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 want to cut against the grain whenever you are slicing beef. What that means is, when you take a look at your beef, find the directions all the grains go in, and then 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.
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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Beef Noodle Stir Fry
INGREDIENTS
- 500 g beef steak (any cut of steak, thinly sliced)
- 450 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!
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.
NUTRITION
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adriano lopes says
Very good tasty, congratulations to the site.
Joyce says
Thank you Adriano!! 🙂
Alyssa @ A Bite of Inspiration says
Joyce!! This is like one of my favorite dishes EVER!! I always order a similar noodle dish at a nearby super authentic Chinese place with questionable cleanliness. Now I don't have to worry about the questionable cleanliness part because I can make it at home!! YES!! This recipe looks perfect and so easy to make. Thanks, Joyce!
Joyce says
So much cheaper too! and cozier at home! 🙂
Maria @ kitchenathoskins says
This looks so comforting!! Do you think chicken will work instead of beef?
Joyce says
Thanks Maria! 🙂 Yes this would work wonderfully with chicken! and if you want to go the vegetarian route, you can even use mushrooms.
Marie @ Yay! For Food says
I love how simple and quick this recipe is and it's is so flavourful with the soy sauce coating everything! Yum! Such a great idea to use spaghettini too!
Joyce says
I know right? I love noodles, and spaghettini are noodles too! Dad is such a clever dad. haha 🙂
heather (delicious not gorgeous) says
there's something about cornstarch-ed meat that is so comforting to me. it's so tender and that slight chemical taste (which sounds bad when i put it like that sigh) is pure childhood to me. paired with glossy soy sauce noodles and i am a (happy) goner.
Joyce says
Yeeaaaap haha I know exactly what you mean. What's funny is I just love eating the noodles and give the beef to everyone else haha 🙂
Erica says
This quick beef fried noodle recipe looks perfect! I love how few ingredients are combined quickly to create a delicious comfort food. I'll definitely give this a try soon, my daughter super loves soy sauce, I'm sure she'll love this! Thanks!
romain | glebekitchen says
Wow. Umami bomb. Nice, simple and delicious. And fast. Absolutely no need to compromise on dinner on a busy night with recipes like this! I love a good, quick, stir fried beef and noodle dish. What are steak tails exactly? They look really good in your pics but I've never seen anything with that name around here.
Fabulous pics as always. Sitting here wanting dinner at the breakfast table...
Joyce says
The cool thing about this recipe is, you can make extra pasta and then do it again the next day in 5 minutes! 😀 haha Don't quote me on this, but from what I've been told it's essentially a sirloin steak, but it's called steak tails because of the unique way they cut it (it isn't cut into a steak shape, but rather a long tail shape). I eat leftover dinner for breakfast all the time, is that bad? hahaha 😀