Crispy Cantonese Beef Chow Mein

A crispy Cantonese beef chow mein recipe, made with crispy chow mein noodles, and topped with a savory sauce made with beef, peppers, and onions. A popular and delicious takeout dish that's easy to re-create right in the comfort of your home!

What is Cantonese Chow Mein?

There are dozens of ways to make chow mein and different ways to enjoy it so what makes Cantonese beef chow mein different? Not much really, except that it's crispy! I personally think that's the best part of it. 🙂

Another main difference between normal chow mein dishes and Cantonese chow mein is the way it's served. Cantonese chow mein does cook the noodles directly with the sauce, it is poured on top right before serving instead so that you still have a bit of crispiness from the deep-fried noodles.

The process is simple and usually done in 2 steps: first, we make the noodles crispy by deep frying them, then we top the crispy noodles with the sauce, beef and, veggies. This gives you a choice to have a crispier noodle with a bit of sauce by eating off the edges, or going full hog saucy by digging in the middle!

If you're looking for another type of Chinese saucy noodle dish, you should check out my Saucy Beef Ho Fun with Gravy recipe. It's similar to this chow mein dish because you pour a savory sauce over the noodles, but the main difference is it uses ho fun noodles which are soft and chewy and not crispy like chow mein noodles.

Ingredients for Crispy Chow Mein

• Chow Mein Noodles - Chow mein noodles can be found at any Asian grocery store, in the refrigerator section where they sell fresh noodles. They are yellow in color and are usually made with wheat flour and egg. Since we are using fresh pre-steamed chow mein noodles, we don't need to boil them before using them.
• Oyster sauce - You can find oyster sauce at an Asian grocery store or online. There is no true substitute for the slightly sweet, and briny sauce but if you can't find oyster sauce you can try to substitute it with 2 tablespoons of hoisin sauce, and 2 tablespoons of soy sauce.
• Maple Syrup - I like to use maple syrup or honey as sweeteners in the kitchen, but you can substitute this with sugar or honey as well.
• Beef - For this beef chow mein recipe, you can substitute it with any kind of meat. You can also make this vegetarian by omitting the meat (and the marination) steps. I like to use flank steak for this but this recipe also works well with any type of steak, as long as it's cut into smaller pieces

When you are cutting the beef, you want to cut it against the grain before you marinate it in a beef marinade. This will help keep the beef tender without the use of a tenderizer.

When you lay your meat down, you will notice the meat grains will go in one certain direction, you want to cut against it to create shorter fibers per slice. This works with beef, chicken, and pork.

I also have a detailed post on how to make your beef more tender by cutting against the grain and velveting the beef if you are interested in a read!

Tips

• If you like your chow mein on the saucier side, you can double the amounts in the 'Sauce' section of the recipe card
• Don't be shy with the oil. You need a lot to make the noodles crispy because you're essentially deep-frying them.
• Always cut your beef against the grain for the most tender beef slices.

How to Get Crispy Chow Mein Noodles

• Before you fry the noodles, you need to soften them up a little. If you are using pre-steamed chow mein, then either run very hot tap water over the noodles for 1-2 minutes to soften them. Alternatively, you can also soak it in a hot bowl of water for 1 minute as well.
• To crisp up the chow mein, you will essentially have to deep fry it in a frying pan. You don't need anything special for this step except oil and your softened noodles. Depending on how thick your pan/wok is you may need to adjust your heat accordingly. For thinner pans like a wok I usually set my pan to medium but for thicker wall pans like a frying pan, I like to adjust the heat to medium-high.
• Don't be shy with the oil. It is required to get a crispy exterior.

Beef Chow Mein Sauce

To ensure the sauce is not clumpy, it's important to mix the oyster sauce with only a little bit of water first to thin it out before adding the rest of the water since the oyster sauce is notoriously difficult to mix evenly into large amounts of water.

1. In a bowl add ¼ cup of cold water
2. Mix in the cornstarch and stir until it has dissolved into the water
3. Add in the oyster sauce and mix well until the sauce is smooth
4. Once the sauce is smooth add in the maple syrup (sugar) and the rest of the water and mix
5. Set aside for the very end

How to Serve This

Serving this with a bit of chili oil makes this dish super duper flavourful and gives it a little something-something. It's something I swear by and always do whenever I have any kind of beef chow mein.

A staple chili oil I have at home that I pretty much use on everything is the "Spicy Chili Crisp Chili Oil" made by Lao Gan Ma aka The Godmother.

More Chinese Takeout Recipes You May Like

• Sweet and Sour Pork
• Chilli Chicken
• Sweet and Sticky Crispy Beef
• Sweet and Sticky Char Siu (Chinese BBQ Pork)
• Sweet and Sour Chicken (Hong Kong Style)
• Chinese Eggplant with Garlic Sauce
• Saucy Beef Ho Fun with Gravy
• Steamed Spare Ribs with Black Bean Sauce
• Beef Chow Fun

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Recipe Card

Crispy Cantonese Beef Chow Mein

A crispy Cantonese beef chow mein recipe, loaded with a saucy beef, peppers, and onions on top. A popular and delicious takeout dish that's easy to re-create right in the comfort of your home!

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Course: Asian, Main, Noodles

Cuisine: Chinese

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

3 Servings

4.69 from 16 votes

Made with ♡ by Joyce | Pups with Chopsticks

Recipe Notes

• When you are buying Cantonese chow mein in the grocery store, look for the ones that are pre-steamed. They usually come in a plastic bag in the refrigeration section where all the fresh noodles are. Buying the pre-steamed one lets us skip the step of steaming the noodles before deep-frying it.
• If you like your chow mein on the saucier side, you can double the amounts in the 'Sauce' section of the recipe card
• Don't be shy with the oil. You need a lot to make the noodles crispy because you're essentially deep-frying them.
• Always cut your beef against the grain for the most tender beef slices.

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Ingredients

 

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• ▢ ½ lb fresh Cantonese style steamed chow mein noodles (approximately ½ package of a 16oz/454g package, which is about 3-4 cups)
• ▢ 4-6 tablespoons oil
• ▢ 2 slices ginger

Vegetables

• ▢ ½  green pepper (sliced, approximately 1 cup)
• ▢ ½ yellow onion (sliced, approximately 1 cup)

Beef Marinade

• ▢ ½ lb beef flank steak (or any kind of beef steak)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• ▢ 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• ▢ ½ tablespoon Shaoxing cooking wine
• ▢ 1 tablespoon water

Sauce

• ▢ 1 ½ tablespoons corn starch
• ▢ ¼ cup water (to mix with corn starch)
• ▢ 3-4 tablespoons oyster sauce (start with 3 tablespoons, and add more if you prefer it saltier)
• ▢ 1 ½ - 2 teaspoons maple syrup (or honey or sugar)
• ▢ ¾ cups water (to thin out the sauce)

Condiments (Optional)

• ▢ Spicy Chili Crisp Chili Oil

Instructions

 

Preparing the Vegetables and Noodles

• Slice the green peppers and onions into strips and set aside
• Add the chow mein noodles into a colander and use your hands and to loosen it up gently. Pour hot water over it to slightly soften it. I find it easiest to use hot tap water and run the noodles under it for 2-3 minutes. Alternatively, you can also soak the noodles in a bowl for 1 minute with boiling water. Set the noodles aside once the noodles are soft.

Marinating the Beef

• Cut the beef against the grain into thin slices and put it in a bowl.
• Add the 'Beef Marinade' ingredients into the bowl with the beef and mix well and set aside to marinate for 15 minutes at room temperature

Making the Sauce

• In a bowl, combine ¼ cup of cold water and cornstarch and mix until there are no clumps.
• Add the oyster sauce to the cornstarch mixture and mix until the sauce is smooth
• Add in the maple syrup (or sugar) and the rest of the ¾ cup of water and mix well and set aside

Making the Noodles Crispy

• In a wok or frying pan, set the heat to medium to medium-high heat (adjust this according to your stove and the thickness of your pan)
• Add 4 tablespoons of oil to the pan and wait for the oil to shimmer.
• Add in the noodles and let it 'pan fry' for about 2-3 minutes. Do not flip it, you can shake it around in the pan to keep it moving to prevent it from burning.

  Flip the noodles and add some more oil to the pan to fry the other side for 2-3 minutes, shaking it occasionally in the pan to prevent it from burning.
• Once the noodles are crispy and done, remove it from the pan and spread it out on a serving plate

Putting it Together

• Set the stove to medium-high heat and add a tablespoon of oil
• When the oil is hot, add in the slices of ginger and toast it until it is golden brown
• Add in the beef and fry it for 2-3 minutes until the beef is about 80% cooked.

  It's okay to have the beef medium rare for this dish, it will cook the rest of the way in the sauce.
• Add in the onions and green peppers and stir fry it with the beef for about 2-3 minutes (we don't want to overcook the veggies)
• Give the sauce a quick stir in the bowl.

  (Cornstarch likes to settle at the bottom so we want to make sure the sauce is evenly mixed before we add it to the pan.)
• Push aside the veggies and beef on the pan and pour in the sauce.
• Keep stirring with your spatula until it thickens and starts to bubble. You will know the sauce is done when it becomes a darker color and it becomes thick.
• Mix the meat and veggies back in over the sauce, making sure to coat everything with the sauce, and cook it for about 1 minute.
• Remove the ginger slices and discard them.
• Pour the sauce, beef, and veggies over crispy noodles and serve.
• Enjoy with some chili oil on the side!

Nutrition

Serving: 1Serving | Calories: 530kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 32g | Sodium: 1082mg | Sugar: 6g

*Nutritional information is calculated using online tools and is an estimate*

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