Beef Rice Noodles

5 from 7 votes

Recipe video above. This is a quick Rice Noodle stir fry with nice meaty pieces of beef, tenderised so they are beautifully succulent, never overcooked - even if you cook for way longer than you should! Chinese restaurant trick. :)

The noodles are stained a rich brown from the soy-forward sauce that's savoury and garlicky with just a hint of sweet. There's a broad range of beef cuts suitable, use whatever rice noodles you have (though see note on quantities), and any leafy Asian greens (or even non Asian!).

Makes 2 generous servings, or 3 sensible servings.

Prep Time10

Cook Time10

Beef tenderising time20

Total Time40

Course: Main

Cuisine: Asian

Keyword: beef noodle stir fry, beef rice noodles, rice noodle recipe

Servings: - 3 people

Calories: 679cal

Author: Nagi

Ingredients

Tenderised steak:

200 g / 7oz rump steak / top sirloin , cut into 3 - 4mm / 1/8" slices, or other steak - see Note 1
1/2 tsp baking soda (bi-carbonate) - NOT baking powder, won't work
2 tsp light soy sauce (Note 2)

Stir fry:

2 tbsp peanut oil , canola or other neutral flavoured oil
200g / 7 oz Pad Thai-thickness flat rice noodles ~3-4mm (1/8" wide), or any other - see Note 3 for quantities
3 garlic cloves , finely minced with a knife
1/2 onion , sliced
6 - 8 baby boy choy, choi sum stems, Chinese broccoli (Gai lan) or other leafy Asian greens, cut into ~ 5cm / 2", stems separated from leafy part, thick/wide stems cut lengthways so they are all roughly the same size (Note 4)

Sauce:

1 tbsp light soy sauce , or all-purpose soy or tamari for gluten-free (Note 2)
1 1/2 tbsp dark soy sauce (Note 2)
3 tbsp oyster sauce (can substitute with vegetarian oyster sauce)
2 tsp white sugar (or honey, maple)
1 tbsp water
Pinch white pepper (or black pepper, or chilli flakes)

Instructions

ABBREVIATED RECIPE

Tenderise beef - toss with baking soda, leave 20 min, rinse, season with fish sauce. Stir fry - Sauté onion first, then beef, then garlic, then stems. Add leafy greens, prepared noodles, and sauce. Toss well then serve.

FULL RECIPE

Velvet the beef:

Tenderise - Sprinkle the beef with baking soda in a small bowl. Toss with your fingertips to coat, separating the beef slices. Leave for 20 minutes to tenderise.
Rinse, dry, season - Rinse in a colander, shake and pat off excess water with a paper towel (no need to be thorough). Place in a bowl and toss with the soy sauce. Set aside. (It doesn't need to marinating time).

Stir fry:

Sauce - Mix ingredients in a small bowl.
Soak and rinse noodles - Prepare the noodles according to packet directions (usually soaking in boiling water for 5 - 10 minutes). Drain, then rinse under tap water to remove excess starch so it doesn't go gluey when cooked.
Cook onion, beef then garlic - Heat the oil over high heat in a large wok or large deep fry pan / skillet (~30cm/12"). Add the onion for 30 seconds. Add beef and cook until the red is almost gone (~1 minute), then add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
Stems then everything else - Add the stem part of the Asian greens, toss for 1 minute. Add the leafy part, noodles then sauce (in that order). Toss for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes until the sauce has stained all the noodles and there is no sauce left in the base of the pan. Serve immediately!

Notes

1. Beef cuts - Rump steak (US: Top Sirloin is my go-to beef cut for stir fries, for taste and value. I like to buy a roast (better value), portion and freeze. Porterhouse (strip) and scotch steak (rib eye) are also terrific but pricier.

Other options: Top side (US: top round) - I get a roast and portion, flank.

Slow cooking cuts – like chuck, oyster blade, gravy beef – use a slightly heaped 1/2 teaspoon and leave for 35 min, then rinse and proceed with recipe. Blade and bolar blade need 40 min, the only cut I don’t use is brisket (just doesn’t seem to tenderise).

2. Soy sauce substitutes:

- Light soy sauce can be substituted with all-purpose soy or tamari (for GF). Do not substitute with dark soy sauce, it's way too intense.

- Dark soy can be substituted with light soy, all-purpose soy or tamari though the noodles won't be stained the brown colour you see.

3. Rice noodles - I use the Pad Thai thickness flat rice noodles which are ~3 - 4m / 1/6" wide when dry. For other dried rice noodles, use the following quantities and increase beef to 250g/8oz (because you get more noodle volume):

Extra wide ~1cm/0.4" (Pad See Ew thickness) - 250g/8oz
Vermicelli rice noodles ~1mm - 175g / 6oz

4. Leafy Asian Greens - You can really use any here, just make sure thicker stems are cut lengthways so they are all roughly the same thickness so they cook through in around the same time. You could even use English spinach, or chopped cabbage (5 - 6 cups, chopped into bite size pieces).

Leftovers will keep for 3 days in the fridge. Not suitable for freezing (noodle breakage on reheat).

Nutrition per serving for 2 generous portions.

Nutrition