat, you can start this recipe by placing it in the marinade.
Velveting your beef is especially important when using tougher cuts of meat such as rump, skirt or flank steak. That is for perfection. You could make this beef chow fun without velveting the beef.
What vegetables do you add to beef chow fun?
Traditionally you just add spring onions and bean sprouts. More modern interpretations of the dish feature other vegetables in the mix. You could do this too. Popular vegetables you can add are mushrooms, baby sweetcorn, bell peppers or whatever you like really.
How long can you keep this beef chow fun in the fridge?
You can easily store it, covered in your fridge for about 3 to 4 days. Then to reheat it, just pour it all in a hot wok and fry it until heated through. You do want to stir continuously when reheating dishes like this.
If you only have a little beef chow fun left over, you can heat it up in your microwave for a few minutes.
Can you freeze this dish?
Yes and it will freeze well for up to 6 months. If you decide to freeze it, be sure to freeze it in portion sizes that are convenient for you.
Pro tips:
- When using tougher cuts of meat like skirt steak, you should take the time to velvet it first. You could use more expensive cuts such as ribeye which does not need to be tenderized.
- Fry the meat and noodles separately over a really high heat. You want your wok to be smoking hot before adding it which will give the meat a nice, smoky flavour.
- Don’t be afraid to experiment. This is a traditional version of beef chow fun be feel free to try the recipe with other meat, prawns and additional vegetables.
Step by step photographs.
If you like this beef chow fun, you might like to try some of these Chinese takeaway favourites too:
I am currently updating my blog with the most popular Chinese takeaway recipes so be sure to check back often for new recipes. There are a lot on the way!
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- Bang Bang Chicken
- Peking Duck
- General Tso’s Chicken
- Crispy Chicken and Broccoli
- Salt and Pepper Chicken
- Sesame Chicken
- Sweet and Sour Chicken
- Kung Pao Chicken
- Dan Dan Noodles
- Orange Chicken
- Hainan Chicken
- Spicy Chicken Chow Mein
- Mongolian Beef
- Chinese Crispy Beef
- Egg Drop Soup
- Spicy Won Ton Soup
- Egg Fried Rice
- Potstickers
- Bam Bam Chicken
- Shrimp Rangoon
- Black Bean Noodles
- Chinese Chicken Curry
- Deep Fried Green Beans
- Beef in Oyster Sauce
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Beef Chow Fun (Ho Fun)
For best resutles, be sure to velvet the beef before starting this recipe for super tender pieces of meat. Tenderising the meat is optional but it is a very good and recommended option!
Ingredients
- 225g (1/2 lb) beef such as rump or skirt, thinly sliced against the grain
- FOR THE MARINADE
- 2 tsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry
- 2 tsp corn flour (corn starch)
- 2 tbsp water
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp rapeseed or peanut oil
- FOR THE STIR FRY
- 2 tbsp rapeseed (canola) or peanut oil (Or a little more if needed)
- 2.5cm (1 inch) ginger, sliced into 5 thin rounds
- 2 tbsp minced garlic
- 1/2 onion, thinly sliced
- 4 spring onions, sliced lengthwise down the centre and then in half. Keep white and green parts separate
- 450g (16oz) thick flat rice noodles (ho fun noodles)
- 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 90g (3oz) beansprouts
Instructions
- Whisk the sauce ingredients together and set aside.
- Then stir all of the marinade ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Add your sliced beef and stir it all well so that the beef is completely coated with the marinade. Allow to marinnate for 30 minutes or up to 24 hours. The longer the better but if you are in a rush, you could go strait to cooking.
- When ready to cook, transfer the marinated beef to a plate and pat it dry. Retain any leftover marinade that remains in the bowl which can be added the sauce. To make the beef chow fun, heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large wok over a high heat, When smoking hot, add the marinated beef and fry for a couple of minutes until the exterior is beginning to char but it is still quite pink inside.
- Then add the garlic, ginger, sliced onions and the green parts of the spring onions (scallions) and stir it all together for about 3 minutes. Tranfer in back to the plate and set aside.
- Add the sesame oil to your wok and add the cold, cooked noodles. Heat them through while stirring continuously until smoking hot and beginning to crips up in places.
- Return the meat mixture to your wok along with the prepared sauce and any leftover marinade. Stir on toss the ingredients in the wok until everything is heated through.
- Divide between 2 to 4 plates and serve.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 396Total Fat: 26gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 20gCholesterol: 22mgSodium: 2396mgCarbohydrates: 27gFiber: 2gSugar: 7gProtein: 12g