Beef Chow Fun Noodles(Pan-Fried Ho Fun) (2024)

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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. Itis 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 bechopsticks. Toss your pan with one hand and then use another hand to fold chopstickers and help turn over the rice noodles gently.

Beef Chow Fun

Beef Chow Fun---Beef stir-fried with rice noodle, bean sprouts, spring onions and Chinese chives is a famous Cantonese dish.

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Ingredients

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

Marinade sauce

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

Stir fry sauce

1/2 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon sugar

Instructions

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.
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.
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.
Return beef slices and bean sprouts to fry for another half minutes. Keep tossing your pan.
Add Chinese chives or scallion to fry for another 30 seconds.
Serve hot!

Notes

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.

Nutrition

Beef Chow Fun Noodles(Pan-Fried Ho Fun) (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between beef chow fun and ho fun? ›

There isn't a difference between Chow Fun and Ho Fun beside the name. Chow Fun is utilized in countries that speak and write menus in English. In contrast, the same dish is referred to as Ho Fun, especially in Hong Kong or Southern China. Outside of the name, realize the two are the same.

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What is chow ho fun in Chinese food? ›

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.

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What is the difference between chow fun noodles and Chinese noodles? ›

Chow fun and mei fun are both Chinese noodles but the key difference is the thickness of the noodle. Chow fun is wide and thick while mei fun is thin, similar to a vermicelli. Chow fun's hearty texture is better for stir-fries while mei fun is more delicate and best in soups and salads. Let's take a deeper look.

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What is healthier chow mein or chow fun? ›

A: No, chow mein is considered less healthy than chow fun because it is typically higher in calories and sodium.

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What's the difference between beef chow mein and lo mein? ›

The sauce: Chow mein is more of a dry noodle dish with an extremely light and delicate sauce — if any sauce at all. Lo mein is a saucy noodle dish that depends on a rich sauce for much of its flavor. The texture: Chow mein noodles tend to be crunchier than lo mein noodles due to the way they are cooked.

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What is the difference between pan-fried noodles and chow mein? ›

Sometimes also labeled as chow mein noodles, these look similar to thin wonton noodles. The main difference is that noodles labeled "Hong Kong" or "pan-fried noodles" are par-cooked in boiling water, which makes them ready to stir-fry.

What does beef chow fun taste like? ›

Bursting with savory flavors and textures, this dish is a favorite among many for its simplicity and satisfying taste. This dish is a favorite of mine for its delicious combination of tender beef, crunchy vegetables, and chewy noodles.

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What are the fat noodles in Chinese food called? ›

Lo mein: These are thick, wheat-based noodles that are commonly used in stir-fry dishes. They have a chewy texture and can be served with a variety of meats, vegetables, and sauces. Chow mein: These are also wheat-based noodles, but they are thinner and have a more delicate texture.

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What is the difference between dry and wet beef chow fun? ›

Dry chow fun is cooked with this method, using just soy sauce so the noodles come out flavorful and dry (not saucy). Wet chow fun on the other hand is chow fun that is stir-fried as well but is either cooked with gravy (sauce) or a sauce is poured on top. It's a wet chow fun dish with a lot of sauce.

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What is lo mein made of? ›

Made with just soy sauce, sesame oil, a pinch of sugar, ramen noodles or spaghetti noodles, and any veggies or protein you like. SO YUMMY! Hel-lo-lo-mein! This 15-minute wonder is absolutely my new go-to for a quick Asian noodle stir fry.

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Where did beef chow fun originate? ›

Beef Chow Fun, also known as Chow Hor Fun, gets its name from the town of Shahe in Guangzhou, where this distinctive style of flat rice noodles was first created. The Cantonese name for the dish is 乾炒牛河.