Beef Pan-Fried Noodles
Turn your kitchen into a Chinese restaurant by making crispy pan fried noodles with juicy beef in a rich and savory sauce that tastes too good to be true!
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 8 oz (225 g) flank steak (or skirt steak) , thinly sliced against the grain
- 8 oz (225 g) fresh Hong Kong pan fry noodles (or other type of thin noodles) (Footnote 1)
Meat & Marinade
- 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry)
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Sauce
- 1 cup low-sodium beef broth
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce (*Footnote 2)
- 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry)
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon Chinkiang vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
Stir-Fry
- 4 tablespoons peanut oil , divided
- 4 heads baby bok choy , quartered
- 4 cloves garlic , minced
- 1 inch (2.5 cm) ginger , minced
- 1/2 yellow onion , sliced
- 1/2 carrot , sliced into strips
Instructions
- Combine the beef and the marinade ingredients in a medium-sized bowl. Toss with your hands to coat the beef evenly and let marinate while preparing other ingredients.
- Combine the sauce ingredients in a medium-sized bowl and stir to mix thoroughly.
- Prepare the noodles according to package directions (*Footnote 3). Drain and set aside in a colander to dry.
- Heat a large heavy-bottomed pan (nonstick or carbon steel) with 2 tablespoons of peanut oil over medium-high heat until hot. Spread the noodles into a patty shape (*Footnote 4). Cook without flipping until the bottoms turn golden. Turn the noodles to fry the other side until golden. Drizzle in a bit more oil to help with the frying, if needed. Once done, transfer the noodles to a big serving plate.
- Pour 1 tablespoon of oil into the same pan. Add the beef and spread it out in a single layer using a pair of tongs or chopsticks. Let cook undisturbed for 30 seconds or so, or until the bottom turns golden brown. Flip to cook the other side until browned. Stir a few times until the beef is cooked (it’s OK if there’s a hint of pink inside), transfer to a big plate, and set aside.
- Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil to the pan. Add the onion and carrots. Quickly stir a few times to mix well. Add the ginger and garlic. Stir and cook for 30 seconds to release the fragrance.
- Add the bok choy. Cook and stir for another minute, until the veggies start to soften.
- Stir the sauce thoroughly to dissolve the cornstarch completely and pour the sauce into the pan. Stir and cook to bring the sauce to a boil, and cook until it starts to thicken.
- Add the cooked beef back into the pan. Stir to mix everything well. Once the sauce reaches the desired consistency, pour everything over the fried noodles. (*Footnote 5)
- Serve immediately as a main dish.
Notes
- Hong Kong noodles will yield the best texture. The best alternative is vermicelli pasta, which yields a similar result. If you can’t find either, you can also use ramen noodles (a bit thicker) or angel hair pasta (a bit thinner).
- If you wish to add the dark brown color to your noodles (as shown in the photos), replace 1 teaspoon of soy sauce with dark soy sauce. It won’t affect the taste either way.
- Hong Kong noodles can have different preparation methods depending on the brand. Some don’t require boiling and you can directly pan fry them. In such a case, you might need to pour in a small cup of water (1/4 cup or so) to steam the noodles in the frying pan so they are not too dry. If the package requires boiling but doesn’t indicate a time, you should boil the noodles and keep a close eye on them so they will be al dente. I briefly cooked mine for under 1 minute. If you use pasta, cook it until al dente. If you use thin Asian noodles, cook them 1 minute less than the package indicates.
- This recipe yields a big plate of noodles to share. If you wish to cook individual servings, you can fry the noodles in 2 to 3 batches to create smaller plates.
- If you do not plan to serve the dish immediately, transfer the sauce into a big bowl and cover it to keep warm. Pour the sauce over the noodles right before serving so the noodles remain crispy.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving, Calories: 341kcal, Carbohydrates: 28.1g, Protein: 16.5g, Fat: 18.3g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Cholesterol: 40mg, Sodium: 651mg, Potassium: 305mg, Fiber: 1.8g, Sugar: 4.9g, Calcium: 54mg, Iron: 2mg