Stir-Fried Rice Noodles with Beef (Beef Chow Fun)

This dish is very well known in Chinese restaurants. It is called Chao Fen in Mandarin or Chow Fun in Cantonese. The name Chow Fun is more familiar to most American people as a takeout dish, dim sum, or a sit-down dinner in the restaurant. In the Vietnamese cuisine, we have a dish called stir-fried rice noodles with beef, chicken, or seafood. Pho Xao is the Vietnamese name for this dish and normally dried fat rice noodles are used to prepare this dish. Thailand calls this dish Pad See Eaw or by its popular street name, Pad Thai. These stir-fried dishes, even though coming from different countries, share the same concept.  However, it always depends on each cook to choose the protein source and vegetables appropriate for their own taste. For this wonderful dish, I prepare my own rice noodles, but the store-bought dried noodles can be substituted.   Replace the meats or seafood with tofu to make it as a vegetarian dish as often as it is healthier.

Ingredients:
Beef marinade ingredients:
1/2 lb. beef – chuck or sirloin, sliced
1 tbs each soy sauce, cooking wine, and cornstarch
1 lb. rice noodle sheets, cut into strips and separate (recipe follows below)
Sauce ingredients:
1 tbs fish sauce
2 tbs soy sauce
1 tsp each sugar, oyster, and vinegar
1/4 tsp black pepper
Vegetables:
1 cup broccoli florets, cut into pieces
1/3 lb. bean sprouts
1 cup white onions, cut into wedges
5 garlic cloves, minced
2 shallots, sliced
5 tbs corn oil or peanut oil

Garnish with chives, cilantro, and sweet basil

Directions:
Combine beef in a bowl with the marinade ingredients. Mix well and refrigerate for a few hours.

Heat 2 tbs oil in wok over high heat and stir in half of the garlic and shallots. Stirfry until fragrant.

 Add the rice strips and toss until hot. Remove.

In the same wok, add 1 tbs of oil and heat until almost smoking. Add the rest of the garlic and shallots. Stirfry until aromatic. Add beef and cook very quickly (for about less than 1 minute or until the beef is slightly pink). Remove beef.

Heat the remaining oil and add white onions and broccoli.

 Add all the sauce and return beef. Then stir to mix.

Add bean sprouts and noodle strips. Then stir-fry briefly.

Toss the garnish and serve.

To make rice noodle sheets:
1 cup rice flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup potato starch
2 1/4 cups water
Mix flour and water well. Add 2 tbs corn oil to the flour mixture. In a steamer, place a round cake pan. Spray with some oil. Add 1/4 to 1/3 cup of rice flour batter. Place on the steamer and cook for 3 to 5 minutes for each batch.

Remove and continue until the batter is gone. Place the noodle sheets into a container with lid and refrigerate until needed.