Beef chow fun(pan-fried flat rice noodles) is one of my favorite Cantonese dishes. It is considered as a snack or sometimes a staple food and one of the most basic Cantonese he fun dishes. The ingredient–flat rice noodle is named as “河粉” HeFun in China. Sometimes you may find it spelled as Hor Fun, He Fen or Ho Fun. It is a kind of flat and wide rice noodles in southern china especially in Guangdong province. Either served in stir fry recipes or soup recipes. I fall I love it when I firstly had a small bowl of ho fun soup. And this stir fry ho fun with beef, onion, bean sprout and Chinese chives.It belongs to those 15 minutes that can totally win my heart.
Then for the beef chow fun, let’s take a look at the ingredients. As I am living in Guangdong province, I can purchase fresh ho fun easily at market. You can also used dried flat rice noodles and re-soak until soft before frying.
The most difficult part of this dish is to make a tender taste of the beef and make sure that you do not break the hefen during the process. After stir frying, there should be more extra sauce in the pan. That’s why this dish is called as 干炒牛河 in Chinese meaning dry fried rice noodles with beef. In order to keep the beef a tender taste, firstly after slicing, garnish some water or Chinese cooking wine with the beef and then grasp well, letting them absorb enough water and then add light soy sauce, salt, oyster sauce, and sesame oil and starch to marinade for around 15 minutes.
There are fresh rice noodles and dried ones. If you cannot find fresh ones, pre-soak the dried ones according to the instructions. Fresh wide rice noodle usually is available in package and sometimes they may stick with each other. Do separate them before frying.
Firstly heat up oil in wok and stir-fry the beef. Transfer it out as long as the color changes.
Then all the oil should be poured out,clean your pan or wok. We need a clean and dry pan for later frying process. Add oil and then add shredded onions and rice noodles to cook. Stir in stir fry sauce quickly.
Tips: do not use slice to fry the noodles, recommended tool should be chopsticks. Toss your pan with one hand and then use another hand to fold chopstickers and help turn over the rice noodles gently.
Return beef slices and add bean sprout to fry for around 30 seconds. Then add Chinese chive section or scallion to fry for another 30 seconds.
Here we are! Enjoy!
- 1/2 pound beef
- 1 pound wide rice noodle , ho fen
- 1 small bunch of Chinese chive or scallion , cut into sections around 10cm long
- 1 small bunch of bean sprouts
- 1/4 middle size white onion , shredded
- 1 tablespoon Chinese cooking wine or water
- 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon starch
- 1/2 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
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Cut beef into thin slices, put into a bowl. And then add all of ingredients for marinade sauce. Stir until well combined and set aside for around 15 minutes.
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Heat up cooking oil in wok. Add beef slices in to cook around half minute or just until the color of beef slices changes. Transfer the beef slices out and also pour the oil out. Clean your pan or wok.
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Heat up around 1 and 1/2 tablespoons cooking oil, add rice noodle and onion shreds and straight after that stir in the stir fry sauce. Keep tossing your pan or wok until the noodles are well coated with the sauce.
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Return beef slices and bean sprouts to fry for another half minutes. Keep tossing your pan.
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Add Chinese chives or scallion to fry for another 30 seconds.
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Serve hot!
I do not add salt in my stir fry sauce since my soy sauce contains salt. Do add some according to taste and the brand of soy sauce.
Newly updated recipe on Nov. 2014.
I love this dish. Ask the Chef to throw some shrimp in it as well – YUM!
I just tried this. Really good :). Glad to finally know how to make Beef Chow Fun!
Thanks for sharing the recipe <3
You are the most welcome! Thanks for the great feedback.
Isnt 1lb of noodles too much for two people
I will use dry rice noodles and 1lb is 500 grams
I think 1/2 lb would be correct would it not ?
You’re right. 1/2 lb dry noodles = approx. 1 lb fresh noodles.
I made this for dinner tonight ! Really delicious! Thank you for recipe..!
Glad to know you like this one. Happy cooking.
Hello Elaine, are the rice noodles the same as those used in Vietnamese pho? Where I live I found noodles made with rice flour and water, there are 3,5 and 10 millimeters. Can I use these noodles? What size do you recommend?
Thanks for these good Chinese recipes!
Ruth,
They are similar but slightly different in texture. This one is much softer and thinner.
Mmm I do not think I find Chinese noodles, could I try to use those noodles or better try another dish?
Sure, you can try with Vietnamese rice noodles.
Best recipe! A must try!
Just wondering what temperature your cooking the noodles.
Thank you.
Cheryl,
I cannot figure out the actual temperature during stir frying.