Beef Chow Fun (Beef Ho Fun) (Video) - CJ Eats Recipes (2024)

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Beef Chow Fun, also known as Beef Ho Fun, is a simple Chinese noodle dish made from stir-frying tender beef with fresh rice noodles (Ho Fun)! It’s an extremely popular stir fry noodle dish that you can find in just about any Chinese restaurant.

The beef gets a great sear from the wok that contrasts with the chewy texture of the fresh rice noodles, and the entire dish is covered in a delicious sauce and topped with crunchy bean sprouts. The best part is that it’s simple enough to make at home and comes together in under 30 minutes!

In this blog post you will learn the proper way and a few Chinese restaurant secrets to make an authentic Beef Chow Fun at home that’s better than your favorite Chinese take out restaurant!

Watch the Beef Chow Fun Recipe Video Below!

Ingredients for Beef Chow Fun

Here is everything you’ll need to make an authentic Beef Chow Fun with chew ho fun wide rice noodles, tender marinated beef, and crisp bean sprouts and green onions:

Beef

• 12ounces flank steakcut into 1/4″ strips
• 1/4teaspoonbaking soda
• 1tablespoonlight soy sauce
• 1teaspoondark soy sauce
• 1/2teaspoonwhite pepper
• 1tablespooncornstarch
• 1tablespoonneutral oilavocado, canola, or vegetable oil

Stir-Fry Sauce

• 2tablespoonlight soy sauceplus 1 tablespoon for noodles
• 1/2tablespoondark soy sauceplus 2 teaspoons for noodles
• 1tablespoonoyster sauce
• 1/2tablespoonsugar
• 1tablespoonshaoxing wine
• 1/4teaspoonMSGoptional
• 1teaspoonsesame oil

Noodles & Vegetables

• 16ounces wide fresh rice noodles(Ho Fun); if the noodles are dried, make sure to rehydrate until pliable
• 4green onions (or scallions) cut into 2″ pieces
• 1/2yellow onionsliced
• 2clovesgarlicchopped
• 1cupbean sprouts

What is the difference between Beef Chow Fun and Beef Ho Fun?

Beef Chow Fun and Beef Ho Fun are two different names for the same dish. The “Fun” in Chow Fun and Ho Fun refers to the flat wide rice noodles used in the delicious stir fried noodle dish! It consists of tender stir-fried beef, springy flat rice noodles, green onions, garlic, and bean sprouts, tossed with a savory stir-fry sauce and cooked quickly over high heat!

You can find these flat rice noodles in your local Asian supermarket, usually in the refrigerated fresh noodle section. They often come vacuum sealed and are coated in a light coating of vegetable oil so that you can separate the rice noodles easily.

How to make the beef tender (Chinese Restaurant Secrets)

Here are my KEY tips on making the beef super tender just like they do in the Chinese restaurants:

• Buy a tender cut of beef. I suggest flank steak, skirt steak, or ribeye for this recipe.
• Slice the steak into thin strips against the grain (see photo below). This shortens the length of the muscle fibers in the beef to make it more tender.
• Marinate the beef with baking soda, cornstarch, and soy sauce. These will all act as tenderizers to make the beef extra soft and tender.
• Quickly stir fry in neutral oil to lock in the moisture of the beef.

Beef Chow Fun: Recipe Instructions

1. Slice beef into thin strips and marinate

Slice flank steak into ¼ inch strips against the grain to create tender strips of beef at an angle against the grain shortens the muscle fibers to sure tender beef with every bite. Marinate for 10-15 minutes in baking soda, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, white pepper, cornstarch, and neutral oil. The baking soda and soy sauce will further tenderize the beef while you prepare the rest of your ingredients!

2. Prepare the noodles, vegetables and sauce

Prepare all the green onions, bean sprouts, garlic, and stir-fry sauce by mixing together light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, Shaoxing wine, MSG (optional) in a small bowl and set everything aside with the marinated beef. Separate the fresh wide rice noodles and place them in a bowl.

3. Sear the beef in a pan or wok

In a large nonstick pan or wok over high heat, add 2 tablespoons of neutral oil and sear the marinated beef for 2-3 minutes and remove to a plate along with the excess oil. We want to create a nice sear on the marinated beef, cooking them quickly so they are still tender. Remove them to a plate and wipe out any excess oil in the pan.

4. Cook the wide rice noodles (hor fun)

Over high heat, add 1 tablespoon of oil to the pan. Add the separated rice noodles and toss for 30 seconds, being careful to not break the noodles. Add a tablespoon of light soy sauce and 2 teaspoons of dark soy sauce around the edge of the pan to caramelize into the wide rice noodles. Toss and cook until the hor fun noodles are slightly charred and have absorbed the soy sauce, about 1 minute. Remove the noodles to a separate plate.

5. Sauté the vegetables

Add 1 tablespoon of oil over medium high heat and saute onions and garlic for 30 seconds. Next, add scallions and bean sprouts. Cook for another 30 seconds until scallions have a nice charred color.

6. Add back the beef, rice noodles, and sauce

To the vegetables, add back your seared marinated beef, separated wide rice noodles (ho fun), and the stir fry sauce. Cook over high heat for 2-3 minutes until the sauce has absorbed completely into the noodles, beef and vegetables. Drizzle with sesame oil, toss and enjoy!

Pro Tips for making Beef Chow Fun at home!

• Prepare all ingredients before starting the cooking process (and have clean bowls handy): Ensure all the ingredients are prepared and available within an arms distance because this dish is cooked very quickly. Make sure you have clean bowls to transfer your beef and noodles to once they are done, so that you can add them back easily to the final dish.
• Preparing fresh rice noodles (hor fun): If using precut noodles fresh noodles, gently unravel the noodles and separate them into a bowl. If you are using dried noodles, rehydrate them until they are soft and pliable and set them aside until ready for use.
• Use a large pan and high heat: This dish requires a large wok or nonstick pan and very high heat. I highly suggest using a carbon steel wok or large nonstick sauté pan that can retain a lot of heat when cooking this dish.

If you liked this easy one pan Beef Chow Fun recipe, try some of my other popular noodle recipes and Asian food that will be sure to impress below! Impress your friends with simple and delicious Chinese cooking!

• Soy Sauce Pan Fried Noodles
• Beef and Broccoli Noodles
• Chicken Chow Mein (Hong Kong Style)
• Wonton Noodle Soup

If you make this recipe, please tag me on social media! I love seeing all your recreations on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok! Tag me and hashtag them #cjeatsrecipes