Beef Stir Fry Udon Noodles in Black Pepper Sauce is a classic dish in Cantonese Cha Can Ting restaurant – super easy to make. Udon noodle is slightly bouncy and meaty. We used a ton of black pepper in this recipe, the flavor really stands out, which pairs perfectly with the tender succulent beef. I just can’t stop eating.

INGREDIENTS

• 10.5 oz (300 grams) of beef
• 1/3 tsp of salt
• 1/3 tsp of baking soda
• 1 tsp of cornstarch
• 1 tbsp of Chinese cooking wine
• 1 tsp of dark soy sauce
• 2 tbsp of cooking oil to stir fry the beef
• 2 tbsp of cooking oil added to stir fry the vegetables and noodles
• 14 oz (400 grams) of wudong noodles (400 grams)
• 1 tbsp of finely minced garlic
• 1 tbsp of finely minced shallot
• 1/2 tbsp of minced ginger
• 1 tbsp of freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp of Soy sauce
• 1 tbsp of Oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp of fish sauce
• 1 tsp of dark soy sauce
• 8-10 oz of mixed vegetables
• 2 scallions, cut into 2 inches long pieces

INSTRUCTIONS

Slice the beef into 1/4 of an inch thick slices. I am using flank steak. Other tender cuts will also work. Marinade it with 1/3 tsp of salt, 1 tsp of cornstarch, 1 tbsp of Chinese cooking wine, 1 tsp of dark soy sauce, 1/3 tsp of baking soda. Baking soda will break down the meat fibers and tenderize the beef. It will give you that melt in your mouth texture.

Next, we gonna prepare the noodles. Udon noodles are very thick and they come in a package that is con-packed really tight. To lossen them up, you have to drop them in boiling hot water and gently stir. In a couple of minutes, they should be nice and lose. Immediately remove them from the water and spread them on a rack. The rest of the heat will evaporate the excess moisture. This is important because you don’t want soggy noodles.

Season the udon noodles with 1 tbsp of Soy sauce, 1 tbsp of Oyster sauce, 1 tbsp of fish sauce, 1 tsp of dark soy sauce, and a ton of freshly ground black pepper. This is my favorite part because you really get to taste the peppercorns. It will hit you strongly. If you are serving kids, you may want to cut it down.

Prepare a bunch of mixed vegetables. I using carrot, purple onion, celery and multi-color bell pepper.

Turn the heat to high and heat the wok until smoking hot. Add some cooking oil and swirl it around so it covers the bottom. Toss in the beef. Stir for just 2 minutes. The beef should change color but you should still see a bit of red color here and there. This is the point to remove the beef from the wok. Do not cook it all the way through otherwise it will be overcooked when we introduce it back to the wok later.

Turn the heat down to low. If the wok looks a bit dry, drizzle in a couple more tbsp of oil. Add the minced garlic, shallot, ginger along with the hard vegetables if you have any. In my case, it will be the celery and carrot because they take some time to cook through.

Stir for a couple of minutes or until the aromatics are slightly golden on the edge. Change the heat to high and toss in the seasoned noodles. Switch to a pair of tongs because they work great at fluffing noodles.

I know some of you are probably asking, why udon noodles? Isn’t that Japanese food? As a  transportation hub, HK is also a cuisine melting pot. You will see lots of recipes and ingredients from all over the world being adapted to the local taste. It is such an interesting catering culture.

Add the rest of the vegetables and keep cooking until they reach your desire doneiness. I like my vegetables to be fresh and crunchy. So I only stirred them for a couple of minutes.

Add the beef back to the wok. Keep mixing until everything is well mingled. Before serving, throw in the scallions. Give it a final toss and you are done. You can taste to adjust the flavor but I have made this many times so I know it is good. You can still see a bit of pink color on the beef. That is the perfect doneness for me. Of course, you can cook it more if you want.