Hello! Hi everyone, Wesley here. Today we're diving back into our series dedicated to Chinese comfort food classics with a shot at saucy "wet" beef chow fun. Those following this channel may know that we have actually done a pretty popular beef chow fun recipe in this series already, which made use of a crispy mongolian beef style flank steak in our stir fry to create a crisp and delicate beef chow fun. For today's version however, we'll be exploring some of the many variations that exist for this dish with a dive into what's colloquially known as a "wet" beef chow fun, or beef chow fun with gravy. What does this mean? Let me explain.
Most commonly when you come across beef chow fun in Cantonese restaurants, you'll find it offered as "wet" or "dry," with the latter option describing the version that you've probably most commonly come across. A thin delicate chow fun rice noodle, tossed with veggies and velveted steak in soy sauce to create the smokey, crisp, and umami packed noodle stir fry that you know and love. The "wet" alternate version of this dish is assembled very similarly with the same elements, but instead of tossed together and combined, we'll be cooking the proteins separately from the noodles in a thickened sauce base, then served on top of our chow fun noodle, yielding a much saucier, "gravy-based" final result. Which version is better? Well, let's find out. Hope you try it.
Serves 2-3
INGREDIENTS
4 cloves garlic
1 tbsp (about 1 inch) ginger
8 oz flank steak
16 oz chow fun
4-6 oz (about 1/2 cup) bean sprouts
1 red bell pepper
4-6 green onions
corn starch slurry (2 tbsp corn starch dissolved in water
peanut oil
INGREDIENTS (steak marinade)
1 tsp baking soda slurry
4 tbsp low sodium soy sauce (or 2 tbsp full sodium soy sauce)
1/2 tsp white pepper
1 tbsp sesame oil
INGREDIENTS (noodle marinade)
4 tbsp low sodium soy sauce (or 2 tbsp full sodium soy sauce)
1 tbsp shaoxing wine
INGREDIENTS (sauce)
4 tbsp low sodium soy sauce (or 2 tbsp full sodium soy sauce)
1/2 tsp dark soy sauce
1/2 tsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp black vinegar
1/2 tbsp fermented black bean
1 cup chicken stock
PREP
CRUSH AND MINCE the garlic, set aside
FINE MINCE the ginger, set aside
SEPARATE the whites and greens of the green onions, then slice the whites thinly, and the greens into planks
SLICE the flank steak into 1 inch pieces about 1/4 inch thick against the grain, then combine with the baking soda slurry and let marinate for 15 minutes
DRAIN the baking soda slurry, then combine the steak with the remaining marinade and let marinate for an additional 15 minutes
SLICE the bell pepper into strips, set aside
COMBINE all sauce ingredients, set aside
ON THE STOVE
HEAT a wok over medium heat, then add 4 tbsp of peanut oil and long yao
ADD steak one piece at a time, flat side down and sear for 2 minutes per side until crisp, then remove
REHEAT the wok over medium heat, add an additional 4 tbsp of peanut oil and long yao
ADD the chow fun noodles and noodle marinade, then saute for 2-3 minutes until slightly crisped
REMOVE the noodles, then reheat the wok over high heat, add an additional 4 tbsp peanut oil and long yao
ADD the garlic, ginger, and the whites of the green onions to the wok and bloom until fragrant for about 15 seconds
ADD the bell pepper and toss for 1-2 minutes until tender
ADD the steak, bean sprouts, and greens of the green onions back to the wok, followed by the chow fun and sauce, and toss to combine
ADD the corn starch slurry, then mix until a thickened sauce forms
SERVE over a bed of fried chow fun rice noodles