Beef Chow Fun / Gon Chow Ngau Huo 干炒牛河

| By: Mariana Chong |

Beef Chow Fun or Gon Chow Ngau Huo is a Cantonese noodle dish made with wide rice noodles, flank steak slices, and crisp vegetables, such as bean sprouts. This dish is popular in yum cha restaurants in Guangzhou and in cha chaan tengs in Hong Kong. However, it has expanded all over the world. It is a comfort and affordable food, as it has simple ingredients. However, the stir-frying technique is a unique one and hard to master; this is why it is mainly served in restaurants.

Ingredients

Yield: 4 servings

Prep time: 35 minues

Cooking time: 10 minutes

Beef:

• 12 ounces of flank steak (thinly sliced)

• ¼ teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon light soy sauce

• 1 tablespoon water

• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil

• ½ teaspoon cornstarch

Noodles:

• ¾ pounds dry Ho fun rice noodles

• salt (to taste)

Rest of the dish:

• 2 cups warm low sodium chicken or beef stock

• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce

• 2 teaspoons dark soy sauce + to taste (divided)

• 2 tablespoons oyster sauce

• ¼ teaspoon sugar

• ¼ teaspoon sesame oil

• white pepper (to taste)

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil (divided)

• 3 slices ginger

• 3 cloves garlic (minced)

• ½ cup dry shiitake mushrooms

• 2 scallions (cut at an angle into 2-inch pieces; divide white and green parts)

• 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine or Pisco

• 2 cups Bok choy (cut crosswise into ½ inch pieces)

• 2 cups fresh mung bean sprouts

• 2 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons water

Cooking Instructions

1. Place warm water and dry shiitake mushrooms in a bowl. Set aside until mushrooms are soft. Cut into 3-4 pieces when soft and set aside.

2. Cut the scallions, Bok choy, ginger, garlic and flank steak into their respective sizes. If fresh mung bean sprouts include their roots, remove only the roots (brown part).

3. Boil water in a pot, cook the dry rice noodles until soft, then rinse in cold water.

4. In a bowl, mix the beef, ¼ teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon light soy sauce, 1 tablespoon water, 1 teaspoon vegetable oil and ½ teaspoon cornstarch, until the beef is well coated. Set aside for 30 minutes at room temperature.

5. In another bowl, combine the warmed chicken or beef stock, 1 tablespoon light soy sauce, 2 teaspoons dark soy sauce, 2 tablespoons oyster sauce, ¼ teaspoon sugar, ¼ teaspoon sesame oil and white pepper to taste, and set aside.

6. Turn on the stove to high and heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in the wok until a little smoke is visible. Add the beef for a quick sear for 30 seconds on each side. The beef should be cooked to about 80% doneness, a little red should remain in each piece. Return the beef to the bowl and set aside.

7. Turn the heat to medium and add 1 tablespoon oil and ginger to the wok. Cook for 20 seconds. Then, stir in the garlic and immediately add the shiitake mushrooms and the white portions of the scallions.

8. Turn the heat to high again and stir-fry for 15 seconds. Add 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine or Pisco and the Bok choy.

9. Stir-fry for another 15 seconds and add the sauce mixture that was prepared earlier. When the sauce starts to simmer and boil, add the Ho fun rice noodles, folding them into the sauce, making sure the noodles don’t break apart. Reduce the heat to a simmer if needed, and when the rice noodles are heated through, add the mung bean sprouts and the beef.

10. Fold in the beef and mung bean sprouts until everything is coated and heated through.

11. Add dark soy sauce to taste, usually until the ideal color has been reached.

12. Drizzle in half of the cornstarch slurry while stirring and cook for 20 seconds. Check the thickness of the sauce. Add more slurry until the sauce is thick enough to coat a spoon. Allow the sauce to cook for at least 20 seconds after, adding the last of the cornstarch slurry.

13. Add the green portions of the scallions and serve.

Notes

• All the ingredients can be found at an Asian grocery store or supermarket.

• Make sure to buy thick Ho fun rice noodles.

• The sauce consistency and quantity are up to personal preference. It is adjustable by increasing the amount of stock, seasonings and / or cornstarch slurry.