Its the beef version of everybodys favouriteChicken Chow Mein, made with the convenience of ground beef.
A neat trick in todays recipe is to scramble up an egg with the beef.
It makes the beef bits stick to the noodles better, with the added bonus of upping the protein.
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Another bonus: chow mein actually has a vast amount of noodle-shaped vegetables hidden in the noodles.
A carrot, 2 heaped cups of cabbage and a heaped cup of bean sprouts.
Thats a good veg serving for a meal!
Use the same weight.
Garlic Rarely do Asian stir fries happen without garlic, and this one is no exception!
Beef mince Thatsground beefto Americans.
Any fat % is fine here though lean beef wont caramelise quite as well.
Other proteins Any other mince will work just fine here.
Chicken, pork, turkey, even lamb!
Egg We use this to scramble into the beef.
Green cabbage Or Chinese cabbage.
Finely sliced so it disappears into the tangle of noodles.
Bean sprouts Excellent grab-and-throw-in vegetable option!STORAGE TIP:Keep bean sprouts in water in an airtight container.
Change the water every couple of days.
This will increase the shelf life of beansprouts 3x.
Carrot Cut into thin batons.
More noodle shaped vegetables so it all jumbles up together!
Green onion We use 3 whole stems here.
They are the onion in this dish, as well as some fresh green colour.
Chow Mein Sauce
The combination of sauces used in Chow Mein is common in Chinese dishes.
Soy sauces Were using both light and dark soy sauce in this recipe.Whats the difference?
Dark soy stains the noodles a lovely warm mahogany colour as well as adding soy flavour.
Light soy sauce provides the salt without overwhelming with soy flavour, and does not stain the rice.
But you cannot use only dark soy sauce as the flavour is too strong!
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More on different types of soy sauceshere.
Oyster sauce A load of flavour, all in one sauce!
Its sweet and savoury and adds a neat flavour shortcut in dishes.
Makes a regular appearance in Asian dishes, fromPad See EwtoAsian Glazed SalmontoHoney Pepper BeeftoSupreme Soy Noodles.
AndSteamed Asian Greens with Oyster Sauce!
Otherwise,hoisinis a good alternative.
Slightly different flavour profile (hint of Chinese five spice) but similar savoury / sweetness.
Chinese cooking wine(Shaoxing wine)is an essential ingredient for making truly restaurant tasting Chinese dishes.
Without it, the dish will be lacking something.Substitutewith Mirin, cooking sake or dry sherry.
Non alcoholic sub sub both the cooking wine and water with low sodium chicken broth/stock.
Cornflour / cornstarch(left out of photo oops!)
For thickening the sauce so it clings to the noodles.
It also makes the sauce lovely and glossy.
White pepper and sugar For seasoning.
Sauce thickener(cornflour slurry) Mix the cornflour / cornstarch and water in a separate small bowl.
Making the stir fried noodles
Prepare the noodlesper the packet directions then drain.
I usually get the water boiling while Im prepping the vegetables then cook the noodles when I start cooking.
The chow mein noodles I get just call for soaking in hot water for 3 minutes.
Some brands need to be boiled.
Caramelise beef Using a large non-stick pan, cook the garlic first to flavour the oil.
Then addthe white part of the green onions and 1 1/2 tablespoons of the Sauce.
We add the white part of the green onions first as it takes longer than the green part.
Cook for another 2 minutes to get the beef nicely caramelised.
Finish sauce Meanwhile, mix the cornflour slurry into the remaining sauce.
This is what makes beef stick to the noodles better!
When the egg is mostly cooked, add the carrot and cabbage.
Cook for 1 minute until cabbage starts to wilt.
Sauce & noodles Give the sauce a quick mix.
Add the bean sprouts, noodles and sauce into the pan.
Toss well for 1 minute or until sauce is dispersed through the noodles.
Add green part of green onions.
Toss for another 1 minute, then serve!
So there you go!
Stir fried noodles for dinner, relatively low effort and quick to make.
Beef Chow Mein great beef mince noodle recipe!
Plenty of Dozer smiles that morning.
