Beef chow fun (乾炒牛河) is a classic Chinese dish known for its fresh wide rice noodles and thinly sliced marinated beef. You can whip this up in 30 minutes with pantry-friendly ingredients, including white pepper, soy sauce, oyster sauce, and egg white. Add a pop of color with bean sprouts, Chinese yellow chives, and scallions!
What Is Beef Chow Fun (乾炒牛河)?
Beef chow fun, also known as beef ho fun and Gon Chow Ngau Ho (gānchǎo níuhé), is a popular dish in Guangdong, China made from two main ingredients: stir-fried marinated beef slices and wide rice noodles. Wide rice noodles are also called hor fun and are distinguished by their flat and wide appearance. The beef slices are marinated with salt, white pepper, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, egg white, and cornstarch.
After marinating the beef slices, it is stir-fried usually on a wok to achieve the signature wok hei effect. Wok hei or “breath of a wok” is all about stir-frying the dish on a wok on high heat while stirring and tossing quickly and continuously. It should give you a smoky aroma and flavor brought about by heat cooking and continuous tossing.
For the hor fun, it is also stir-fried and drizzled with soy sauce and dark soy sauce for color. Complete the dish with bean sprouts, Chinese yellow chives, and scallions. Have this delightful meal for lunch or dinner and pair it with steamed white rice.
Ingredients Tips For Beef Chow Fun
Listed below are the ingredients I used for this dish. I share a few tips on how to prepare them and the best alternatives in case you need to change something. You can customize this dish just the way you like it with your preferred vegetables and seasonings.
Marinated Beef
- Beef: Choose a beef cut with less fat and can cut thin slices easily. You can use any type of beef steak such as flank and sirloin. Ribeye, bottom round, and top round are also excellent choices.
- Salt: Salt amps up the flavor and helps the seasonings penetrate more as it draws out the moisture. You can use sea salt, kosher salt, or table salt.
- Pepper powder: Use black or white pepper powder. Black pepper powder is hotter than white pepper. White pepper powder adds a more musty and earthy taste, while black pepper powder adds woody and piney flavors. You can use pepper powder or freshly cracked peppers.
- Light soy sauce: The salty and deep flavors of soy sauce enhance the marinade. Use light soy sauce, tamari, liquid aminos, coconut aminos, or gluten-free soy sauce.
- Oyster sauce: Oyster sauce adds a salty and sweet taste with a hint of brininess. It is similar to the taste of soy sauce and barbecue sauce. You can substitute oyster sauce with hoisin sauce, teriyaki sauce, kecap manis, Worcestershire sauce with soy sauce and sugar, oyster-flavored sauce, or fish sauce.
- Egg white: You can make the marinade more velvety and thicker with egg white. It also helps tenderize the meat as it marinates.
- Cornstarch: A thin layer of cornstarch helps make the beef slices have a slightly crisp texture. Since it adds another layer to the beef slices, it protects the beef from overcooking and hardening. If you don’t have cornstarch, use tapioca flour or potato starch. For 1 tbsp of cornstarch, substitute it with 2 tbsp of tapioca flour or 1 tbsp of potato starch.
- Oil: Add more moisture by incorporating oil into the marinade. It helps prevent the meat from drying out. Use olive, avocado, sesame, or safflower oil for a healthier option. For a neutral taste, go for peanut, soybean, or vegetable oil. Sesame oil is another excellent choice and is a favorite ingredient for Asian dishes loved for its nutty and earthy taste.
Stir-Fry Ingredients
- Fresh wide rice Noodles: Beef chow fun traditionally used fresh wide rice noodles. Fresh wide rice noodles or Flat rice noodles are referred to as He Fun in China. You might encounter different spellings such as Hor Fun, He Fen, or Ho Fun. You can find this in local Asian stores or in the international section of a grocery store. If you can’t find fresh wide rice noodles, you can swap them with other Asian rice noodles or dried rice noodles.
- Soy sauce: I used a combination of regular soy sauce and dark soy sauce to season the wide rice noodles. Regular or light soy sauce adds umaminess, while dark soy sauce makes it thicker and darker. Dark soy sauce also adds a hint of sweetness to the noodles.
- Bean sprouts: Add a mild taste of nuttiness and earthiness with bean sprouts. Use fresh bean sprouts for a satisfying crunch.
- Scallions: Green onions or scallions bring a pop of green to the dish. It has a slight sweetness and a mild oniony taste. You can swap this with chives, shallots, white onions, yellow onions, or red onions.
- Chinese yellow chives: Chives are similar to green onions in appearance but look more like a bunch of slender straws. This adds color and a subtle oniony flavor with a mild garlicky taste. If Chinese yellow chives are hard to find, Chinese garlic chives make a suitable alternative.
- Optionalingredients: You can play around with the overall taste of the dish with extra common Asian ingredients like sesame oil, ginger, and Shaoxing wine. Add variety with other vegetables like bamboo shoots, cabbage, and soybean sprouts. Adjust the taste with salt and pepper or sugar.
Ingredients And Kitchenware To Prepare
This recipe is super convenient and easy to prepare because you only need a wok or non-stick pan. It’s okay if you don’t have a wok since you can use any pan to stir-fry the ingredients. Prepare a bowl for the marinade and knife and chopping board to slice the beef and vegetables.
Marinated beef
- 200g of beef (thinly sliced)
- 1/2 tsp of salt
- 1/2 tsp of white pepper
- 1 tbsp of light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp of oyster sauce
- 1 egg white
- 1 tbsp of cornstarch
- 1 tbsp of oil
Stir-fry
- 250g of fresh wide rice noodles
- 1 tbsp of soy sauce
- 1 tsp of dark soy sauce
- 30g of bean sprouts
- 20g of Chinese yellow chives
- 20g of scallions
- 2 tablespoon cooking oil
Detailed Instructions: How To Make Beef Chow Fun
The main steps to remember in making beef chow fun are marinating the beef, stir-frying the noodles, and combining all the ingredients together. You can probably finish the recipe in under 30 minutes, depending on how much you want to add or how fast you can prepare the ingredients. Learn how to do the steps by watching my tutorial video on Instagram or TikTok.
Did you love making this stir-fried dish? Don’t forget to share your dish by tagging me @kitchenmisadventures on social media. Leave a comment for any tips and suggestions you have as well!
- Clean and slice the beef into thin slices.
- Season the beef slices with salt, white pepper, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, and egg white. Give it a good mix.
- Add cornstarch to the marinade, coating the beef thoroughly.
- Add a tablespoon of oil and mix well.
- Marinate for about half an hour to ensure tenderness.
- Heat oil in a pan and sauté the marinated beef on low heat until the beef changes color. It should turn from reddish flesh to brown. Be cautious not to overcook; the aim is to maintain juiciness and tenderness.
- Take out the beef slices and set aside. Leave the oil in the pan.
- With the remaining oil from the pan, add fresh wide rice noodles and stir over high heat to enhance the fragrance.
- Drizzle a tablespoon of soy sauce and a teaspoon of dark soy sauce.
- Continue stir-frying until the noodles absorb seasonings and color.
- Add bean sprouts and the cooked beef slices. Fry until the bean sprouts are slightly crisp.
- Next, add chopped Chinese yellow chives and scallions. Continue stir-frying and tossing until the ingredients are well combined.
If you loved this stir-fry dish, I recommend my other stir-fried dishes, such as Stir Fry Sweet Potato Leaves With Garlic, 15-Minute Bitter Melon Stir-Fried With Eggs, and Flavorful Stir-Fried Bok Choy And Mushrooms.
Traditional Chinese Beef Chow Fun
Ingredients
Marinated beef
- 200 g of beef thinly sliced
- 1/2 tsp of salt
- 1/2 tsp of white pepper
- 1 tbsp of light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp of oyster sauce
- 1 egg white
- 1 tbsp of cornstarch
- 1 tbsp of oil
Stir-fry
- 250 g of fresh wide rice noodles
- 1 tbsp of soy sauce
- 1 tsp of dark soy sauce
- 30 g of bean sprouts
- 20 g of Chinese yellow chives
- 20 g of scallions
- 2 tbsp cooking oil
Instructions
- Clean and slice the beef into thin slices.
- Season the beef slices with salt, white pepper, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, and egg white. Give it a good mix.
- Add cornstarch to the marinade, coating the beef thoroughly.
- Add a tablespoon of oil and mix well.
- Marinate for about half an hour to ensure tenderness.
- Heat oil in a pan and sauté the marinated beef on low heat until the beef changes color. It should turn from reddish flesh to brown. Be cautious not to overcook; the aim is to maintain juiciness and tenderness.
- Take out the beef slices and set aside. Leave the oil in the pan.
- With the remaining oil from the pan, add fresh wide rice noodles and stir over highheat to enhance the fragrance.
- Drizzle a tablespoon of soy sauce and a teaspoon of dark soy sauce.
- Continue stir-frying until the noodles absorb seasonings and color.
- Add bean sprouts and the cooked beef slices. Fry until the bean sprouts are slightly crisp.
- Next, add chopped Chinese yellow chives and scallions. Continue stir-frying and tossing until the ingredients are well combined.
