Here is a quick Beef 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!
Beef Rice Noodle Stir Fry
Here is a quick noodle stir fry for you that is made using dried rice noodle sticks. I know you’ve got a packet lurking in the back of your pantry somewhere! 🙂 They come in all sorts of thickness, from Pad See Ew wide ones to thinner Pad Thai ones (that’s what I used), and the very thin vermicelli rice noodles like in Singapore Noodles. I’ve provided quantities for all – you’ll be surprised how much it varies!
The star today though are the meaty pieces of beef that are tangled up in the noodles. They’re tenderised using a simple Chinese restaurant trick called velveting, where the beef is tossed with a little baking soda before cooking. Thinly sliced beef goes from juicy to chewy and overcooked in 90 seconds, even using expensive steak like scotch fillet (rib eye) marbled with fat.
But velvet the beef and it’s a completely different story. Even economical cuts stay beautifully tender and succulent – you can have a thin slice of beef on the stove for 10 minutes and it’ll still be juicy! It’s the secret behind the tender beef in the stir fries at your favourite Chinese restaurant.
Ingredients in Beef Rice Noodles
Here’s what you need to make this rice noodle stir fry. Plenty of options for beef cuts, noodles, and the vegetables!
1. Tenderised beef
A tiny sprinkle of baking soda is the secret to tenderising beef slices so they stay succulent. Paper thin slices of beef cook in 90 seconds whereas noodle stir fries take around 8 minutes. Fast, but the beef is still overcooked which means it’s chewy and tough. So tenderising is essential, in my books!
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Baking soda – A small amount (just 1/2 teaspoon) mixed with the beef tenderises it so it stays soft. Without, the beef will overcook and become tough. A tried and proven Chinese restaurant tenderising method called velveting used liberally in my Asian recipes! More on velveting here.
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Rump steak (top sirloin) – This is my default cut of beef for stir fries , because it has good beefy flavour, it’s juicy and not as pricey as other steak cuts like scotch/rib-eye and porterhouse /New York strip. If I get a nice scotch fillet, it kind of feels like a waste to use it for a stir fry! I like to get a rump roast which is better value than steaks, then portion and freeze. This is what is pictured above. Other beef rump roast and steak cuts are also great – rump cap (also called picanha/coulotte), sirloin cap.
Next choice – Top side (US: top round) is probably my next choice for value for money (especially if you get a roast and cut it up), and flank is excellent too – really great beefy flavour. Though South American cuts are starting to creep up in price here in Australia so I tend not to use them for stir fries.
Slow cooking cuts – like chuck, oyster blade, gravy beef and blade can also be used, they just need to be tenderised for longer. Directions in the recipe card!
2. FOR THE NOODLE STIR FRY
And here’s what goes into the stir fry.
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Rice noodles – Dried rice noodles are a staple in my pantry. They last *forever*, they’re cheap, and they’re incredibly versatile. I use Pad Thai thickness noodles (~3m / 1/8″ wide when dried), but you can use any width for this stir fry though the quantity needed will vary. As a rule of thumb, the thinner the noodles, the less you need by weight because they bulk up more once soaked. Thinner noodles also have more surface area for the sauce to coat, so using too much can dilute the flavour.
The quantity to use for different rice noodles is specified in the recipe card notes.
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Leafy Asian Greens – Use any! Bok choy, choy sum, gai lan (Chinese broccoli), or even English spinach. I use bok choy in the recipe video and choi sum is pictured above.
To prepare, trim off and discard the scruffy ends. Cut into 5cm/2″ pieces, separating the stems from the leafy part as they go into the pan at different times (stems take longer to cook). Also, cut thicker / wider stems in half lengthways so they are all roughly the same thickness.
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Garlic and onion – Just half an onion, plus 3 big garlic cloves – for good garlicky flavour!
3. THE SAUCE
And here is what you need for the sauce. The oyster sauce does a lot of heavy lifting here, adding savouriness, sweetness and depth of flavour.
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Light and dark soy sauce – The light soy sauce adds saltiness without staining the noodles a lovely brown colour while the dark soy adds soy flavour and colours the noodles, as well as some saltiness. You can substitute the dark soy sauce with more light soy sauce, though the noodles will be paler, but do not substitute the light soy with more dark soy sauce as it will be far too intense. Your noodles will become black!
The light soy sauce can be substituted with any all-purpose soy sauce or tamari.
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Oyster sauce – A staple Asian sauce that adds complexity, sweetness, flavour and umami all at once. Made from oyster extract that is sweet, salty, thick and pungent, but doesn’t taste oyster-y or fishy at all once cooked. Can be substituted with shellfish free alternative – vegetarian “oyster” sauce, even found at regular grocery stores these days.
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Sugar – To balance the salt in the sauce. You can substitute with honey or maple syrup, if you want.
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White pepper – White rather than black pepper is typical of Asian cooking, but black pepper can be used.
How to make Beef Rice Noodle Stir Fry
Here is how to make this rice noodle stir fry. TOP TIP: Soak the noodles just before you’re ready to cook. If you leave them lying around for a while, they are much more prone to breaking in the pan.
1. Tenderise beef
Tenderise the beef first. Once tenderised and ready to cook, it can sit around as long as needed – even overnight in the fridge.
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Tenderise – Sprinkle the beef with the baking soda then use your fingertips to coat the beef in it, separating the pieces with your fingertips. You might feel like there’s not enough baking soda but have faith, as you toss the beef around with your fingers and separate the pieces, it is spreading from piece to piece.
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Leave for 20 minutes to tenderise. The beef will turn a bright red. If you put your ear close to the beef, you will hear faint fizzing – the baking soda in action! The beef will be ok if you leave it for a bit longer but if you leave it for hours longer, it will become too tenderised and overly soft. Still edible though!
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Rinse the beef in a colander to get the baking soda off. You don’t need to be super thorough, if there’s a bit left you won’t taste it and it won’t do you any harm (in fact, in some recipes where less baking soda is used and it’s marinated for longer, it doesn’t get rinsed off). Shake off excess water then pat off excess water with a paper towel. It doesn’t need to be dry, you just don’t want it soaking wet.
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Season – Put it into a bowl, add soy sauce and mix. Then set aside. It doesn’t need marinating time – the beef is thin and the sauce has stacks of flavour. The soy sauce is just to add some flavour onto the beef.
2. stir fry
As with most stir fries, this one moves fast once you start to cook. So make sure everything is chopped, ready to toss into the pan or wok!
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Sauce – Mix the ingredients in a bowl.
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Soak noodles *just before cooking* – Prepare the noodles per the packet directions. Usually they say to soak in boiling water for 10 minutes. I find soaking rather than cooking in boiling water makes the rice noodles less fragile.
TIP: Only soak the noodles when you are ready to cook. If you leave the noodles lying around once they have been soaked, they dry out and will break more when cooking.
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Rinse – Drain the noodles then rinse under tap water to remove excess starch. This will stop the noodles from becoming gluey when cooking.
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Cook – Heat the oil over high heat in a wok or a large deep pan (skillet). Cook the onion first for 30 seconds, then the beef. When most of the red has turned brown, add the garlic and cook until the beef is no longer red. Then toss the stems of the Asian greens for 1 minute.
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Everything else – Add (in this order) all the leafy part of the greens, then noodles (so it weighs down the greens), then sauce.
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Toss well for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, de-tangling the noodles as you go, until the sauce has coated all the noodles. There should be no sauce left in the base of the pan and the leafy part of the greens should be wilted. Then serve immediately!
TIP: Rice noodles are more fragile than wheat noodles / egg noodles, so if you keep tossing excessively and unnecessarily, they will start to break. So stop tossing once all the sauce is coating the noodles!
It’s a complete meal!
Today’s stir fried rice noodles has a good amount of leafy greens and protein to make this a complete meal, so you won’t need anything on the side. It’s also a generous portion so it should satisfy even those with a hearty appetite!
Hope you get a chance to try it. Love to know what you think if you do! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Beef Rice Noodles
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes
Beef tenderising time: 20 minutes
Total: 40 minutes
Main
Asian
Servings2 – 3 people
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Instructions
ABBREVIATED RECIPE
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Tenderise beef – toss with baking soda, leave 20 min, rinse, season with soy sauce. Stir fry – Sauté onion first, then beef, then garlic, then stems. Add leafy greens, prepared noodles, and sauce. Toss well then serve.
Velvet the beef:
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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.
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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:
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Sauce – Mix ingredients in a small bowl.
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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.
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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.
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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!
Recipe Notes:
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 Information:
Calories: 679cal (34%)Carbohydrates: 96g (32%)Protein: 30g (60%)Fat: 18g (28%)Saturated Fat: 4g (25%)Polyunsaturated Fat: 5gMonounsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 59mg (20%)Sodium: 2844mg (124%)Potassium: 520mg (15%)Fiber: 2g (8%)Sugar: 6g (7%)Vitamin A: 1IUVitamin C: 7mg (8%)Calcium: 76mg (8%)Iron: 3mg (17%)
Life of Jaffle
As I watched him try again and again and again to get in, that was the moment I realised: my sweet little boys’ greatest asset may not be between his ears. I think he’s going to be relying on his looks to get through life. 😂
