This quick 15-minute beef noodle stir fry recipe is easy to make, super flavorful and made with stir-fried beef, onions, spaghettini, and soy sauce. My ultimate childhood comfort food!
This is a childhood meal I used to beg my dad to make me all the time - partially because this was one of the meals that I was allowed to eat in front of the TV, but mainly because it tastes fantastic.
Now that I'm somewhat grown-up, I appreciate the simplicity of this recipe. I love how quick it is to put together (you can literally put this together in 15 minutes) and the amazing flavor the sweet soy sauce gives to the noodles, onions and, beef. This recipe works best with spaghettini. There's something about the slippery texture of the spaghettini that gives this dish a wonderful texture and it also absorbs the sweet soy sauce beautifully.
INGREDIENTS FOR BEEF NOODLE STIR FRY
- Beef - For the cut of beef, I would say you can use any cut of beef. It will be sliced thinly so you don't need to worry too much if it's a tougher cut of meat. My dad used to use flank steak in his recipe, but I usually like to use steak.
- Spaghettini - I like to use spaghettini for this recipe because it's thinner than spaghetti so the flavors from the soy sauce come through a bit more and it's thicker than angel hair so it has a bit more of a chew and it's less mushy - that and it's also what my dad always used!
- Soy Sauce - I like to use light soy sauce for this recipe.
- Onions - Any kind of onions works for this recipe. I usually like using white onions but it's just a preference.
PREPARING THE SPAGHETTINI FOR BEEF NOODLE STIR FRY
- When you are boiling the spaghettini, it's important that you don't overcook it because you will be stir-frying it again, so it will be cooked twice. I like to follow the directions of the packaging but subtract 1-2 minutes from the recommended cooking time.
- Do not add salt to the water for boiling the pasta. You will be using a sweet soy sauce to stir fry the noodles, so cooking the pasta in salted water will make the dish extra salty.
- Once the noodles are done, pour it into a strainer and lightly rinse it with cold water and set aside. Normally, you wouldn't want to wash off the starches from the noodles when you cook pasta but for this dish, we don't need the extra starches and I find the sweet soy sauce absorbs better on a smoother, less starchy pasta.
PREPARING AND MARINATING THE BEEF
You always want to cut against the grain whenever you are slicing beef to keep it tender.
What that means is, when you take a look at your beef, you'll notice that the beef strands go in one direction, you want to cut against it so you have shorter meat grains for your beef slices. This will make the beef, less tough and chewy.
When I am marinating the beef, I like to add a bit of corn starch to the beef. It helps the soy sauce stick to the beef better and makes it brown easier in the frying pan. Corn starch is completely optional though but it does keep the beef a lot more juicy and tender.
LOOKING FOR MORE EASY NOODLE RECIPES? TRY THESE!
- Japchae (Stir-Fried Korean Glass Noodles)
- Singapore Noodles
- Stir Fry Chicken Teriyaki Noodles
- Maple Curry Yaki Udon
- Stir-Fried Kimchi Rice Cakes
DID YOU MAKE THIS BEEF NOODLE STIR FRY RECIPE?
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Recipe Card
Beef Noodle Stir Fry
Recipe Notes
- Do not add salt when boiling the pasta, we will be using a sauce to flavor the pasta when we stir fry it and adding salt to the water will make the dish overly salty.
- For the cut of beef, I would say you can use any cut of beef. It will be sliced thinly so you don’t need to worry too much if it’s a tougher cut of meat. My dad used to use flank steak in his recipe, but I usually like to use steak.
- I like to use spaghettini for this recipe because it’s thinner than spaghetti so the flavors from the soy sauce come through a bit more and it’s thicker than angel hair so it has a bit more of a chew and it’s less mushy. If you use spaghetti, you may need to make a bit more soy sauce mix to make sure the flavors can come through the thicker pasta.
Ingredients
- 500 g beef steak (any cut of steak, thinly sliced)
- 400 g spaghettini
- 1 onion (sliced, approx. 1 cup)
- 1 teaspoon corn starch (for beef marinade)
Soy Sauce Mix
- 5 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 ½ tablespoons dark soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sugar
Instructions
Making the Spaghettini
- Follow the directions of the pasta package for al dente pasta, but subtract 1-2 minutes from what they suggest. We will be cooking this again in a frying pan so we want to under-cook the pasta. (Do not add salt to the water when making the pasta)
- Once the noodles are done, pour in into a strainer and lightly rinse off the extra starch and set aside
Prepare the Soy Sauce Mixture
- Combine the dark soy, light soy and sugar into a bowl and set aside
Marinate the Beef
- Cut the meat thinly against the grain and put it into a bowl
- Add 2-3 teaspoons of the 'Soy Sauce Mixture' you just made, and 1 teaspoon of corn starch to the beef and marinate the beef with for 5-10 minutes. Set aside to marinate.
Preparation
- Cut the onion in half, then and slice them into thin half moon slices and set aside
Frying it Up!
- In a frying pan (preferably a non-stick), add 2-3 tablespoons of oil and set it to high heat and wait for it to get hot.
- Add in the onions and cook it for 3 minutes until soft and golden
- Add in the beef and cook for 3-5 minutes
- Add in the spaghettini and the rest of the 'Soy Sauce Mixture' and cook for 2-3 minutes until everything is nice and brown and evenly mixed or until the noodles have absorbed all the sauce
- Enjoy!
Nutrition
*Nutritional information is calculated using online tools and is an estimate*
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Apryl Perryman says
Just want to say thanks for the recipe. Love it! I've even added teriyaki marinade to replace half the soy sauce and some sesame seeds it was killer! Tonight I'm actually going to try pork in place of beef. I'm excited to see how it turns out.
Joyce Lee says
Hi Apryl!
I am very happy to share and I'm so happy this turned out for you! Pork sounds like a fantastic idea, maybe some pan-fried pork belly!
Josie says
Thank you Joyce for another simple fast cooking food, especially during the stay home period. So, again my kids love spaghetti noodles the most with meat. All enjoyed!!! 😁
Joyce Lee says
Hi Josie!
So happy you and your kids liked it! I enjoy this recipe a lot too, it brings me a lot of comfort!
Jessica says
I got all the ingredients besides the corn starch do I really need it?
Joyce says
Hiya Jessica!
The corn starch is used to thicken the sauce up a little bit so it can coat the noodles but you don't need it! If you're okay with the sauce not completely sticking to the noodles the omit the starch 🙂 but to be honest the noodles itself should have a bit of starch as well so the starch from that might thicken the sauce a little bit as well. Not using cornstarch will not affect the flavor of the noodles at all 🙂
Hope that helps!
Kaelyn says
Hi, I'm just wondering can I use just regular soy sauce for the entire recipe and exclude the dark soy sauce? What will I be missing in taste if I do this?
Joyce says
Hi Kaelyn,
The syrupy consistency of dark soy provides the brown colour of the noodles and a bit of saltiness. Dark soy is actually less salty than regular soy sauce so if you want to omit it, you can replace it with half the amount in soy sauce (so in this case 1-2 to 3/4 tablespoon of regular soy sauce) and you won't be missing much except the dark brown colours of the noodles 🙂 Hope this helps!
Colleen Derreck says
Super easy to make with the detailed instructions. Everyone in my house loves it!
That's not always an easy job. So thank you for sharing!
Joyce says
I am so happy to hear this!! 🙂 Glad your family enjoyed this! 😀
Elvis says
Just cooked it for 6 people. Amazing
Joyce says
Fantastic! 🙂 You're so kind to share it! heehee
Makos says
Ι love this recipe, and the photo with the pan and the plate joined together with the spaghetti is awesome!
P.S. X-Files?! I never missed an episode!
Joyce says
Thanks Makos! Someone said it reminded them of the Sistine Chapel painting haha I thought that was pretty hilarious 🙂 Yes! X-files rocks right? I really should go back and re-watch it again 🙂