Dry-Fried Beef Chow Fun Recipe (Cantonese Beef Ho Fun)
This beef chow fun recipe is the dry-fried Cantonese kind, with seared flank steak and wide rice noodles tossed in a soy sauce seasoning with no gravy on the plate. It uses extra-large dried rice noodles soaked in room-temperature water, so they stay whole in the wok. Plan on about 40 minutes plus a 90-minute soak, and it serves 2.
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Why Chow Fun Is Hard at Home
Almost every beef chow fun recipe online tells you to use fresh rice noodles, and that's the main reason this dish is so hard to get right at home. Good restaurants use a fresh rice noodle called ho fun, and it has to be used the same day it's made.
If it sits for long, the starch inside firms back up and the noodles turn stiff and brittle.
I went to six Asian grocery stores in Houston, which has one of the biggest Chinatowns in the South, and couldn't find fresh ho fun at any of them. What they did have was fresh Vietnamese bánh phở, which looks a lot like it.
Every package of those I tried fell apart in the wok. The big sheets were thin and almost see-through once I peeled the strands apart, and they turned to mush. The thicker pre-cut ones stuck to my wok and shredded into a thousand pieces.
What worked was a dried noodle. The Mala Market says good dried noodles are easier to work with than fresh ones that have been refrigerated, and The Woks of Life says it gets more consistent results with dried. J. Kenji López-Alt still prefers fresh, but in his book The Wok he says you can use dried wide rice noodles for chow fun too.
That matched what happened in my kitchen. The dried noodles stayed whole the first time I cooked them and every time after that.
What I Tested
Updated October 2026: I added step photos from the video and rewrote the method. One thing changed in the recipe: the recipe card's marinating step now says the beef sits in the fridge, even for the short 15 minutes. The amounts are the same, and the card now names the salt I use, Morton table salt.
Most of my testing went into the noodles. The package and a lot of instructions online tell you to boil dried rice noodles or pour boiling water over them, but boiling cooks them all the way through before they ever reach the wok.
I soak them in plain room-temperature water instead, the same way I do for my pad thai, so they stay a little underdone and finish cooking in the wok.
I couldn't find anyone who had actually weighed these noodles, so I soaked a few batches for different amounts of time. After 90 minutes, 225 grams of dry noodles weighed 396 grams.
Even after 20 hours, they had only gone up to 426 grams, so almost all of the water goes in during the first hour and a half.
The seasoning took three cooks to get right. My first batch had a quarter teaspoon of table salt in the sauce and tasted bland, even though the noodles were perfect. I raised the salt to three-quarters of a teaspoon, then to a full teaspoon, and that's where it tasted right.
I also changed the order in the wok. Most recipes have you push the vegetables to the side before the noodles go in, and when I did that, the noodles stuck to the bare metal a lot of the time. Leaving the leeks and scallions where they were and putting the noodles on top of them fixed it.
Why This Beef Chow Fun Recipe Works
- Extra-large dried rice noodles stay in one piece. They're thicker than the fresh noodles I could find, and they finish cooking in the wok instead of starting out fully cooked.
- A room-temperature soak keeps the strands separate. Boiling water releases starch, and the noodles clump together once you drain them.
- The noodles sit on a layer of aromatics. The leeks and scallions underneath keep them off the bare metal, so they don't stick.
- The beef is seared in a single layer. Leaving it alone lets one side brown on a home burner, and a quarter teaspoon of baking soda keeps the flank steak tender.
- The sauce goes in last. It's mostly liquid, so adding it at the end lets the noodles fry first.
What Is Dry-Fried Beef Chow Fun?
Beef chow fun is a Cantonese dish of wide, flat rice noodles stir-fried with beef. Ho fun is the noodle, and "chow" means stir-fried, so beef chow fun and beef ho fun are two names for the same dish. You'll also see the noodle spelled hor fun.
The dry-fried version, gon chow ngau ho in Cantonese, is seasoned mostly with soy sauce and has no sauce pooling on the plate. The wet version comes covered in a thick gravy, and one common kind uses black bean sauce. This recipe is the dry-fried one.
The Ingredients for Beef Chow Fun
The full list with exact amounts is in the recipe card. These are the ones that need some explanation.
Extra-large dried flat rice noodles. Look for ones about 10 millimeters wide. The size letters on these bags are all over the place, so look at the noodle through the window in the bag before you buy it.
The ingredients should be just rice flour and water, which is what ho fun is mostly made from anyway. Most Asian grocery stores sell them in the dried foods aisle, and if yours doesn't, The Mala Market sells dried ho fun noodles made in Guangdong, where this dish comes from.
Flank steak. It's what most Cantonese recipes call for. Most of the tenderness comes from the baking soda, so if a less expensive cut like top round is on sale, that'll work too.
Baking soda and cornstarch. Baking soda raises the pH on the surface of the meat, so the muscle fibers don't tighten up as much when they cook and the beef stays tender.
You'll often hear that cornstarch tenderizes meat too, but all it really does is form a thin coating that keeps the juices in and stops the slices from sticking to each other.
Light and dark soy sauce. Chinese light soy sauce is the salty one. Dark soy sauce is thicker and sweeter, so it tastes less salty, and it's what turns the noodles brown. If your regular grocery store doesn't have dark soy sauce, an Asian grocery store will, or you can order it online; without it the noodles stay pale.
Table salt and MSG. The salt is Morton table salt, and the full teaspoon of it in the sauce is not a typo. Soaked rice noodles have no seasoning of their own, and the soy sauce alone isn't enough for that many of them.
You can leave out the MSG, but the dish won't taste as savory.
Sugar. A lot of traditional recipes use little or no sugar in the sauce, but I've found most takeout places add some to balance the salty ingredients. It's also what caramelizes on the noodles if you let them char.
Leeks. Traditional chow fun uses a type of Chinese chive that's hard to find in the States, and leeks are about the closest thing to it. My friend's dad, who taught me how to make this dish, always used leeks.
If you don't feel like buying one, a regular yellow onion or a shallot will work too.
How to Make Beef Chow Fun
The noodles
1. Soak the noodles
Cover 8 ounces (225 grams) of dried noodles with room-temperature tap water in a large bowl and leave them for at least 90 minutes. You don't have to set a timer. They're ready when you can wrap one around your finger without it breaking.
2. Rinse and dry the noodles
Rinse them under cold running water while you pull the strands apart, because rinsing off the starch on the surface keeps them from clumping together in the bowl.
Then spread them on a towel and get them as dry as you can, since wet noodles steam in the wok instead of charring.
After you toss them with a little oil, you should have about 14 ounces (400 grams).
The beef, the sauce and the vegetables
3. Slice and marinate the beef
Cut the flank steak with the grain into strips about an inch and a half wide, then turn each strip and slice it thin against the grain with your knife tilted at an angle.
Massage the baking soda into the beef for a full minute before anything else goes in the bowl, because it needs direct contact with the meat. Then mix in the rest of the marinade until every slice is coated, and let it marinate in the fridge for at least 15 minutes.
4. Sauce, then the vegetables
Whisk the sauce until you can't see any salt or sugar at the bottom of the bowl.
Cut the leek into long thin strips so it's about the same shape as the chives it's replacing, and smash the scallion whites flat with the side of your knife before you split them.
Line everything up next to the stove in the order it goes in, because once the wok is hot there's no time to go looking for anything.
In the wok
5. Sear the beef
Heat the dry wok until it just starts to smoke, turn off the heat and swirl in a tablespoon of oil, so it spreads into a thin film that keeps the food from sticking. Cantonese cooks call this swirl long yau, and you'll hear the method called "hot wok, cold oil."
Turn the heat back on to medium-high, press the beef into a single layer, and leave it alone until the bottom has browned. Take it out when it's about 80 to 90 percent done.
6. Aromatics first, noodles on top
Heat the wok back up the same way with the second tablespoon of oil. Stir-fry the scallion whites for 15 to 20 seconds, then add the leek and stir-fry it for 20 to 30 seconds.
Put all of the noodles right on top of the vegetables and toss them together with chopsticks, since a spatula or tongs tend to break the noodles up.
Let them sit for about a minute to pick up a little color, then keep tossing gently until they're soft and bend easily.
7. Beef back in, then the sauce
Toss the beef with the noodles for 15 to 20 seconds so it can finish cooking. Then pour the sauce over everything and keep tossing. Once every noodle has gone from white to brown, you'll know they're all coated.
8. Char it, or use a blowtorch
For a little char, leave the noodles on the heat a bit longer. Once the liquid cooks off, the sugar in the sauce starts to caramelize where the noodles touch the metal, and you'll see small dark spots on the edges.
For real wok hei, the smoky flavor from a restaurant wok, turn off the heat and pass a blowtorch over the noodles while you toss them, about 4 to 6 inches above them. Keep the flame moving and pointed down into the wok, away from your hand and anything that can catch fire.
It's a trick I learned from J. Kenji López-Alt.
9. Finish and serve
With the heat off, toss in the scallion greens and bean sprouts. The heat left in the wok wilts them a little and they stay crunchy. Serve it right away, because this dish is at its best in the first couple of minutes.
Tips for the Best Beef Chow Fun
Weigh the noodles dry. The 14 ounces in the recipe is the weight after soaking. Dried rice noodles come close to doubling in weight, so you only need 8 ounces out of the bag.
If it tastes too salty, cut the salt first. Some brands of soy sauce are saltier than others. Drop the table salt to three-quarters of a teaspoon before you change anything else.
Keep the vegetables small. The amounts look small on purpose. The noodles and beef are the main part of the dish, and too many bean sprouts turn it into a salad.
Make-Ahead and Storage
The noodles are the part worth making ahead. Once they're soaked and dried, toss them with oil and keep them in a covered container in the fridge for a couple of days. That way you're not spending an hour and a half soaking noodles every time you want to make chow fun.
The beef can marinate in the fridge overnight, and the sauce can be mixed a day ahead. The finished dish doesn't keep well, so cook it right before you plan to eat it.
If you do end up with leftovers, they keep in the fridge for 3 to 4 days, the USDA's limit for cooked leftovers. Reheat them until they reach 165°F, which is the USDA's number for leftovers.
What to Serve With Beef Chow Fun
Beef chow fun is a full meal on its own. For a takeout-style dinner at home, start with egg drop soup or wonton soup, and put out egg rolls or crab rangoon on the side.
Beef Chow Fun Questions
Can I use fresh rice noodles?
Yes, if you can get fresh ho fun made that day, that's the noodle this dish was made for. Use it the day you buy it, and store it the way the package says. Cold makes it firm up even faster, which is one more reason to cook it the same day.
A lot of viewers told me they warm the refrigerated kind in the microwave until it softens before stir-frying it. I haven't tested that for this recipe, so the dried noodles are the ones I can vouch for.
Can I use chicken or shrimp?
Yes. This dish works with pretty much any protein, so chicken or shrimp will work just fine in place of the beef. If you use chicken, make sure it reaches 165°F before it goes on the plate.
Does the torch work on fried rice?
Yes, it works really well on fried rice too. Use it the same way, with the heat off and the flame moving while you toss the rice. My Chinese takeout fried rice recipe is a good one to try it on.
Is chow fun the same as lo mein?
No. Chow fun is made with wide rice noodles. Lo mein is made with wheat-based egg noodles that are tossed in a sauce, and chow mein uses the same kind of egg noodle but comes out drier, with some crispy, charred bits.
I have a Chinese takeout lo mein recipe, a video on the exact noodles takeout restaurants use for it, and a chow mein recipe.
If you make this, leave a star rating in the recipe card below. It helps other people find the recipe.
More Noodle Recipes
- Chinese Takeout Lo Mein
- Chinese Takeout Chow Mein
- P.F. Chang's Singapore Street Noodles
- Thailand Street Food Pad Thai
- 15 Minute Chili Garlic Noodles
Recipe
Dry-Fried Beef Chow Fun
Equipment
- 1 Cooking Chopsticks For tossing the noodles without breaking them
- 1 Blowtorch Optional, for wok hei
- 1 Large Mixing Bowls For soaking the noodles
- 1 Whisk
- 1 Colander For draining the noodles
- 1 Glass Food Storage Containers For storing soaked noodles
Ingredients
The Noodles
- 8 oz dried flat rice noodles extra-large, about 10 mm wide
- 1-2 teaspoon neutral oil for tossing after the soak
The Beef and Marinade
- 7 oz flank steak sliced thin against the grain (top round works too)
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce Chinese light soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
- ½ teaspoon Shaoxing cooking wine
- ¼ teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 pinch Morton table salt
- 1 teaspoon neutral oil
The Sauce
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce Chinese light soy sauce
- 2 teaspoon dark soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing cooking wine
- 1 teaspoon Morton table salt not a typo, see Notes
- ½ teaspoon MSG Aji-No-Moto
- ½ teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 pinch white pepper
The Vegetables
- 1 ¾ oz leek white and light green part, cut into long thin strips
- ¾ oz scallion whites and light greens, smashed flat, then split lengthwise
- ½ oz scallion greens 2-inch lengths
- 1 ½ oz mung bean sprouts
The Stir-Fry
- 2 tablespoon neutral oil 1 tablespoon for the beef, 1 tablespoon for the noodles
Instructions
Soak the Noodles
- Put the dried noodles in a large bowl and cover them with room-temperature tap water so they're completely submerged. Soak for at least 90 minutes, or overnight. No boiling water, no hot soak, no heat at any point.
- The noodles are ready when you can wrap one around your finger without it breaking. Drain them, then rinse under cold running water while pulling the strands apart with your hands. Rinsing off the surface starch is what keeps them from clumping, so keep going until every strand is loose.
- Spread the noodles on a towel and dry them really well. Wet noodles steam in the wok instead of charring. Toss with 1 to 2 teaspoon neutral oil so they don't stick to each other. You should end up with about 14 oz (400 g).
Marinate the Beef
- Cut the flank steak with the grain into strips about 1 ½ inches wide. Turn each strip 90 degrees, tilt your knife at an angle, and slice thin against the grain. Cutting against the grain keeps the beef from being chewy, and the angle gives you wider slices for the marinade.
- Sprinkle the baking soda over the beef and massage it into the meat for a full minute before anything else goes in. Baking soda keeps the beef tender in the high heat of wok cooking.
- Add the cornstarch, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, sugar, salt and neutral oil, and mix until every slice is coated. Let it sit in the fridge for at least 15 minutes, or overnight.
Make the Sauce
- In a small bowl, combine the salt, MSG, sugar and white pepper. Pour in the soy sauce, dark soy sauce and Shaoxing wine, and whisk until all the dry ingredients have dissolved.
Prep the Vegetables
- Trim the root and the dark green top off the leek. Make a shallow cut down the length of it, just deep enough to get through the first couple of layers, and peel those off. Wipe out any sand trapped between the layers.
- Cut the leek across into 2-inch pieces, then cut each piece lengthwise, press it flat with your hand, and slice it into long thin strips.
- Smash the scallion whites and light greens flat with the side of your knife, then split them in half lengthwise. Smashing breaks up the fibers so they give more of their flavor to the oil. Cut the green tops into 2-inch pieces and keep them separate for the end.
- Set everything next to the stove in the order it goes in: beef, scallion whites, leek, noodles, sauce, then scallion greens and sprouts. Once the wok is hot there's no time to go looking for anything.
Sear the Beef
- Heat a dry wok over high heat until it just starts lightly smoking. Turn off the heat, add 1 tablespoon neutral oil, and swirl it around to coat the whole wok. Swirling the oil like this is called long yau, and the method is called hot wok, cold oil: the oil spreads into a thin film that acts like a temporary nonstick coating.
- Turn the heat back on to medium-high and add the beef, pressed into a single layer. Leave it alone so one side gets some color. On a home burner, stirring constantly keeps the beef from browning.
- Keep cooking until the beef is about 80 to 90 percent done, which should only take a few minutes. Move it to a small bowl and set it aside.
Stir-Fry the Noodles
- Heat the wok back up until it's smoking, turn off the heat, swirl in the second 1 tablespoon neutral oil, and bring it back up to medium-high.
- Once it's hot, add the scallion whites and saute them for 15 to 20 seconds to flavor the oil. Add the leek and stir-fry for 20 to 30 seconds.
- Put all the noodles on top of the aromatics instead of pushing the vegetables aside. The layer of vegetables underneath keeps the noodles off the bare metal so they don't stick. Toss them gently with chopsticks to mix; a spatula or tongs tend to break the noodles.
- Let the noodles sit for about a minute to pick up some color, then keep tossing gently until they're soft and pliable.
- Add the beef back in and toss for 15 to 20 seconds to finish cooking it. Pour the sauce over the noodles and keep tossing until every noodle has gone from white to brown. The sauce goes in last so the noodles fry instead of steaming.
Add Char (Optional)
- For a little char, leave the noodles on the heat a bit longer. Once the liquid cooks off, the sugar in the sauce caramelizes where the noodles touch the metal, and you'll see small dark spots forming on the edges.
- For real wok hei, turn off the heat and pass a blowtorch over the noodles while tossing them with chopsticks. Hold the flame 4 to 6 inches above the noodles and keep it moving instead of leaving it in one spot. The flame makes the oil on the surface of the noodles combust, which gives the dish its smoky flavor. Keep the flame moving and pointed down into the wok, away from your hand and anything that can catch fire.
Finish and Serve
- Turn off the heat if it's still on. Add the scallion greens and bean sprouts and toss a few times. The heat left in the wok wilts them a little and keeps them crunchy.
- Serve immediately. This dish is at its best in the first couple of minutes.
