Beef Chow Mein
Beef Chow Mein is a delicious stir fried noodles recipe. It doesn’t completely replace that beloved Chinese food take out, but it’s the best I can make at home. Asian Food in general is not very easy to find where we live, so we have to make it ourselves. We do have some well stocked grocery stores, thank goodness. So, once we found the right noodles in the refrigerator section it came together pretty well. It did take a few attempts with different dry noodles but I like Yakisoba the best.
This is a quick and easy recipe for an easy Beef Chow Mein. Measure out and prep everything first because it cooks up very quickly. Personalize any way you like, add or omit as you see fit and don’t be discouraged by the long list of ingredients. Stir fry, in my opinion, it’s mostly about the saucy noodles. But I do like to make sure there’s a good mix of textures so be sure you include some crunchy elements.
Beef Chow Mein is a great way to use up leftovers. You don’t have to use beef, pork, or chicken, are great in it too. Cut the meat into bite sized pieces and add at the end just to warm up and you’re all set. I soak the meat in the sauce while I’m prepping everything else so it really gets those flavors incorporated. Or skip meat and make it vegetarian, it really doesn’t matter. And, if you have leftover veggies, use those too and skip some of the prep! It saves time and uses what’s already on hand. If you have people in your home who say they don’t like leftovers, this is also a great, it won’t taste the same as your last meal, really, it never tastes the same twice in our home.
If you like it spicy, add more Sambal, or include some fresh chilis, or put them on the side for service. I also like a little freshness so we chop up some cilantro for service as well.
Beef Chow Mein
Equipment
- Wok or large skillet
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 1 T Vegetable Oil
- 1 tsp Sesame Oil
- 8 oz thin sliced beef
- 1 T Soy Sauce
- 1 T Cornstarch
- 1 med carrot cut into matchsticks
- 1 stalk celery sliced
- ½ white onion sliced
- 3 green onions sliced
- 2 cups snow peas or broccoli florets
- 1 bag mung bean sprouts
- 1 can water chestnuts optional, I like the crunch
- ¼ cup peanuts
- 2 T minced fresh ginger
- 2 T minced garlic
- 8 oz yakisoba noodles or you can use dried lo mein, or whatever noodles you like
Sauce
- ¼ cup Soy Sauce
- 2 T Hoisin
- 2 T Oyster Sauce
- 2 T Rice Vinegar
- 1 T grated Ginger
- 1 tsp Sesame Oil
- 1 tsp Sambal or other chili sauce of your choice
Instructions
- Prepare the noodles according to the package directions (see note).
- Cut beef into thin strips, about 2 x 1/4 inch *I used leftover steak, already cooked to medium rare so it only needed to be heated through, but this is a great dish for an economy cut of beef, just make sure you cut it thin.
- In a medium bowl, mix sauce ingredients, set aside.
- Mix together the 1 T Soy Sauce with 1 T Cornstarch. Toss the beef strips in the soy sauce mixture and marinate for 10 minutes to tenderize (you can skip this step if in a rush). *If using already cooked beef, add beef to Sauce mixture to add at the end of cooking
- Place a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat and add vegetable oil and sesame oil.
- When the oil is hot, add raw beef strips and stir fry for 2-3 minutes until the beef is no longer pink. *If using leftovers, skip this step and add beef at the end of cooking just to warm.
- Add the onions, celery, sliced carrots and pea pods. Stir fry for 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add water chestnuts, ginger, and garlic and cook another 30 seconds.
- Add noodles and bean sprouts to the beef/vegetable mixture (if using leftover meat, add now) and toss with the reserved sauce.
- Garnish with green onions, peanuts, and serve immediately. You can also add more Sambal and soy sauce to taste.
