Beef Chow Mein

Tender steak strips with chow mein noodles and vegetables in a tasty stir-fry sauce. A quick dinner that everyone loves!

Course Dinner

Cuisine Chinese

Keyword Beef Stir Fry, mid week dinner, Quick and Easy

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 15

Total Time 30

Servings 4

Author Nicky Corbishley

Ingredients

150 g (5.3 oz) dried chow mein noodles (or dried fine egg noodles)
3 tbsp sunflower oil
300 g (10.5oz) thin sirloin, skirt or flank steak - sliced thinly, against the grain *Tip 1
¼ tsp garlic salt
½ tsp black pepper
1 small onion , peeled and sliced
2 cloves garlic , peeled and minced
1 carrot , peeled and sliced into matchsticks
½ green bell pepper , deseeded and sliced
¼ savoy cabbage , thinly sliced
100 g (3.5oz) beansprouts

Chow Mein Sauce

1 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch)
2 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp Chinese rice wine
2 tbsp kecap manis (sweet soy sauce)
2 tbsp hoisin sauce
90 ml (⅓ cup) beef stock
1 tbsp sesame oil
¼ tsp white pepper

To Serve

Chopped spring onions (scallions)
Sesame seeds
Chilli flakes

Instructions

Cook the chow mein noodles, in boiling water, as per the pack instructions, then drain and run under cold water to stop them sticking together.
While the noodles are cooking, make the chow mein sauce. In a small bowl, mix together the cornflour, soy sauce and Chinese rice wine, until the cornflour is fully incorporated.
Then add in the kecap manis, hoisin sauce, beef stock, sesame oil and white pepper. Mix together to combine and put to one side.
Heat two tablespoons of the oil in a wok over a high heat.
Season the steak strips in the garlic salt and pepper, then add to the wok and fry for 2-3 minutes, turning once or twice, until the steak is just cooked.
Remove the steak from the pan with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl.
Add the remaining one tablespoon of oil to the wok
Add the onion, garlic and carrot, and fry for 3 minutes, regularly tossing everything together with a spatula.
Add the green pepper, cabbage and beansprouts and fry again for 2 minutes, keeping everything moving in the wok with your spatula.
Now add the steak strips back to the wok, along with the noodles. Pour the chow mein sauce over the top.
Stir fry everything together for 2-3 minutes, tossing regularly with a set of tongs, until the noodles are hot.
Serve topped with spring onions, sesame seeds and chilli flakes.

Notes

*Tip 1 Freeze the Steak - just a little

Place the steak in the freezer for 30-40 minutes before slicing. This will make the meat firmer and easier to slice thinly.

Can I make it ahead and/or freeze?

I don't recommend making this dish ahead, it tastes much better when eaten right away.

Ingredient swaps

Swap out the steak for chicken or prawns
Add different vegetables - mushrooms, bamboo shoots, red peppers and mange tout all work great!

How to scale up and scale down this recipe

You can halve this recipe to serve two (or reduce it by one-quarter to serve 2 hungry people), sticking to the same ingredient ratios and cooking times.

You can also scale up this recipe to serve more people, but there is quite a lot of volume in the wok, once the vegetables and noodles are in there, so you'll need to use a very large wok in order to double the recipe.
If you are doubling, cook the steak in two batches (so the steak browns properly). You'll also need to cook the vegetables, and then the whole chow mein (once everything has been added to the wok) for a few minutes longer, to ensure it's all hot throughout.

Nutritional information is per serving - this recipe serves 4.

Nutritional Information

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