BETTER THAN TAKEOUT - Beef Chow Ho Fun Recipe

Souped Up Recipes Updated Nov 8, 2024 Jump to recipe

As the most popular Chinese stir-fry noodle dish, beef chow ho fun is actually pretty easy to make. However, I grew up eating it, so I am pretty picky about it. There are two most crucial things in making the perfect chow ho fun: a carbon steel wok and a powerful gas stove. Why? Because when the oil touches the hot metal, it will create a non-stick coating. If your stove is not hot enough, your noodles will stick to the wok badly. Also, high heat is the requirement to achieving that classic street food wok hay effect, giving your dish a complex smoky aroma and taste. Without that, your stir-fry noodles have no spirit. Therefore, a non-stick wok is not recommended because Teflon can not tolerate high heat; otherwise, it will release toxic elements.

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BETTER THAN TAKEOUT - Beef Chow Ho Fun Recipe

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Ingredients

For marinating the beef

227g / 8 oz beef
0.8g / ⅓ tsp ground white pepper
1.4g / ¼ tsp salt
5.5g / 1 tsp dark soy sauce
3.8g / 1.5 tsps cornstarch
14g / 1 Tbsp cooking wine
1.6g / ⅓ tsp baking soda
13.6g / 1 Tbsp oil to coat the beef

For seasoning the ho fun:

454g / 1 pound fresh ho fun
16.6g / 1 Tbsp soy sauce
18g / 1 Tbsp oyster sauce
8.3g / 1.5 tsps dark soy sauce

Others

27g / 2 Tbsps oil to stir-fry
6g / about 2 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
57g / 2 oz red bell pepper, thinly julienned
57g / 2 oz purple onion, thinly sliced
57g / 2 oz garlic chives, cut into stalks

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Directions

Slice the beef into ⅛-inch thick slices and place into a mixing bowl. Ideal cuts include sirloin, New York strip, flank steak, or chuck.
Add the salt, white pepper powder, dark soy sauce, cooking wine, cornstarch, and baking soda to the beef and mix it for a few minutes or until the seasonings are well combined.
Add 1 Tbsp cooking oil and gently mix to coat the beef, preventing the slices from sticking together while cooking. Set the meat aside for 15 minutes.
Add the ho fun noodles, soy sauce, oyster sauce, and dark soy sauce to a big mixing bowl and mix until well combined. If you see some noodle strings sticking together as you mix, go ahead and separate them. Chef’s Secret: Seasoning the noodles before cooking is beginner-friendly because you can take your time to get everything ready to avoid rummaging around when the heat is on.
Heat the wok over high heat until smoking hot. Add the oil and swirl it around to cover the bottom to create a non-stick layer. Add the beef and stir for 1-2 minutes.
Add the garlic, red chili pepper, purple onion, and garlic chives to the wok. Keep stirring for 1 minute or until the vegetables are slightly cooked.
Remove the beef and vegetables from the wok and set them aside. Clean the wok to remove the residue before cooking the noodles to prevent sticking.
Turn the heat to high and heat the wok to smoking hot again. Add 1 tbsp oil and swirl it around. Toss in the noodles and stir over high heat for 2 minutes or until the noodles are slightly charred. Chef’s Secret: I recommend using chopsticks or tongs to fluff the noodles. If using a spatula, you will likely break the noodles more.
Introduce the beef and the vegetables back into the wok and toss thoroughly. Enjoy!

Recipe Video

Recipe Note

Non-alcohol replacements for Chinese cooking wine vary from recipe to recipe. For this particular dish, you can use ½ Tbsp ginger juice + ½ Tbsp water.
Garlic chives can be replaced by scallions.
Ho fun(河粉) is a type of flat rice noodles, AKA pho noodles. Fresh ho fun can be used immediately without pre-cooking. However, it is hard to find fresh ho fun outside of China. You can use dried pho noodles as a replacement. If so, you need to soak them in hot water for 3-6 minutes or until al dente (firm bite) and then coat them with 1 tbsp cooking oil before cooking.

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