This is a very typical stir fried noodle dish that I have as a midweek meal. One that doesn’t require specific ingredients – just use whatever you have. Use fresh or dried noodles, whatever vegetables are lying around. And Charlie, my All Purpose Chinese Stir Fry Sauce. He’s a midweek lifesaver. And Super Food Ideas magazine agrees!!
Beef Hokkien Noodles
Charlie is the name I have given to my All Purpose Chinese Stir Fry Sauce. That’s how fond I am of him – I’ve named him. Charlie – as in Charlie Brown. Everybody say boo, how unoriginal!! 😉
You might laugh that I’ve named him but you won’t laugh if you try him. He’s becoming FAMOUS!!! He’s now not only one of the all time most popular recipes here on RecipeTin Eats, he’s got an entire six page spread in Super Food Ideas Magazine!
I know Charlie isn’t beautiful. He’s a rather unassuming brown sauce, he looks rather unappetising actually, especially when he’s been in the fridge for a few weeks and he’s separated into layers.
Unattractive he may be. But he’s packed with super powers because of his versatility, convenience and how darn delicious he is, even if you do nothing but add water to him in a stir fry.
Who would have ever thought that a plain brown sauce would be sitting in the fridge of hundreds and thousands, if not millions, of households around the world?
And now, he’s in SUPER FOOD IDEAS magazine!!! Five brand new recipes created using Charlie that I made especially and exclusively for the March issue of Super Food Ideas which just hit the stands!
I think you’ll be pretty amazed at the range of dishes that can be made using Charlie. Stir fries and noodles are the obvious ones. But he can also be used as:
A sauce – like in the Pan Fried Chinese Fish recipe (middle right above) and the saucy prawn stir fry on crispy noodles (3rd from the right);
For a speedy fried rice – I made a Speedy Pork Fried rice for the magazine (far right); and
Soup! Pictured above is a Chinese Chicken & Corn Soup I made using Charlie (2nd from the right).
I was really, really torn about which recipe to share. I decided to go with the Spicy Hokkien Noodles because it’s a staple in my midweek meal repertoire. I very rarely follow this recipe exactly, I substitute the beef for whatever proteins I have – or even go meat free – and use whatever vegetables I have. Literally – anything. I even used fennel once. It was darn tasty actually!
I love stir fried noodles because it’s a complete meal made in one pot (or skillet!) – no need to make a separate side of rice. My favourites that are in heavy rotation include Chicken Rice Noodles, Chicken Vegetable Ramen Noodles, Pad See Ew, Beef Broccoli Noodles and Chow Mein.
This recipe makes enough for 4 people so I use the method of cooking the ingredient in batches, then bringing it all together at the end. The reason I do this is because otherwise the wok gets too full and the vegetables and beef will stew rather than be crisp and just cooked which is how they should be for stir fries.
As with all stir fries, once you start cooking it all comes together very quickly so have everything chopped and ready to go. Are you ready for a quick dinner? Make up some Charlie to have on standby, then you’re just 20 minutes away from this! – Nagi x
Option: Tenderising beef for stir fries
Ever notice how the meat in Chinese dishes is so incredibly tender, and how your stir fries at home are just never the same? The secret is tenderising the meat – a method called velveting.
That’s right. Your cheerful local Chinese restaurant is using economical stewing beef to make stir fries with ultra tender strips of beef by tenderising it!
Find out how to use this simple, highly effective method: How to Tenderise Beef (the Chinese way).
This is optional only, when wanting to make stir fries with economical beef or you simply want extra tender beef, Chinese restaurant style!
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Spicy Beef Hokkien Noodles
Ingredients
Beef
- 13oz / 400g beef rump steak , trimmed, thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp Homemade Chinese Stir-fry Sauce (Note 1)
- 1 1/2 tbsp peanut oil
Stir Fry
- 1 1/2 tbsp peanut oil
- 2 garlic cloves , crushed
- 1 small onion (brown, white or yellow)
- 1 red capsicum/bell pepper , sliced
- 1/3 cup Homemade Chinese Stir-fry Sauce (Note 1)
- 3/4 cup water
- 2 tbsp chilli paste , hot sauce, sriracha (to taste) OR finely chopped chilli
- 3 scallions/shallots , cut into 3cm lengths
- 7oz / 200g snow peas , trimmed
- 15oz / 450g fresh hokkien noodles
To Garnish (optional)
- Sliced red chilli , sliced scallions/shallots and toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- Mix beef and 2 tbsp Stir-fry Sauce in a glass or ceramic bowl. Set aside for 20 minutes to marinate.
- Heat 1 1/2 tbsp oil in a large wok over high heat. Cook beef for 1 1/2 minutes or until just cooked through. Transfer to a bowl.
- Heat 1 1/2 tbsp oil. Add garlic and onion, cook for 30 seconds. Add capsicum and cook for 1 minute. Transfer to the bowl with the beef.
- Add 1/3 cup Homemade Chinese Stir-fry Sauce, water and chili paste. Cook for 30 seconds or until sauce starts to thicken. Add green onion and snow peas, cook for 30 seconds.
- Return beef and capsicum mixture to the wok, add noodles and stir fry for 1 minute 30 seconds, tossing to coat everything in the sauce.
- Serve immediately, garnished with chili, sliced scallions/shallots and sesame seeds if desired.
Recipe Notes:
3 tbsp soy sauce (all purpose, I use Kikkoman)
1 tbsp + 1 tsp oyster sauce
3 tbsp Chinese cooking wine or dry sherry
1 1/2 tsp white sugar
½ tsp sesame oil (optional)
Dash of black pepper
Wow your sauce is amazing I added chillies to it – And now it will be on hand in my fridge- thank you
Perfect Jacqui!
Made it, adore it. I used a tablespoon of gouchjang (apologies if spelled wrong) paste and it was spicy and delish. I also used chicken and prawns and a ton of veg. The highlight was your Charlie sauce that’s gonna be my go to sauce it is perfection in itself 😍 last night I made your Shepherd’s pie too Nagi and I adored it. Being Irish I usually add a dollop of mustard but it’s not necessary with your method. Even better reheated the next day too. Thanks so much. X
I’m so glad you’re loving the recipes Niamh! Thanks so much for letting me know ❤️
Great ideas, simply delicious
Thanks so much Mary!
its so yummy! and easy to make i will cook this again and again…..thank you for sharing your recipe Nagi!
You’re so welcome Jennie!
Another winner, Nagi! Mr. Fussy liked it! I had leftover prime sirloin (which I marinated in the sauce without the cornstarch) and used fettucine because I didn’t have hokkien noodles. SImple ingredients and big flavor payoff!
That’s so great to hear Marlene!
amazing recipe, my daughter asked for beef noodles and this dish was amazing! love the sauce!
I’m making that for food tech tomorrow looks soooo good
Really exited
A beautiful meal.
The sauce was delicious and the veggies just added to the overall flavour.
Thank you so much for all the effort you put in to your recipes.
I look forward everyday to your new posts.
I will differently be making this meal again.
It was really lovely.
You’re so welcome Julie! I really pleased you enjoyed this! 🙂 N x
Well Nagi, another great recipe and so easy to put together. The sauce is the winner and I will keep the formula for all of my stir-fry dishes. We added some steamed Chinese broccoli at the end of the recipe. It added great texture and colour. A fabulous stir-fry recipe which drew excellent comments from my guests. You are my go-to food blogger who never fails me.
That’s so terrific Jimela! Thanks for letting me know! N xx ❤️
My husband and I ate at PF Chang’s the other night and I got their new dish, Hokkien Street Noodles that was described as having a light curry sauce. I scoured the internet looking for a similar recipe and ended up on your page. I’ve used your Charlie Sauce before (it’s genius!) so I figured I couldn’t go wrong with using Charlie and 1 Tbsp Red Curry Paste. I used shrimp that I marinated in some canola oil and fish sauce and then tossed with some corn starch and fried it in a little oil. For noodles, I used Rice Sticks (Dynasty Maifun) and soaked them in boiling water for 5 min and then rinsed/drained and stir fried in 2 Tbsp oil. I also put in some cooked egg, julienned carrots, sliced onion, sliced cabbage, and green onion. Boy, was it tasty! My husband gave the dish an A+
I’m so pleased to hear that, thank you for letting me know! N xx
Yummy these sound awesome.! thanks for sharing.
Simon
Thanks Simon! Hope you try it!
this was very, very good we enjoyed the dish very much. The stir-fry sauce was great, I will use it for everything asian. Thanks for the recipes!!
I’m thrilled you enjoyed this Mike! Thanks for letting me know!
Nagi-San, how yummy was this! The whole family loved it. Looks like Charlie is going to be my long term friend.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Kaz! Thanks so much for letting me know! N x
charlie is great!! i cook asian all the time and it never crossed my mind to do it in an “ahead” batch. it’s great!! love this recipe. i use a bit of five spice added to the szechuan pepper i substitute for the white or black pepper in it, though…
AWESOME! So happy to hear you enjoyed this, and thanks for letting me know! N x
Thank you for your website and recipes! I’m making my first batch of “Charlie” tonight with beef and snow peas. Your recipes look delicious and I’m anxious to try them as we love Chinese food!
The beef & snow peas with “Charlie” was great! Just a little mild though. How would you spice it up a notch Nagi? DO you ever mic oyster sauce with hoisin sauce? I’m thinking I should add a little chili sauce (I like a liitle heat with my Chinese food!).
Tonight I’m going to make Spicy Beef with Hokkien noodles. The picture looks delicious!!!
Oooh! I hope you love Charlie as much as I do!!! 🙂
Hi! I was wondering how long Charlie can last in the freezer before he “expires”. If I made a large batch, can I freeze leftover Charlie sauce and if so, for how long?
That’s a good question Jennifer! I must say I haven’t tried freezing him, I will give it a go though and update the recipe. The only part I am concerned about is whether the cornflour holds up so the sauce still thickens up when cooked!
This beef noodle dish looks amazing, Nagi! I’ll have to try your recipe for that all purpose stir fry sauce!
Thank you Sabrina!! 🙂
Nagi! Congrats on the fantastic spreads in the magazine… again! You are now famous … yay!
The basic sauce is just genius – I love it! The hubs likes to make a stir-fry sauce with JUST oyster sauce. He thinks it’s the bee’s knees, but I think I’m going to try to persuade him to branch out and use this one instead. Definitely going to try this soon for a quick dinner! Thank you!
No I’m not!!! Don’t say that!! 🙂
Your “Charlie” sounds great and very handy to have in your back pocket. : ) My son loves beef noodles and I make something similar. I adore the spice and colorful veggies you tossed in. Great dinner!
Thanks Monica!! 🙂
Ha I love your sauce’s name. It is new to me, first time here, but loving it and the dish looks great. Will have to make some Charlie soon!
And you’ll need to name YOURS!