Name: One Pan Stir Fry Beef Noodles
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 500 grams Beef (Flank Steak) (cut into strips); 1 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper; 1 teaspoon Salt; 1 teaspoon Baking Soda; 3 tablespoons Light Soy Sauce; 1 tablespoon Dark Soy Sauce; 1½ tablespoons Oyster Sauce; 1 tablespoons Rice Vinegar; 1½ tablespoons Honey; ½ tablespoon Fish Sauce; 4 tablespoons Vegetable Oil; 375 grams Flat Rice Noodles (dry); 150 grams Sugar Snap Peas; 150 grams Bell Pepper; 5 cloves Garlic; 1 thumb Ginger; 1/2 tablespoon Lime Juice

Stir-fried beef noodles are a popular dish in many Asian cuisines, particularly in Chinese and Thai cooking. The dish typically features tender strips of beef, marinated for flavour and tenderness, stir-fried with vegetables and noodles in a savoury sauce. The beef is often marinated with ingredients like soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and sometimes a tenderizing agent like baking soda. This helps to infuse the meat with flavour and ensures it stays tender during cooking. Various vegetables can be used in stir-fried beef noodles, such as bell peppers, broccoli, carrots, and snap peas, adding both texture and colour to the dish. The noodles used can vary as well, with popular options including wheat noodles like lo mein or chow mein noodles, rice noodles, or even udon noodles.

Got lots of leftover vegetables staring at you when you open the refrigerator? Craving noodles? Having a busy day and in need of a quick warm meal? Hopefully, this recipe can solve it. I mean cooking something easy with leftover ingredients is definitely a win-win situation.

BEE ROLL

TIPS & TRICKS / SUBSTITUTIONS

SUBSTITUTIONS

Substitutes for beef

If you don’t have beef or you don’t want to use beef, feel free substituting it with chicken ( cut in small chunks ) or even tofu ( cut in small cubes ). If you do decide to use chicken, omit using the baking soda. Otherwise, if you decide to use tofu, replace the same amount of baking soda with baking powder as the baking powder will help the tofu get more crispier during cooking because the baking soda will extract all the liquid from the tofu and ensuring it is dry which is why the tofu get crispy when frying and swap the fish sauce for an extra 1 tbsp of Light Soy Sauce and Oyster Sauce for Vegan Oyster Sauce. In terms of the amount, use the same amount that is specified for beef for chicken or tofu. You could also just use more vegetables if you don’t want to use meat or tofu.

Vegetables

Use any crunchy vegetables that you have at hand. Cabbage, sugar snap peas, bell peppers, broccoli, brussel sprouts, asparagus, carrots, french beans, kale, bok choy, choy sum, spring onions, leek and more – all make amazing vegetables for this recipe. However, do ensure to cut hard vegetables (ex: broccoli, asparagus, brussels sprouts, choy sum and etc) in small pieces so that they cook well in the timeframe we need to cook them in.

STEPS ON MAKING ONE PAN STIR FRY BEEF NOODLES

In a bowl, add all of the ingredients for the beef marinade and set it aside to marinate for 15 minutes. The baking soda added to the marinade will make the beef tender and retain its moisture.

Next, place the noodles in a large bowl and add cold water to soak them for 15 minutes. The beef will marinate while the noodles are soaking—this will ensure we have two things going on at once to cut down on prep time.

In another bowl, add all of the stir-fry sauce ingredients and mix well to incorporate them, then set it aside.

Then, prepare the vegetables. For this recipe, I used sugar snaps and bell peppers as vegetables. I didn’t chop the sugar snaps as they are fairly quick to cook; hence, I only chopped the bell pepper into thin slices. Next, mince the garlic and ginger separately and set them aside.

After 15 minutes, add oil to a wok or pan and allow it to heat. Add the beef and stir-fry on medium-high heat for 5-6 minutes or until evenly browned. There might be some juice from the beef when stir-frying, but as the beef continues to cook, the juice will evaporate.

Add the vegetables, minced ginger, and garlic, and stir-fry for 3 minutes. Drain the water from the noodles and add the drained noodles and the stir-fry sauce. Stir-fry everything for about 3 minutes, ensuring everything is evenly combined. Add lime juice and continue to stir fry for 1 minute.

Remove from heat and serve hot. Optionally, you could garnish it with roasted sesame seeds. If you would like it to be spicier, you can add chopped jalapeno or bird’s eye chili when adding the vegetables, or drizzle some chili crisps or chili oil at the end as a garnish. You could even add a sunny-side-up egg as a garnish. There are many ways to make this dish your own in just 30 minutes, with little cleanup, and it’s perfect for lunch or dinner on a busy weekday.

STORAGE

If there are leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the fridge for 2 days. To reheat, place them in a wok (without oil) and stir-fry until they are hot, then serve as desired.