Not all stir fry recipes have to be a rainbow of colours. Beef Chow Fun usually consists of beef, noodles, beansprouts and onions. Now that really is a plate of brown food! I stick to a traditional approach, relying on a flavour-packed marinade (which doubles up as a stir-fry sauce) to ensure the beef is tender and noodles are so tasty, you might just stick to this one stir fry for the rest of your life! I do like to add a couple of extra veggies to mine - yellow peppers and baby spinach.
Here’s what you’ll need:
Light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, brown sugar, rice vinegar, minced ginger, garlic, sriracha and white pepper for the marinade/sauce. These flavours give a lovely combination of sweet, salty and spicy.Denver steak, cut against the grain for the stir fry. Denver steak is a great stir fry steak, as it’s juicy, tender and pretty inexpensive. I’ve listed a few alternatives further down the post if want to use another cut.Rice noodles - cooked for just a couple of minutes, these noodles are slightly chewy and absorb flavours brilliantly.Onion, yellow bell pepper, beansprouts, spring onions and spinach, for a bit of colour, crunch and sweetness.All finished off with some sliced fresh chilli and sesame seeds for garnish
What’s the best steak for beef stir fry?
Denver steak: I love to use Denver steak - which comes from the front leg of the cow. It’s cut from a single muscle and is lightly marbled throughout. This means it’s a juicy and flavorful steak that stays tender after quick cooking over a high heat. Slice the steaks against the grain, and it will be tender, without being chewy.Sirloin steak: Cut from the upper middle of the cow, the top sirloin is extremely tender and juicy, but quite expensive. The bottom sirloin is a little less tender and therefore a little less expensive. Both the top and bottom sirloin is good for stir fry. If using the low sirloin, slice the meat more thinly, otherwise, it may be a little chewy.Skirt steak or flank steak: both cuts from the underside of the cow, the skirt steak is from the middle underside (plate) and the flank is a little further back on the underside. Both cuts are flavourful and suitable for high heat cooking. They’re not as tender as denver or sirloin steak, so ideally you want to marinade them and slice them thinly across the grain before cooking.
How to make it
We are going to start by mixing the marinade together in a bowl. This is a really simple marinade, everything gets mixed in together. Pour over the sliced steak, cover and marinade for 15-30 minutes. Marinade the beef at room temperature. Doing this means the fibres in the steak will relax so that when it’s cooked it will be succulent and juicy. Whilst the steak is marinading we’re going to cook the noodles.
PRO-TIP: How to stop the noodles from sticking
Now we are going to cook the steak. Once it is cooked remove from the wok and move onto the veggies. Cook the onion and pepper then add in the sauce. Add the cooked noodles and beef back to the pan. Then add spinach and chopped spring onions. Once the spinach has wilted, divide between four plates and serve topped with chilli slices and sesame seeds. Boom! The best Beef Chow Fun you’ve ever tasted!
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