During the lockdowns it was almost impossible to find a good local Chinese restaurant that was open. So when the craving for my favorite Chinese dishes reared its head, I had to resort to dusting off old cookbooks, or scouring the internet to figure out how to make them at home. This stir fry has a rich, savory, brown sauce that’s utterly delectable! No spiciness here, just a lovely umami brown sauce that will have you licking your plate clean.
I love a good stir fry recipe. Not only is it a quick and easy way to get a tasty meal on the table, but it’s a great way to get your kids to eat their veggies. Cooking them just till they are crisp, tender makes them utterly delicious. No mushy overcooked veggies in this dish that kids usually turn up their noses to. I have to give the Chinese credit for really perfecting the art of cooking vegetables. I hated vegetables growing up, my mom always seemed to cook them into mush…yuck. But when vegetables are cooked properly, they really are divine! And let’s face it, all our kids could stand to eat more veggies, not just corn and potatoes, right?
I also love cooking my favorite Chinese foods at home. It’s not as convenient as take out, but I know exactly what’s in it and I can customize or tweak a recipe so that it suites our tastes the best. Cooking at home is so much more economical and lets face it with everything getting so expensive, saving money is always welcome. And because I have total control of what ingredients I’m choosing to use, I can feel good about what I’m feeding my family.
Don’t let the long list of ingredients scares you off. This recipe is actually very simple to prepare. Read through the step-by-step instructions so you see how easy it is to make this delicious dish.
As with any stir fry recipe, it’s important to get all the ingredients prepped and ready before you start cooking on the stove. The prepping will actually take more time than the actual cooking part. This dish cooks up really quickly so have everything ready to add to the pan before you turn on the heat.
Cut beef into strips, cutting against the grain. This will ensure the most tender bites.
In a small bowl combine beef strips with Shaoxing wine, salt and cornstarch.
Stir to coat the beef and set aside while you prepare the remaining ingredients..
Combine stir fry sauce in a measuring cup; mix together the beef broth, soy sauce, oyster sauce, Shaoxing wine, cornstarch, sugar, black vinegar, and white pepper. Stir and set aside.
If you have an Asian market nearby, it’s worth the trip to find black vinegar to use in the sauce. Chinese black vinegar is a dark, mild vinegar similar in taste to a balsamic vinegar. It has a stronger smoky flavor compared to other vinegars. If you can’t find it, good substitutions would be either Balsamic vinegar or rice vinegar.
Remove Yaki Soba noodles from their package and rinse them in a colander under hot water, breaking them apart with your fingers. Drain and set aside.
TIP: Use refrigerated fresh noodles like a Japanese Yaki Soba noodles or Hong Kong noodles. They are thinner than their Chow Mien noodle counterparts, and will fry up and crisp quicker.
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.
Spread the noodles in the bottom of the pan in an even layer, like a large noodle pancake.
Allow noodles to brown and crisp for about 2 minutes. Do not stir noodles, allow them to brown in the pan.
Once noodle are browned on the first side, flip noodles using a spatula and brown them on the other side, about 2 more minutes.
Remove the noodles from the pan and transfer them to a large platter.
Add another tablespoon oil to the pan and add the strips of marinated beef to the skillet in a single layer. Do not crowd the pan.
Allow meat to form a dark brown crust before turning beef over to the other side.
Flip beef over and brown on the other side, another 2 minutes or so.
Transfer browned beef to a plate and continue to cook the remaining beef in small batches.
Add another tablespoon oil to the skillet. Add the onion, carrots and broccoli florets to the skillet, stir fry for 1-2 minutes.
Add cabbage and cook for another 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
Push veggies to the sides of the pan, creating a well in the center. Add the minced garlic and grated ginger.
Stir to combine with the vegetables. Cook until garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Give the stir fry sauce a good stir and add it to the skillet. Bring the sauce to a simmer and cook until sauce thickens.
Return beef to the skillet and toss to combine with the vegetables and coat with the sauce.
Cook until heated through, about 1 minute. Don’t overcook!
Serve over bed of crispy fried noodles.
Garnish with sliced green onions to serve.
A huge shout out to Maggie Zhu at omnivorescookbook.com for the inspiration for this delicious recipe. I’ve tried several Chinese recipes with brown sauces with less than stellar results. She nailed the sauce with this recipe! The rich, umami, savory sauce rivals anything you can get at a Chinese restaurant with no weird unhealthy ingredients like MSG! I added a bit more black vinegar because we enjoy a more tart flavor profile. I now have an easy to make, go to, delicious, mild, brown sauce recipe for all my savory Chinese dishes…thank you Maggie! This meal will be showing up on our table often. Probably with the addition of bell peppers, maybe some snow peas and definitely some sliced mushrooms, because everything is better with mushrooms…right? What ever I happen to have hanging out in the vegetable drawer of the fridge!
Crispy Pan Fried Noodles & Beef
Equipment
- large non-stick skillet
Ingredients
- 8 oz sirloin beef, cut into strips
- 12 oz Yaki Soba, refrigerated Japanese style stir fry noodles
- 4 tbsp vegetable oil
- ¼ head green cabbage, cut into bite size pieces
- ½ yellow onion, sliced
- 2 cups Broccoli florets
- ½ cup carrot, cut into matchsticks
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and grated
- 3 stalks green onions, sliced
Marinade:
- 2 tbsp Shaoxing wine
- 2 tsp corn starch
- ½ tsp salt
Stir Fry Sauce:
- 2 tbsp corn starch
- 1 tsp sugar
- ½ tsp white pepper
- 1 cup beef broth
- 2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
- 2 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
- ½ tsp black vinegar
Instructions
- In a small bowl combine beef strips with Shaoxing wine, salt and cornstarch. Set aside.
- Combine stir fry sauce in a measuring cup; beef broth, soy sauce, oyster sauce, Shaoxing wine, cornstarch, sugar, black vinegar, and white pepper. Stir and set aside.
- Place noodles in a colander and rinse under hot water, breaking them apart with your fingers. Drain and set aside.
- Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.
- Spread the noodles in the bottom of the pan in an even layer, like a large noodle pancake.
- Allow noodles to brown and crips for about 2 minutes. Do not stir noodles, allow them to brown in the pan.
- Once noodle are browned on the first side, flip noodles using a spatula and brown them on the other side, about 2 more minutes.
- Remove the noodles from the pan and transfer them to a large platter.
- Add another tablespoon oil to the pan and add the strips of marinated beef to the skillet in a single layer. Do not crowd the pan.
- Allow meat to form a dark brown crust before turning beef over to the other side.
- Flip beef over and brown on the other side, another 2 minutes or so.
- Transfer browned beef to a plate and continue to cook the remaining beef in small batches.
- Add another tablespoon oil to the skillet. Add the onion, carrots and broccoli florets to the skillet, stir fry for 1-2 minutes.
- Add cabbage and cook for another 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Push veggies to the side of the pan, creating a well in the center of the pan. Add the minced garlic and grated ginger. Stir to combine with the vegetables. Cook until garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Stir the stir fry sauce and add it to the skillet. Bring the sauce to a simmer and cook until sauce thickens.
- Return beef to the skillet and toss to combine with the vegetables and coat with the sauce. Cook until heated through, about 1 minute.
- Serve over bed of crispy fried noodles and garnish with sliced green onions.
Did You Make This?
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