Beef chow mein is a delicious Chinese dish made with thin, chewy noodles, seared flank steak, and crisp-tender vegetables.
Pull off restaurant-quality beef chow mein right in your own kitchen with our step-by-step recipe, all brought together by the rich savory depth of Chinese light and dark soy sauces!
We also put together a YouTube video to walk you through it, because some things are just easier to show than to tell!
Note:
We partnered with Lee Kum Kee to create this beef chow mein recipe. As always on The Woks of Life, all opinions are our own. Enjoy!
Which Noodles to Use for Chow Mein
I’ll be direct here: you NEED to use thin Hong Kong-style pan-fried noodles. I know there are recipes out there using whatever noodle is convenient, but this choice matters. They’re a bit chewy, a bit crispy, and tossed in a hot wok to create that signature wok hei flavor.
Fresh chow mein noodles look almost dry when you pull them out of the package, but they’re soft to the touch and cook quickly — just a quick dip in boiling water and they’re ready to go. They also freeze really well, so I always keep a package in the freezer for chow mein/pan-fried noodle cravings.
Can’t find fresh noodles? Dried thin Hong Kong-style noodles are a solid pantry backup. They’re comparable to fresh noodles after cooking, and usually come in a 16-ounce package in small dried bundles. Just remember you only need half the weight. Four ounces of dried noodles will hydrate to the equivalent of 8 ounces fresh.
The Importance of Light and Dark Soy Sauce
This recipe is also a great opportunity to talk about something I wish more home cooks knew: the difference between Chinese light soy sauce and dark soy sauce.
These are the two major types of soy sauce in Chinese cooking. Chinese light soy sauce is your everyday workhorse—an all-purpose seasoning and the backbone of so many Chinese dishes. Dark soy sauce is something different entirely. You use it in small amounts, just a teaspoon or so, and it gives your food a deep amber color and a subtle sweetness (there’s a touch of sugar in there).
In this recipe, I use dark soy in the beef marinade to get that rich, caramelized color on the meat, and then I use both in the sauce to layer flavor and get the color just right.
We used Lee Kum Kee Premium Soy Sauce and Lee Kum Kee Premium Dark Soy Sauce. The company has a long heritage, having invented (yes, INVENTED) oyster sauce, a Chinese cooking staple. They make a full line of high quality Asian sauces, and their premium soy sauces are naturally fermented and made with non-GMO soybeans.
Look for soy sauce where water, soybeans, and salt are the primary ingredients — that’s how you know it’s the real thing. Lee Kum Kee is widely available at Asian grocery stores and online, and it’s often the best option even at regular supermarkets!
If you’re building out your Chinese pantry, a bottle each of light and dark soy sauce will take you far. For more guidance, check out our 10 Essential Chinese Pantry Ingredients article as well as our full Chinese Ingredients Glossary.
Now let’s make beef chow mein!
Beef Chow Mein Recipe Instructions
Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil, and cook the noodles for 30-60 seconds. Drain, rinse in cold water, and spread the noodles out to drain further.
Velvet the beef by combining the beef strips with water, baking soda, oyster sauce, cornstarch, oil, dark soy sauce, and Shaoxing wine. Massage the beef to coat it uniformly until it absorbs all the liquid.
Make the sauce in a small bowl by mixing the hot water and sugar until the sugar dissolves. Then add the Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, sesame oil, and white pepper.
Be sure to prepare all your vegetables and have them ready to go before you start cooking. This dish cooks up fast!
Tip!
Tip: Rinse the mung bean sprouts in cold water. Keep them in cold water until you are ready to cook, and put them into a colander to drain just before you heat up the wok. This keeps them crisp and crunchy!
Heat your wok over medium-high heat until it is just starting to smoke. Add 1½ tablespoons of oil and swirl to coat the wok. Reduce the heat to medium, and spread the noodles in a thin layer, tilting the wok in a circular motion to distribute the oil and crisp the bottom layer of the noodles evenly. Let the noodles cook for 1 to 2 minutes until lightly browned, adjusting the heat as needed to prevent burning.
Flip the noodles over, and add another tablespoon of oil around the perimeter of the wok to let the other “side” of the noodles crisp. Don’t stress if you can’t turn the noodles over in one shot, The goal here is just to get an even, light crispiness during this cooking stage. Transfer the noodles to a plate and set aside.
Heat wok over high heat until the wok is just smoking, and add 1 tablespoon of oil around the perimeter. Add the beef in one layer, and sear for 30 seconds. Flip and sear for another 30 seconds. Stir-fry the beef for another 20 seconds, remove the beef from the wok, and set aside.
Add the remaining ½ tablespoon of oil, along with the garlic, mushrooms, carrots, and half the scallions (more of the white parts than the green parts). Stir-fry for 1 minute.
Still over high heat, add the noodles and beef (with any juices). Pour the sauce mixture over the top and turn the heat to the highest setting. Stir-fry the noodles with a lift-and-shake motion until the sauce is well-incorporated, about 30-45 seconds. Add in the snow peas, bean sprouts, and the remaining scallions, and stir-fry everything for another 1-2 minutes. The snow peas and bean sprouts should still be fresh and crunchy.
Serve this Beef Chow Mein with your favorite homemade hot chili oil or homemade Chiu Chow chili oil!
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Recipe
Beef Chow Mein
Ingredients
- 8 ounces fresh thin Hong-Kong-Style Pan-fried Noodles (or 4 ounces dried)
- 4 tablespoons neutral oil (such as canola, vegetable, or avocado oil; divided)
- ¾ cup white button mushrooms (or fresh shiitake mushroom, sliced)
- ¾ cup thinly sliced carrot (about 1 small carrot)
- 1 cup snow peas (ends trimmed, fibrous string removed)
- 1 cup mung bean sprouts
- 2 scallions (sliced on an angle into 2-inch/5cm pieces)
- 1 clove garlic (chopped)
For the beef & marinade:
- 12 ounces beef flank steak (sliced into thin strips)
- 1½ tablespoons water
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon neutral oil
- 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce (such as Lee Kum Kee Premium Dark Soy Sauce)
- 1 teaspoon Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry)
For the sauce:
- 1 tablespoon hot water
- ¼ teaspoon sugar
- 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine (divided)
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce (such as Lee Kum Kee Premium Light Soy Sauce—no preservatives added)
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 2 teaspoons dark soy sauce (such as Lee Kum Kee Premium Dark Soy Sauce)
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- ⅛ teaspoon white pepper
Instructions
- Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil, and cook the noodles for 30-60 seconds. Drain, rinse in cold water, and spread the noodles out to drain further.
- Velvet the beef by combining the beef strips with water, baking soda, oyster sauce, cornstarch, oil, dark soy sauce, and Shaoxing wine. Massage the beef to coat it uniformly until it absorbs all the liquid.
- Make the sauce in a small bowl by mixing the hot water and sugar until the sugar dissolves. Then add the Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, sesame oil, and white pepper.
- Heat your wok over medium-high heat until it is just starting to smoke. Add 1½ tablespoons of oil and swirl to coat the wok. Reduce the heat to medium, and spread the noodles in a thin layer, tilting the wok in a circular motion to distribute the oil and crisp the bottom layer of the noodles evenly. Let the noodles cook for 1 to 2 minutes until lightly browned, adjusting the heat as needed to prevent burning. Flip the noodles and repeat on the other side. Remove from the wok.
- Heat wok over high heat until the wok is just smoking, and add 1 tablespoon of oil around the perimeter. Add the beef in one layer, and sear for 30 seconds. Flip and sear for another 30 seconds. Stir-fry the beef for another 20 seconds, and remove the beef from the wok.
- Add the remaining ½ tablespoon of oil, along with the garlic, mushrooms, carrots, and half the scallions (more of the white parts than the green parts). Stir-fry for 1 minute.
- Still over high heat, add the noodles and beef (with any juices). Pour the sauce mixture over the top and turn the heat to the highest setting. Stir-fry the noodles with a lift-and-shake motion until the sauce is well-incorporated, about 30-45 seconds. Add the snow peas, bean sprouts, and the remaining scallions. Stir-fry everything for another 1-2 minutes. Serve!
