Today’s recipe is a cult classic I’ve chased for years. The un-inspiring name Chinese Eggplant and Minced Pork, often used on menus, does it no justice! It’s a flavour explosion, the saucy version of Sichuan Fish Fragrant Eggplant – sweet, savoury, tangy, and a little bit spicy. This one is a personal favourite!

Spicy Sichuan Chinese eggplant with minced pork

Lovers of Sichuan food – rejoice! Remember Chef Hannah, our Chinese chef at RTM who cracked the Beef in Black Bean Sauce recipe? She’s back, with another copycat I begged her to master – Chinese eggplant with minced pork!

You know the dish I mean – the one with those slippery soft eggplant batons with a little bit of pork mince, smothered in a fierce looking (though surprisingly mild) glossy sauce packed with in-your-face savoury flavours and little bits of chilli.

It’s a Sichuan classic I’ve been on a mission to recreate for years, but just couldn’t get the flavour quite right. I finally caved and asked Hannah to copy a restaurant version – and boom! She made 6 versions in one evening, one after the other, and cracked the code!

Bonus: This recipe calls for a trip to the Asian store but that said, our supermarket-sub version is so good, we’d have happily shared it – if we hadn’t already tasted the OG!.

A bit about today’s recipe

Today’s dish is Sichuan Fish Fragrant Eggplant (Yu Xiang Qie Zi), a popular eggplant stir fry in China made with a little bit of pork mince, semi-braised and stir fried in a sauce that’s savoury, sweet, a bit tangy and a bit spicy. Sometimes it’s saucy, other times it’s not.

Here in Australia, the version of this dish that’s popular is saucy, and is typically listed on menus with the thoroughly un-imaginative name “Eggplant with pork mince”, though sometimes restaurants will go rogue and add something to the name like “braised with chilli and vinegar” (wild, I know!).

Our recipe is specifically based on the one served at Taste of Shanghai, a well known Chinese restaurant chain here in Sydney I’ve been frequenting for decades. Better known for their dumplings but they have other standout offerings including this eggplant and pork dish.

The greatest compliment of all

Hannah, in case you don’t know, is a chef on my food bank team and comes from a long line of chefs from China’s Szechuan province. She even sent this recipe to her father (a brilliant chef himself), and his only feedback was, “needs more oil.”

If you know Asian foodie families, that’s high praise – basically code for, “perfect, you nailed it, it’s amazing, 12 out of 10!” Because no one’s a tougher critic than family!

And that is how you know this recipe is dead-set legit. I promise you will not be disappointed.

Thank you Chef Hannah. I have such admiration for your cooking skills and hope to bring many more to our readers in the years to come!

Ingredients

Here’s what you need. Don’t be put off by unfamiliar ingredients—we tested this with regular grocery store substitutes and were blown away. Honestly, if Chef Hannah hadn’t already cracked the Rolls Royce version, I’d have stuck to the alternative version for myself (though I probably wouldn’t have dared publish it – you’ll see why!)

1. STIR FRY sauce

There’s quite a generous amount of sauce in this dish which is glossy and thickened so it coats the eggplant beautifully. Here’s what goes in it:

• Soy sauces – Dark soy makes the sauce darker and adds stronger soy flavour while light soy is more for salt. Substitutions:

  • dark soy with light soy (expect a lighter sauce colour and slightly less flavour)

  • light soy with any all-purpose soy sauce.

  • do not sub the light soy with dark soy (way too strong!)

• Chinese black vinegar – Looks like balsamic vinegar and tastes a bit like it too but with a slight savoury edge. Available at Asian stores and some large supermarkets, though honestly I wouldn’t get it just for the small amount required in this recipe. Substitute with half balsamic vinegar and half rice vinegar instead (it’s pretty close).

• Honey and sugar – To balance the tang and savoury in the sauce. Sugar just adds sweetness whereas just 1 teaspoon of honey, while also adding sweetness, makes the sauce clear and really glossy rather than cloudy. Awesome cooking tip from Hannah!

• Cornflour / cornstarch – Thickens the sauce and makes it beautifully shiny.

2. Speciality add-ins

These two ingredients are essential for an authentic version of this dish – the pickled red chilli was actually the final piece of the puzzle that Chef Hannah figured out to crack the recipe!

But don’t be daunted if they sound unfamiliar or you don’t live near an Asian grocery store. Read on for substitutions.

• Chinese broad bean sauce (doubanjiang) – A fermented paste made from broad beans, soybeans, salt, and often chilli. Savoury, salty, and packed with umami. We use the spicy Sichuan version (Pixian doubanjiang), famous for dishes like Mapo Tofu. Find it at Asian grocers.

• Pickled red chilli (salted chillies) – Chopped, salted Chinese red chillies, used in the original Taste of Shanghai dish. You’ll see flecks in the final dish! It adds a mild spicy tang because we only use 1 teaspoon.

  We use Tan Tan Xiang brand, but you can substitute with finely chopped pickled hot peppers (like Hoyts brand), or even jalapeños (yes, really!). Skip if you really fear spice, but you’ll lose a layer of flavour (because it adds salt and tang too).

Substitutions

No Asian grocer nearby? Try one of these combinations using supermarket ingredients. It’s 92% as good – our whole team was impressed!

• Option 1: 2 tsp miso paste + 3 tsp sambal oelek + 1 tsp chopped pickled hot peppers (like Hoyts)

• Option 2: 1 tbsp chilli bean sauce* + 2 tsp chopped pickled hot peppers

*Chilli bean sauce (Toban Djan) is different from doubanjiang but still works well here. Lee Kum Lee brand is sold at some Coles and Woolworths in Australia, plus Asian stores and online (Amazon here).

3. STIR FRY ADD-INS

And here are the things that go in the stir fry. There’s only a small amount of pork – just 100g/3.5oz – compared to the amount of eggplant which is how it’s supposed to be.

• Pork – This is the traditional meat though if you can’t consume it, it will work with chicken or turkey too, though these meats are leaner.

• Eggplant (aubergine in the UK) – You’ll need one large or two medium eggplants. No need to peel the skin – the bitterness is mostly bred out these days. But if you prefer, go ahead and peel using a potato peeler.

• Oil – For cooking the eggplant and stir fry. Traditionally, the eggplant is deep-fried for that soft, silky texture only oil can give. But we also tested it with my favourite pan-steamed method using just 2 tablespoons of oil – and it was still fantastic! The bold sauce makes up for it, and I’ve happily made the lighter version on Tuesday nights.

• Garlic and ginger – A good amount is essential aromatic flavour base for this recipe!

• Green onion – Use the white part for cooking, and the dark green part for garnish.

How to cook Chinese eggplant with minced pork

Firstly, choose a method to cook the eggplant. Fried in about 1 cup of oil for the authentic method which will make the eggplant beautifully silky. Or, pan steamed for a healthier version.

1. Fry eggplant (authentic method)

A wok is best as the curved shape of the wok means you get more frying surface area using less oil, then you can use the wok for cooking.

1. Fry – Heat the oil on high heat until it is 180°C/350°F. Fry the eggplant in two batches for around 4 minutes each until lightly browned.

2. Remove the eggplant from the oil using a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel lined plate.

   Remove all but 2 tablespoons of the oil in the wok which we will use to cook the eggplant. The oil can be re-used for any cooking purpose as it is clean.

No wok but want to fry the eggplant? Use a medium saucepan and fill with 2 cm / 0.8″ oil. Fry eggplant per recipe. Then cook the remainder of the recipe in a pan rather than wok.

2. pan-steamed (less-oil method)

This is a method of cooking eggplant I’ve previously shared where it is pan-fried them steamed. You’ll need a large pan with a lid to trap the steam to use this method. It then makes sense to use the same pan for cooking in, though you could switch to a wok if you want to.

1. Brown – Heat 2 tablespoons of oil over high heat in a non-stick pan. Place the eggplant in and lightly brown the flesh-side of each piece – around 90 seconds on each side.

2. Pan-steam – Carefully pour 1/3 cup of water around the eggplant (it will steam on contact, so be careful here). Then quickly place the lid on to trap the steam and cook for 2 minutes until the water has evaporated and the eggplant is cooked all the way through (check with a butter knife). If needed, add a bit more water and continue steaming.

3. cooking

As with all stir-fries, this moves quick! So make sure you have all your ingredients out and ready to toss into into the wok or pan.

1. Mix sauce – Put the cornflour/cornstarch into a jug with the light soy sauce first and mix until lump free. Then add the remaining sauce ingredients and mix to combine. This order matters – cornflour mixes in faster in a small amount of liquid, avoiding lumps.

2. Cook – After cooking the eggplant and removing the excess oil, return the wok to high heat. Cook the pork for 1 to 2 minutes, breaking it up as you go, until you no longer see pink. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 30 seconds.

3. Add the pickled chilli and broad bean sauce, cook for 1 minute. This will stain the meat an appealing reddish colour.

4. Eggplant – Add the cooked eggplant into the wok.

5. Add sauce in 2 batches – Add half the sauce. Stir gently for about 30 to 45 seconds until the sauce starts to thicken (like a maple syrup consistency). Then add the remaining sauce and cook for another 45 seconds to 1 minute until the sauce thickens and becomes glossy.

6. Sauce thickness – You want the sauce to have a thickness between honey and maple syrup, so it coats the eggplant beautifully. It will thicken a little more as it cools a bit between going from the wok to serving plate to table to serving yourself.

   Then you’re done – ready to pour into a serving bowl!

Serving

Serve this in a shallow bowl-plate (like pictured) or a regular bowl – something to hold all the sauce in and make serving easier. Flat plates just make you chase the eggplant around!

Rice is essential. The way it soaks up the sauce is unbeatable, especially since the eggplant turns so soft and silky it practically melts into it.

Which brings me to the next point – no chopsticks. No need to prove a point here – of course I can use chopsticks! – this is a spoon dish. Scoop and shovel! – Nagi x

Watch how to make it

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Chinese eggplant and minced pork – Sichuan Fish Fragrant Eggplant

Recipe video above. Tried making this iconic Sichuan dish before and been underwhelmed? This  one’s the real deal! Called Yu Xiang Qie Zi, this is straight from our RTM Chef Hannah, born and raised in the Sichuan province of China, a family of chefs at that! Even her chef father gave this recipe his rare stamp of approval.🙌🏻

For full authenticity, grab broad bean sauce and pickled chilli from an Asian store. That said, our supermarket-sub version is so good, we’d have happily shared it – if we hadn’t already tasted the OG!

Traditionally, the eggplant is deep fried (and yes, that’s why it’s so melt-in-your-mouth good). But see Note 1 for a fantastic no-fry pan-steamed option! Spiciness – Low mild. There's not that much chilli in it!

Course Mains, Stir Fries

Cuisine Chinese, Sichuan

Keyword Chinese eggplant with minced pork, eggplant stir fry, fish fragrant eggplant, sichuan eggplant, Yu Xiang Qie Zi

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 4 – 5

Calories 383cal

Author Nagi

Ingredients

• 1 cup vegetable oil , or canola, sunflower oil (Note 1 for no-fry version)
• 1 large eggplant or 2 medium/small (450 to 500g), cut into 7 x 1.5cm batons (2.7 x 0.6″), skin on (Note 2)
• 100g / 3.5 oz pork mince / ground pork (Note 3)
• 1 tbsp ginger , finely minced
• 1 1/2 tbsp garlic , finely minced
• 1 green onion , finely sliced, white & pale green part (for cooking) separated from the green part (garnish)
• 1 tsp pickled red chilli , or any pickled spicy peppers (Note 4)
• 1 tbsp broad bean sauce , we use Pixian doubanjiang, the spicy Sichuan version(Note 5)

Sauce:

• 1 1/2 tsp cornflour / cornstarch
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce (Note 7)
• 1/2 tsp dark soy sauce (Note 7)
• 1 1/2 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp honey
• 3 1/2 tsp black vinegar (Note 8)
• 1/2 cup water

Serving:

• Steamed white rice

Cups – Metric

Instructions

• ABBREVIATED – Mix sauce. Fry eggplant until soft. Keep 2T oil. Cook pork 2 min, then garlic, ginger and white part green onion for 30 sec. Cook chilli + broad bean sauce 1 min. Add eggplant and sauce in 2 batches, once thickened, serve!

FULL RECIPE:

• Sauce – Mix the cornflour and light soy in a jug until lump free. Add the remaining Sauce ingredients and mix to combine. Set aside.
• Fry eggplant – Heat oil in a wok on high heat until hot – 180°C/350°F. Add half of the eggplant and fry for around 4 minutes, stirring and turning gently a few times, until soft all the way through and a bit browned on the surface. Remove with a slotted spoon onto a paper towel lined tray. Repeat with remaining eggplant.
• Remove oil – Carefully remove the leftover oil from the wok except 2 tablespoons, for cooking.
• Stir fry – Cool the wok slightly then return to high heat. Add the pork and cook for 1 – 2 minutes, breaking it up as you go, until you no longer see pink. Add garlic, ginger, white part of the green onion. Stir fry for 30 seconds. Add pickled red chilli and broad bean sauce. Cook for 1 minute.
• Add sauce – Give the Sauce a quick mix (to dissolve settled cornflour). Add eggplant, then add half the Sauce into the wok, toss gently until the sauce starts thickening – about 30 to 45 seconds. Add remaining Sauce, toss gently for 45 seconds until it thickens (goal: between maple syrup and honey).
• Serve – Turn off heat. Pour into a serving bowl, sprinkle with green onion. Serve with rice.

Healthier pan-steamed eggplant option:

• Brown eggplant – Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large non-stick pan (with lid) over medium high heat. Pan fry eggplant for 1 1/2 minutes on each side until lightly browned.
• Steam – Carefully add 1/3 cup water around the eggplant (it will steam, so be careful). Immediately cover with a lid to trap the steam. Steam for 2 minutes or until the water has evaporated and the eggplant is soft all the way through (if needed, add more water and keep steaming).
• Proceed – Transfer eggplant to a plate. Proceed with recipe using the large non stick pan rather than wok.

Notes

1. No fry version – based on this pan steamed eggplant recipe I’ve previously shared. End dish is not as luxurious because of less oil, but still an excellent mid-week healthier version as all the flavour is still there!

2. Eggplant – This recipe calls for regular eggplant, not Asian ones, so you can cut batons the way restaurants do for this dish. To cut – I cut into 1.5cm / 0.6″ rounds, then cut each circle into batons. Skin removal – These days, bitterness in the skin has been largely bred out. I’ve never had a problem. If you’re concerned, just peel the skin off (I use a potato peeler).

3. Meat – Pork is traditional. Chicken and turkey will also work though the meat will be a little drier (it’s just what it is).

4. Pickled red chilli (also called salted chillies) – Chopped, salted Chinese red chillies used in the original Taste of Shanghai dish. We use Tan Tan Xiang brand (from Asian grocers). Sub with finely chopped pickled hot peppers like Hoyts, or even pickled jalapeños (yes, really!). Adds spicy tang – skip it for less heat, but you’ll lose a flavour layer. 

5. Chinese broad bean sauce (doubanjiang) is a fermented paste made from broad beans, soybeans, and salt, often with chilli. It’s savoury, salty, and packed with umami. We use the spicy Sichuan version (Pixian doubanjiang) which is the most well known and used in dishes like Mapo Tofu. Excellent no Asian-store subs – see Note 6!

6. Can’t get to an Asian store? Use one of these regular grocery shop options instead of pickled red chilli and broad bean sauce – end result is 92% as good! (We were pretty amazed):

Option 1: 2 tsp miso, 3 tsp sambal oelek, 1 tsp chopped pickled hot peppers
Option 2: 1 tbsp chilli bean sauce*, 2 tsp chopped pickled hot peppers

* Toban Djan – Lee Kum Lee brand is sold at some Coles and Woolworths in Australia, plus Asian stores and online (Amazon here).

7. Soy sauces – Dark soy makes the sauce darker and adds stronger soy flavour, light soy is more for salt. Substitutions:

• dark soy with light soy (expect lighter sauce colour and slightly less flavour)
• light soy with any all-purpose soy
• do not sub the light soy with dark soy (way too strong!)

8. Chinese black vinegar – Looks like balsamic vinegar, tastes like it too but with a slight savoury edge. Available at Asian stores and some large supermarkets. Substitute with half balsamic vinegar and half rice vinegar (it’s pretty close).

Leftovers will keep for 3 days though note that eggplant softens and sweats. Truly best eaten freshly made!

Nutrition

Calories: 383cal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 34g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g | Monounsaturated Fat: 20g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 18mg | Sodium: 521mg | Potassium: 374mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 58IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 24mg | Iron: 1mg

Life of Dozer

Jeff’s breakfast hasn’t changed in the 13 years I’ve been taking Dozer to the beach: cappuccino, toasted ham and cheese croissant and a blueberry muffin.

The entire cafe staff know my order off by heart, and they start toasting the croissant as soon as they see my car pull up, even before I get out! 😂 (8 Knots Cafe next door to the park)

That’s Jeff below, and his adorable companion Cubby. He looks after Bayview park like it’s his own, weeding, mowing, picking up litter. It’s pristine because of him, and one of the reasons why visitors travel from wide and far to bring their dogs to Bayview!

The post Chinese eggplant and minced pork – spicy Sichuan food! appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.

This incredible Beef in Black Bean Sauce recipe is from Hannah, a chef at RecipeTin Meals, and it’s the best I’ve ever had! Born and raised in China, Hannah comes from a multigenerational family of chefs. So unsurprisingly, she has extremely high standards when it comes to Chinese food!!

Beef in black bean sauce is finally here!

Beef in black bean sauce has been one of the most requested reader recipes for years, but I haven’t been brave enough to share it because I never felt my sauce was quite right. This is a beloved Chinese restaurant classic that needs to be done properly!

As it turns out though, we have a brilliant Chinese chef at our food bank – Chef Hannah – and we’ve been using her Beef in black bean sauce recipe at RecipeTin Meals for almost a year, making meals for the vulnerable. Her recipe is a dead ringer for gold standard Chinese restaurants – but better, because you can taste the ingredients more.

This is Chef Hannah, making the Beef in Black Bean at RTM. Just 600 servings!

70% cheaper – and counting

The other big thing this homemade version has going for it is that you’ll also save a bomb – almost 70% of the cost. Higher end Chinese restaurants charge over $30 for a serving about one-third of the size of what this recipe makes. The ingredients to make this at home will cost you less than $25. Closer to $15 if you use the economical beef option which, hand on heart, is 95% as good. I was blown away by how good it was! More on this in the ingredients section below.

Ingredients in beef in black bean sauce

We are making the black bean sauce from scratch today because it tastes way better than the jarred stuff which, to be honest, barely resembles the real deal. So the key ingredient in today’s recipe is the black beans, and yes you will need to go to an Asian store. But they’re cheap ($2.50 for small packs), common and will last *forever* (though I’ll wager you use them all up making this recipe over and over – try it with chicken next!).

Once you get the black beans though, you’ll be happy to know that all the other ingredients are basic Asian sauce essentials. 🙂

1. PRESERVED black beans for Chinese black beans sauce

This is what preserved black beans looks like – shrivelled up raisins:

What Chinese salted black beans are – black soy beans that have been fermented in salt which add savouriness and salt into the dish. They are a little squishy – like extra firm raisins.

Other names – Preserved black beans are also called:

• Salted or fermented black beans

• Any combination of the above: eg salted preserved black beans

• Black beans (in an Asian grocer, not a Western grocer – see note above!)

• Douchi (dòu chǐ in Mandarin or dau6si6 in Cantonese, 豆豉 – thank you for the language lesson Woks of Life!)

Find them at Asian grocery stores alongside pickled and vac packed vegetables. They cost around $2.70 for the smallest packs.

No suitable substitute that I can think of.

Not to be confused with Western dried black beans which are rock hard. Canned black beans (ie regular Western ones) cannot be used, they are not the same thing (see above – salted black beans are actually soy beans!).

2. BEEF AND MARINADE

Here’s what you need for the beef and marinade.

• Beef (rump steak) – The base recipe calls for rump steak (US: top sirloin) – for flavour, value and texture. Scotch/rib eye and porterhouse/sirloin (strip) are also great but more expensive.

  Economical cuts (65% cheaper) – blade roast (brilliant!) and chuck work extremely well, however, the recipe needs to be alternated for a longer marinade time (24 hours instead of 1 hour). See expandable accordion below for more information.

Marinade

• Baking soda (bicarbonate) – A small amount (just 1/4 teaspoons) mixed into the marinade tenderises the beef beautifully so it stays soft. Without, the beef will overcook and become tough. I tried and proven tenderising method used liberally in my Asian recipes!

• Light soy sauce – You can substitute with an all purpose soy sauce. But not dark soy sauce – flavour is too strong and the colour is too intense! More on which soy sauce to use when here.

• Dark soy sauce – Stains the beef and adds more intense soy flavour than light soy. You can substitute with more light soy sauce but the beef colour will not be the same and the flavour will be a little lighter.

• Oyster sauce – A staple Asian sauce that adds complexity, flavour and umami all at once. Made from oyster extract that is sweet, salty, thick and pungent, but doesn’t taste oyster-y or fishy at all once cooked. Can be substituted with shellfish free alternative – vegetarian “oyster” sauce, even found at regular grocery stores these days.

• Cornflour / cornstarch – This makes the beef cook so it has a thin film-like coating on it which makes it sort of slippery, just like you get at Chinese restaurants.

3. THE STIR FRY AND SAUCE

Here’s what you need for the sauce and the vegetables in the stir fry. The sauce is very simple and only uses 1 tablespoon of soy sauce because this dish gets most of its flavour from the black beans.

• Chinese cooking wine (“Shaoxing wine”)- essential ingredient for making truly “restaurant standard” Chinese dishes. Substitute with cooking sake or dry sherry. Non alcoholic substitute – substitute half the water with low sodium chicken stock/broth.

• Light soy – see notes in the above section. Don’t use dark soy sauce, it’s too intense!

• Cornflour / cornstarch – thickens the sauce and makes it shiny.

• Sugar – to get the right sweetness in the sauce

• Water – quite a lot, a whole cup! There’s a lot of stir fry. We need plenty of sauce!

• Green capsicum / bell pepper – the traditional colour for beef in black bean here in Australia. Feel free to go wild and use red or yellow if you want. 😳 (I’m not rebellious enough).

• Onion and garlic – Try to find a stir fry recipe on my website that doesn’t have these. (You won’t!). The onion is cut into squares which is the traditional shape used for this dish in Chinese restaurants.

• Oil – for cooking. Peanut oil, canola, vegetable oil – anything with a neutral flavour.

How to make Beef in black bean sauce

The beef needs 1 hour to marinade to infuse with flavour and tenderise. Use this time to soak the black beans and prepare the other ingredients. The cooking part itself takes barely 10 minutes!

1. Marinade

1. Slice – Finely slice the beef into 3mm / 0.1″ thick pieces.

   Pro tip (optional): If you just slice steak, the beef pieces are quite skinny. For nice large pieces aka restaurant style, cut 2.5 x 4cm pieces (1 x 1.5″) pieces out of the steak, stand on its side then slice finely so you get larger 2.5 x 4cm pieces (1 x 1.5″) slices.

2. Marinade – Mix all the marinade ingredients except the sesame oil. Then toss to coat the beef, then add the sesame oil and toss. Adding the sesame oil later helps to “seal” the marinade ingredients into the beef.

   Marinade for 1 hour in the fridge. (Remember: if using economical beef, marinade 24 hours).

2. SOAKING the preserved black BEANS

1. Soak black beans in water for 30 minutes to 1 hour. They will plump up and soften so they’re pleasant to bite into and release more flavour into the sauce.

2. Drain – Then drain in a colander and just put it aside until ready to cook.

3. HOW TO COOK BEEF IN BLACK BEAN SAUCE

For real restaurant style, the beef needs to be shallow fried which makes the surface of the beef slippery and softer than sautéing. However, I promise you are still going to love this if you opt to just sauté in a little oil instead!

1. Shallow fry beef – Heat the oil over high heat in a wok then cook the beef for 1 minute until it changes from red to brown. If opting for the less oil option, just heat 2 tablespoons of oil then stir the beef for 45 seconds like you’re making a regular beef stir fry, until the surface of all the beef is cooked.

   Cooking vessel – Wok works best because you get more oil depth though it works well in a pan too. Use a large deep one as this recipe makes a fairly generous amount!

2. Remove the beef using a slotted spoon onto a plate.

3. Discard most of the oil but keep 3 tablespoons for cooking.

4. Aromatics first – Cook the black beans first for 20 seconds, then add the garlic and stir for 10 seconds. Add the onions and capsicum first and stir for 1 minute until the edges of the onion starts to soften.

5. Beef and Chinese cooking wine – Add the beef and toss for 30 seconds. Then pour the Chinese cooking wine around the rim of the wok so it runs down the side into the beef. This is a classic Chinese cooking technique that “cooks” the wine before mixing with everything else. (It’s not a big deal if you miss though and the wine goes straight into the beef!).

6. Add the sauce and cook for another minute or until the sauce thickens, becomes shiny and thick enough to coat the beef.

   Pour it all into a serving bowl and serve with rice!

Look at this saucy perfection with those little pops of black beans and that beef, that unbelievably tender beef!!

And a nice close up rice soakage shot for you:

Wow. Just wow.

Thank you Chef Hannah, for this incredible recipe. While we’ve been using this at RTM for a while, the recipe is slightly different because we cook at scale there (600x), we use commercial equipment and the food is designed to be reheated.

So Hannah altered the recipe to make it suitable for home kitchens, and tweaked it to aim for gold-standard Chinese restaurant quality.

She absolutely nailed it. I really hope you give this a go! Hand on heart, I’ve never had better. – Nagi x

Watch how to make it

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Beef in black bean sauce

Recipe video above. This incredible Beef in Black Bean Sauce recipe is from Hannah, a chef at our food bank RecipeTin Meals who was born and raised in China, and comes from a long line of chefs. I'll wager this recipe beats any Chinese restaurant you’ve tried – even “fancy” city ones – and it is far, far cheaper. Made from scratch, it leaves jarred sauces in the dust. Shockingly easy!

Course Mains

Cuisine Chinese

Keyword beef in black bean sauce

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Marinating 1 hour hour

Total Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Servings 4 – 5 people

Calories 421cal

Author Nagi

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (75g) preserved black beans (salted black beans, fermented black beans, Note 1)
• 400g/14 oz beef rump steak (US: top sirloin) , thinly sliced 3mm / 0.1" (Note 2)
• 1 brown onion , medium size, cut into 2.5cm/1" squares
• 1 green capsicum (bell pepper), medium size, cut into 2.5cm/1" squares
• 1 tbsp garlic , finely minced with a knife ~ 4 cloves (Note 3)
• 1/2 cup peanut oil (or vegetable, canola) (Note 4)
• 1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine (shaoxing wine) (Note 5)

Tenderising beef marinade:

• 1 tbsp light soy sauce (Note 6)
• 1 tsp dark soy sauce (Note 6)
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 2 tsp cornflour / cornstarch
• 1/4 tsp baking soda (bi-carbonate) (Note 7)
• 1 tbsp sesame oil (toasted ie brown, not untoasted which is yellow)

Sauce:

• 1 tbsp light soy sauce (Note 6)
• 2 tsp white sugar
• 2 tbsp cornflour/cornstarch (20g)
• 1 cup water

Serving:

• White rice

Cups – Metric

Instructions

Abbreviated recipe:

• Marinade beef 1 hour, soak beans, mix sauce. Shallow fry beef 30 seconds, remove. Discard all but 3 tbsp oil. Add and cook in this order: black beans 20 seconds, garlic 10 seconds, onion + capsicum 1 minute, beef 1 minute, cooking wine 30 seconds, sauce 1 minute or until thickened. Serve!

Marinade beef:

• Mix the marinade ingredients EXCEPT sesame oil in a bowl. Add beef, mix to coat. Add sesame oil, mix again.
• Marinade – Refrigerate to marinade for 1 hour.

Preparation:

• Soak beans – Put the salted black beans in a medium bowl and cover with water. Set aside for 30 minutes to 1 hour to soak, then drain.
• Mix sauce – Put the cornflour, soy sauce and sugar in a jug or small bowl. Mix until lump free then mix in the water. Set aside.

Cooking:

• Cook beef – Heat the oil in a wok (or non stick pan) over high heat. Add the beef and cook, tossing, for 30 seconds until it changes from red to brown. Remove with a slotted spoon onto a plate.
• Discard most of the oil in the wok, keep just 3 tablespoons.
• Aromatics – Return the wok to high heat. Add the black beans and stir for 20 seconds, then add the garlic and stir for 10 seconds. Add the capsicum and onion, cook for 1 minute.
• Beef – Add beef and any juices pooled on the plate, toss for 1 minute. Pour the Chinese cooking wine around the sides of the wok so it runs down into the beef then toss for 30 seconds (Note 8)
• Sauce – Pour the sauce in, then stir and let it bubble for 1 minute or until the sauce thickens, is shiny and coats the beef beautifully.
• Serve – Pour into a serving bowl and serve with rice!

Notes

1. Preserved black beans – Also called salted or fermented black beans, find it in Asian stores in the pickled/vac packed vegetable aisle, $2.70 a pack (long shelf life, or freeze). Wrinkled and a little squishy, not rock hard. Adds savouriness and salt, the key flavour in this dish. No substitute, sorry! 

Note: don’t confuse with regular Western dried back beans which are rock hard. Regular canned black beans cannot be used either.

2. Beef – Scotch fillet (boneless rib eye) or porterhouse/sirloin (US: New York strip) can also be used.

Best budget option: Blade roast (bolar or chuck blade) – ~65% cheaper, great results! Tenderise using one of these methods:

a) Marinate 24 hrs (instead of 1 hr), or
b) Toss beef with 1¼ tsp baking soda, refrigerate 40 min, rinse well. Then marinate 30 min (without baking soda) and proceed with recipe.

Chuck also works, but blade is easier to slice. Other options: brisket, gravy beef, topside/round. Use either a) or b) tenderising methods for these too. More info in Ingredients section.

3. Garlic – Knife best. If using a garlic crusher, add the garlic towards end of onion cooking time (else it will burn).

4. Oil quantity – To truly replicate restaurant silky soft beef, it needs to be shallow fried rather than sautéed. To reduce, use 3 tbsp and sauté the beef instead.

5. Chinese cooking wine (“Shaoxing wine”)– essential ingredient for making truly “restaurant standard” Chinese dishes. Substitute with cooking sake or dry sherry. Non alcoholic sub – substitute half the water with low sodium chicken stock/broth.

6. Soy sauces – Light soy sauce: you can use any all purpose soy sauce but do not use dark soy or sweet soy. Dark soy: can substitute with light or all purpose soy but will lose colour and a bit of soy flavour. More information on soy sauces here.

7. Baking soda is a magic meat tenderiser! More in post or here.

8. Pouring Shaoxing wine around the side of the wok – traditional Chinese cooking technique so it “cooks” the wine before it reaches the ingredients.

Leftovers will keep for 3 days in the fridge, keeps very well. Not suitable for freezing (sauce thins).

Nutrition per serving, assuming 5 servings, excluding rice. I feel like the sodium is higher than it actually is because salt gets extracted during the soaking step.

Nutrition

Calories: 421cal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 61mg | Sodium: 1740mg | Potassium: 476mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 111IU | Vitamin C: 27mg | Calcium: 47mg | Iron: 2mg

Life of Dozer

He genuinely thinks that’s his food bowl:

The post Beef in black bean sauce appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.

My everyday Hokkien Noodles recipe. A great sauce. Strips of chicken. Lots of vegetables. 6 minute cook. Dinner in 20 minutes flat!

Hokkien noodles

I know that I’ve repeatedly bleated about how you can throw “any vegetables you want!” into stir fried noodles. But if speed is of the essence, and you want a good amount of vegetables in your dinner, you do actually need to think about what vegetables are quick to chop, quick to cook, won’t make your stir fry watery, and you know you can get at any grocery store.

No pre-cooking required (like broccoli). Doesn’t take 5 minutes to soften (like mushrooms). And not one of those vegetables you can’t always find (like Asian greens).

Scratch all that. Today is about convenience, speed, yet undeniable deliciousness that everybody loves.

Introducing – my everyday Hokkien Noodles!

Ingredients for Hokkien Noodles with chicken

Here’s what you need to make these hokkien noodles. There’s enough protein and vegetables in this to be a complete meal. Gotta love a one-pan dinner!

HOKKIEN NOODLES

Hokkien noodles are medium thickness yellow noodles made from wheat. Get them from the fridge if you can, rather than vac-packed varieties from the aisle. Better texture, better flavour, and less tendency to break easily when tossed in the pan.

• Other noodle options – This recipe can be made with pretty much any type of noodles – thin, flat, thicker, white, rice noodles, egg noodles. Or even pasta. There, I said it! Hand on heart, once tossed with the sauce, flavour-wise they are very similar though actually, noodles do have a chewier texture than pasta. 🙂

• Dried noodles (like ramen, dried egg noodles, rice noodles, vermicelli noodles) can also be used but you need to use less than the weight specified in the recipe because they expand a lot more in volume when cooked. See the recipe notes for directions.

The hokkien noodle sauce

You can’t just use soy and sugar for a stir fry sauce. It’s too bland! In today’s recipe, oyster sauce is our shortcut ingredient here. It adds depth of flavour, touch of sweetness as well as thickening the sauce so we don’t even need to use cornflour/cornstarch like you typically need to.

• Dark and light soy sauce – We’re using a combination of both in today’s sauce because together they deliver really great flavour and colour. Dark soy sauce has a more intense flavour and stains the noodles and chicken a beautiful mahogany colour you can see in the photos. The light soy sauce adds extra salt without too much colour and the soy flavour is milder. If we only used dark soy sauce, the intense flavour would overwhelm the dish as well as it an almost black colour!

  See recipe notes for how to switch each of these soy sauces out, and more on different soy sauces here.

• Oyster sauce – Punches high above its weight when it comes to adding complexity, flavour and umami all at once to any dish you add a few dashes of the stuff to. It’s a staple sauce in Chinese and South-east Asian cooking made from oyster extract that is sweet, salty, thick and pungent. However it doesn’t tasty oyster-y or fishy at all once cooked. See recipe notes for substitutes.

• Mirin – This is a sweet Japanese cooking wine that is the other shortcut ingredient that brings flavour to this dish. Typically in Chinese recipes you’d see Chinese cooking wine used with a touch of sugar added when needed. But today, I’m taking a shortcut by using mirin which already has sugar in it. One less ingredient needed! See recipe notes for substitutions, including non-alcoholic options.

• Sesame oil – Toasted (ie brown-hued) as opposed to un-toasted (yellow-hued, with less sesame flavour). Here in Australia, toasted sesame oil is the norm. It’s actually hard to find un-toasted. Note the sesame oil is added to the sauce and not used for as frying fat, because it loses flavour the longer it’s cooked.

• White pepper (or black) – Asian cooking typically uses white rather than black pepper. One of the reasons is so you don’t get unsightly black specks in clear, light brown stir fry sauces that are popular in Asian cooking. The flavour is also a little more citrusy than black pepper which is more earthy. We only use a tiny amount so you can substitute black pepper in a pinch.

Quick cooking vegetables and chicken

Quick chop vegetables selection. Ease is the key in today’s recipe!

• Boneless chicken thighs – I’m using thighs because they stay juicy when fried up in stir fries without having to tenderise or marinate for too long. You can switch out for chicken breast – because these noodles cook in 6 minutes flat, it won’t overcook and dry out. But, chicken thigh is juicier! 🙂 You can also substitute with more vegetables.

• Green onion – Onion is a staple in stir fries because it adds fresh flavour and frying up the onion at the beginning flavours the oil. Green onion makes a good shortcut option, without the need to peel and slice! Just chop into 5cm / 2″ batons. Substitute with regular onion cut into thin wedges, but cook it before the chicken.

  Note: As the softer dark green part cooks in literally a minute, we add that in at the end whereas the firmer white/pale green part (the onion-y flavoured part) is stir fried at the beginning because it takes longer to cook and also flavours the oil.

• Cabbage – One of my favourite ways to add a stack of veg into a meal, fast! It’s so quick to chop up a large mound and it softens in just a few minutes in the pan. Plus, by cutting it into strips, it flops, clings and mingles nicely with the noodles. Substitute with baby spinach or tuscan kale (also cut into strips) or a couple of handfuls of bean sprouts.

• Capsicum/bell pepper – I like the flavour capsicum brings to stir fries as well as a little splash of colour. And again, easy to chop – if you know the trick to avoid getting little seeds flying everywhere! You’ll see me demo it in the video. 🙂

  Substitute with carrot or zucchini cut into batons.

• Garlic – Finely minced with a knife is best because it disperses throughout the noodles and fries up better. However, in this recipe, you can get away with using a garlic press. But don’t talk to me about jarred garlic! (Sour. Wet. Barely resembles garlic!).

Other vegetable options – As with virtually all stir fries, feel free to substitute the vegetables with what you’ve got. Use 5 cups in total. Just add the longer cooking ones earlier and the quick cooking vegetables towards the end.

How to make Hokkien Noodles with Chicken

The sauce in today’s recipe is doing double duty as the sauce for the noodles and marinade for the chicken (just 10 minutes marinating time). So get the sauce and chicken done first, then move onto preparing the rest of the recipe.

1. Noodle sauce & marinated chicken

1. Mix the sauce ingredients in a bowl.

2. Marinate chicken – Measure out 1 1/2 tablespoons of sauce and toss with the chicken. Set aside for 10 minutes while you prepare the other ingredients and soak the noodles. It only needs a short time because the chicken pieces are so thin and the sauce flavour is quite intense.

2. Prepare noodles

1. Prepare noodles per the packet directions. Usually they will say to soak for a few minutes in a large bowl of boiling water, such as the one I’m using. Some brands call to be boiled for a couple of minutes. Then drain in a colander.

2. Rinse (💡pro tip!) – Whatever the method, rinse the noodles under the tap water briefly to remove excess starch which can make the surface of the noodles unpleasantly gummy once cooked with the sauce. It’s not a problem that happens with all brands of noodles and it depends how you prepare it, but it’s just good practice to do it so you never experience this problem.

   Rinsing also prevents the noodles from hardening into a block as they sit in the colander before tossing into the pan.

3. Noodle sauce & marinated chicken

1. Cook chicken – In a large non-stick pan (mine is 30cm/12″) or very large wok*, heat the oil over high heat until very hot. Then add the chicken and cook 1 minute. Add the garlic and white part of the green onion stems and cook for another 1 minute until the surface of the chicken is sealed (but still a bit raw inside).

2. Vegetables – Add the capsicum and cabbage, then toss for 2 minutes or until the cabbage is mostly wilted. By this time, the chicken should be cooked through. If not, keep going as the chicken won’t cook much more in the next steps.

* This is quite a big batch recipe to try to make in a wok. You run the risk of the chicken and vegetables getting watery because of the smaller surface area in contact with heat, unless you use a very large one with a very large burner. It is safer to use a very large pan.

3. Noodles and sauce – Add the green part of the green onions, noodles then sauce. Toss for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes or until the sauce stains the noodles a lovely brown colour. Using two wooden spoons will make your life easier here (tongs break the noodles).

4. Finished noodles – Then that’s it! Ready to eat. So fast. How good is that!

Between transient living situations*, changes within my team, an increasingly high maintenance dog well into his senior years* and a workload that never seems to ease, I’ve been making these noodles regularly in recent months. It’s not just the speed, but also because cabbage, green onion and some type of noodles are pantry staples in my world. The capsicum is easily substituted with another vegetable (carrot, zucchini etc). Chicken is optional (I often use more vegetables). And the sauce is made with a mix of my absolute bare minimum Asian sauce essentials.

You can’t beat Hokkien Noodles freshly made, steaming, shiny and slippery. But honestly, they are still really great for one, two, three days afterwards with just a quick microwave reheat, and they freeze well too.

I hope you enjoy them! – Nagi x

* Not complaining about either of these! I know I’m fortunate to have a roof over my head, full stop. As for the other? My greatest company asset. 🐶❤️

Watch how to make it

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Hokkien noodles with chicken

Recipe video above. My everyday Hokkien Noodles recipe. A great sauce. Strips of chicken. Lots of vegetables. 6 minute cook. Dinner in 20 minutes flat!

Course Mains, Noodles, stir fried noodles

Cuisine Asian, Chinese

Keyword hokkien noodles, pan noodles, Thai stir fried noodles

Prep Time 14 minutes minutes

Cook Time 6 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Calories 445cal

Author Nagi

Ingredients

• 500g/ 1 lb hokkien noodles , (fridge best) (Note 1)
• 350g/ 12 oz chicken thighs (boneless, skinless), cut into lot of thin 0.5 x 3cm / 0.2 x 1.2" pieces (Note 2)
• 2 tbsp canola oil (or vegetable, cottonseed, peanut oil)
• 2 garlic cloves , finely minced
• 8 green onion stems , cut into 5cm / 2″ lengths, white part separated from green part (Note 3)
• 1 red capsicum (bell peppers) , cut into thin 0.5cm / 0.2″ strips
• 3 heaped cups green cabbage , cut into thin 1 x 5cm / 0.5 x 2" strips

Sauce:

• 2 tbsp light soy sauce (Note 4)
• 1 1/2 tbsp dark soy sauce (Note 4)
• 2 tbsp oyster sauce (Note 5)
• 1 tbsp Mirin or Chinese cooking wine (Note 6)
• 1 tbsp sesame oil , toasted (Note 7)
• 1/8 tsp white pepper (sub black pepper)

Optional garnishes

• White sesame seeds
• Finely sliced green onion

Instructions

Abbreviated recipe:

• Marinate chicken with 1 1/2 tbsp Sauce. Cook chicken 1 min, add garlic and white part of green onion, cook 1 min. Add capsicum & cabbage, cook 2 min. Add green part of green onion, noodles, sauce, toss 2 min. Serve!

Full recipe:

• Sauce – Mix the sauce in a small bowl.
• Briefly marinate chicken – Toss the chicken with 1 1/2 tbsp of the Sauce. Marinate for 10 minutes while you prepare the noodles and vegetables.
• Rinse noodles – Prepare the noodles per the packet directions (soak in boiling water or briefly boil). Drain in a colander then rinse briefly under tap water (Note 8)
• Sear chicken – Heat the oil in a large non-stick pan over high heat until very hot (mine is 30cm/12", Note 9 re: wok). Add the chicken and toss for 1 minute. Add the garlic and white part of the green onion, then toss for another 1 minute or until the surface of the chicken is sealed (but still a bit raw inside)
• Cook veg & noodles – Add the capsicum and cabbage. Toss for 2 minutes until the cabbage is mostly wilted. Add the green part of the green onions, noodles and sauce. Toss for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes until the noodles are stained a lovely mahogany colour.
• Serve immediately, sprinkled with sesame seeds and green onion if desired!

Notes

Easy recipe substitution suggestions (without altering cook times, order or method)

• Noodles – See below
• Chicken – 2 heaped cups extra vegetables
• Green onion – Finely sliced regular onion, cook before adding the chicken.
• Cabbage – Sliced Tuscan kale, Chinese cabbage (wombok), baby spinach, bean sprouts
• Capsicum – Carrot or zucchini batons, thin asparagus, broccolini cut into thin batons, snow peas cut on diagonal.

---

1. Noodles – Hokkien noodles from the fridge are better than the vac pack ones from the aisle. Use the same amount of other fresh noodles from the fridge, or 350g / 12oz any dried noodles or 250g/8oz dried vermicelli.

2. Chicken – Thigh is best as it stays juicier, however, breast or tenderloin can be used too. Lean pork would also be great. For beef, use any steak but I recommend velveting it so it stays tender and juicy (thin strips of beef will overcook in less than 2 minutes).

3. Green onion stems – The firmer white/pale green part takes longer to cook (like onions) so add it first, whereas the soft dark green part wilts quickly so add it at the end.

4. Soy sauce – You can substitute the light soy with all purpose soy, and dark soy with more light soy (but noodles won’t stain dark). Don’t substitute the light soy with more dark soy (too intense, will overpower dish). More on different soy sauces here.

5. Oyster sauce – Adds sweetness, depth of flavour and thickens sauce. Vegetarian oyster sauce can be used, or hoisin sauce (adds lovely hint of five spice).

6. Mirin adds depth of flavour and touch of sweet into this otherwise simple sauce. Chinese cooking wine is an excellent sub, followed by cooking sake or dry sherry. Non alcoholic – add 1/3 cup chicken stock into the sauce and toss for extra minute or two.

7. Toasted sesame oil is brown (default in Australia). Untoasted is yellow and doesn’t taste as sesame-y.

8. Rinsing noodles removes excess starch so the noodles are slippery once tossed with sauce. If you don’t rinse, sometimes the surface is gummy. Also prevents from sticking together in colander while waiting to be used.

9. Wok v pan – This is quite a big batch recipe to try to make in a wok. You run the risk of the chicken and vegetables getting watery because of the smaller surface area in contact with heat, unless you use a very large one with a very large burner. It is safer to use a very large pan.

Leftovers will keep for 3 days in the fridge, I just reheat in the microwave. It actually freezes pretty well too (not rice noodles though, they have a tendency to break once frozen).

Nutrition per serving.

Nutrition

Calories: 445cal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.04g | Cholesterol: 81mg | Sodium: 1452mg | Potassium: 383mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 1192IU | Vitamin C: 43mg | Calcium: 36mg | Iron: 4mg

My noodle life

I’m a noodle-crazed lady, and I make no apologies for it!

Mie Goreng (Mee Goreng – Indonesian noodles)

Chow Mein

Pad See Ew (Thai Stir Fried Noodles)

Singapore Chicken Vermicelli Noodles

Garlic Noodles

Chinese Crispy Noodles (Chow Mein)

Chicken Stir Fry with Rice Noodles

Noodles

Life of Dozer

Who here is surprised that I bake for Dozer’s vet? 😂

Took him in for check ups and treatment of on-going seniors problems, including his funky joints and early sign of age related spinal issues.

Here he is at the magic dog doctor, Neil Barnsley of Holistic Animal Therapies. It takes over an hour to drive there but I’ve been taking Dozer for the last 8 years – because he’s that good, and I have so much faith and trust in him. He treats Dozer for muscle, bone and joint related issues, of which there have been many over the years because he was such an active dog in his youth!

And here he is at our local vet, Gladesville Vetinary Hospital, where I took him in for vaccinations and a check up. Got the all clear – yay!

Lordy, this dog is getting high maintenance in his senior years.

Lucky I kinda love him.

The post Everyday Hokkien Noodles appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.

Here’s a great beef mince recipe for you that’s quick to make, economical and full of hidden vegetables so it’s a complete meal – Beef Chow Mein! It’s the beef version of everybody’s favourite Chicken Chow Mein, made with the convenience of ground beef.

Beef chow mein

Here’s something new to try with that packet of beef mince you throw into your shopping cart every week! The beef is stir fried with chow mein sauce until it’s beautifully caramelised then tossed in a tangle of noodles and vegetables.

A neat trick in today’s 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.

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. That’s a good veg serving for a meal!

What you need

Here’s what you need to make this:

Noodles & add-ins

• Noodles – Chow mein noodles are sort of dry and crinkly, rather than oily and straight like hokkien noodles, lo mein noodles. But this dish can really be made with any noodles – or even spaghetti (yes really, who’s going to know once tossed in chow mein sauce??). Use the same weight.

• Garlic – Rarely do Asian stir fries happen without garlic, and this one is no exception!

• Beef mince – That’s ground beef to Americans. Any fat % is fine here though lean beef won’t caramelise quite as well.

  Other proteins – Any other mince will work just fine here. Chicken, pork, turkey, even lamb! Though bear in mind the sauce is quite intense flavoured to suit the beefy flavour of beef, so you won’t taste the flavour of white meats through the sauce.

• Egg – We use this to scramble into the beef. Neat trick to make the beef stick to the noodles better with the added bonus of a free protein boost!

• 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 – We’re using both light and dark soy sauce in this recipe. What’s 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. 

  Substitutions -You can use only light soy sauce or just an all-purpose soy sauce (ie bottle just labelled “soy sauce” without “light” or “dark” in front of it) instead of dark soy sauce. But you cannot use only dark soy sauce as the flavour is too strong! More on different types of soy sauces here.

• Oyster sauce – A load of flavour, all in one sauce! It’s sweet and savoury and adds a neat flavour shortcut in dishes. Makes a regular appearance in Asian dishes, from Pad See Ew to Asian Glazed Salmon to Honey Pepper Beef to Supreme Soy Noodles. And Steamed Asian Greens with Oyster Sauce!

  Vegetarian oyster sauce is available these days, at Asian stores and some large grocery stores (Australia – there’s Ayam vegetarian oyster sauce at Woolies). Otherwise, hoisin is 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. Substitute with 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.

How to make Beef Chow Mein

Be sure to cook the beef well once you add the sauce to get it really nicely caramelised, for a free flavour boost!

1. Sauce & thickener

1. Sauce – Mix the soy sauces, oyster sauce, Chinese cooking wine, sugar and pepper in a small bowl. We’re going to use some to flavour the beef, then we will mix the rest with the sauce thickener (next step) to make the noodle sauce.

2. Sauce thickener (cornflour slurry) – Mix the cornflour / cornstarch and water in a separate small bowl. This is what thickens the sauce so it coats the noodles, as well as making it shiny and glossy.

2. Making the stir fried noodles

1. Prepare the noodles per the packet directions then drain. I usually get the water boiling while I’m 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.

2. Caramelise beef – Using a large non-stick pan, cook the garlic first to flavour the oil. Then cook the beef, breaking it up as you go, until you can no longer see raw beef.

   Then add the 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.

3. Finish sauce – Meanwhile, mix the cornflour slurry into the remaining sauce.

4. Scramble egg – Add the egg into the pan then mix it through the beef, it will sort of scramble into the mixture. This is what makes beef stick to the noodles better!

5. Keep cooking! – When the egg is mostly cooked, add the carrot and cabbage. Cook for 1 minute until cabbage starts to wilt.

6. 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. Great way to get a noodle fix, very economical, and highly versatile – switch out the vegetables and proteins with what you’ve got or what you love.

Enjoy! – Nagi x

Watch how to make it

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Beef Chow Mein – great beef mince noodle recipe!

Recipe video above. The beef mince version of everybody's favourite Chicken Chow Mein – great way to cook up ground beef with noodles. Economical and no meat chopping required, with plenty of hidden vegetables so it's a complete dinner!

Scrambling up an egg with the beef is a neat trick to make the beef cling to the noodles better.

Course Mains

Cuisine Asian, Chinese

Keyword beef mince recipe, beef noodles, Chow Mein, ground beef stir fry

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Servings 2

Calories 664cal

Author Nagi

Ingredients

Chow Mein:

• 200g/ 7 oz chow mein noodles , or other thin yellow egg noodles or 3 ramen cakes (Note 1)
• 1 1/2 tbsp canola oil
• 2 garlic cloves , finely minced
• 200g/ 7 oz beef mince / ground beef (any fat %)
• 3 green onion stems , cut into 5cm/2″ lengths, white and green parts separated
• 1 egg
• 2 cups green cabbage , finely sliced (or Chinese cabbage)
• 1 carrot , peeled, cut into thin batons
• 1 heaped cups bean sprouts (~ 75g / 2 1/2 oz) (Note 5 – storage tip)

Chow Mein Sauce:

• 1 1/2 tbsp light soy sauce or all-purpose soy sauce (Note 2)
• 1 1/2 tsp dark soy sauce (Note 2)
• 1 1/2 tbsp oyster sauce (Note 3)
• 1 1/2 tbsp Chinese cooking wine (Shaoxing) (Note 4)
• 1 1/2 tsp white sugar
• Pinch white pepper

Sauce thickener:

• 1 1/2 tsp cornflour / cornstarch
• 3 tbsp water

Cups – Metric

Instructions

• Sauce – Mix ingredients in a small bowl then set aside. Some is used to flavour the beef, then the rest for the noodles.
• Sauce thickener (cornflour slurry) – Mix the cornflour / cornstarch and water in a separate small bowl.
• Prepare noodles per packet directions then drain.
• Cook beef – Heat the oil in a large non-stick pan over high heat. Cook garlic for 10 seconds, then add the beef and cook until you can no longer see pink. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons of the Sauce and the white part of the green onions. Cook for another 2 minutes to get the beef nicely caramelised.
• Finish sauce – Mix the cornflour slurry into the remaining sauce.
• Egg – Add the egg into the pan then mix it through the beef, it will sort of scramble. Egg makes the beef stick to the noodles better!
• Cabbage & carrot – 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.
• Serve – Divide between bowls and serve!

Notes

1. Noodles – Chow mein noodles are sort of dry and crinkly, rather than oily and straight like hokkien noodles, lo mein noodles. But this dish can really be made with any noodles – or even spaghetti (yes really, who’s going to know once tossed in chow mein sauce??). Use the same weight.

2. Soy sauce – Light soy sauce and all-purpose soy sauce add salt but doesn’t add much soy flavour or colour. The dark soy sauce stains the noodles a brown colour and adds soy flavour. It’s intense so you don’t need much!

3. Oyster sauce – Sweet and savoury, adds depth of flavour to an otherwise simple sauce. Sub with vegetarian oyster sauce (available in some large grocery stores and Asian stores these days) or Hoisin (different flavour with hint of five spice but similar savouriness and sauce thickness).

4. Chinese cooking wine (“Shaoxing wine”) is an essential ingredient for making truly “restaurant standard” Asian noodles. Substitute with Mirin, cooking sake or dry sherry.

Non alcoholic sub – sub both the cooking wine AND water with low sodium chicken broth/stock.

5. Keep beansprouts submerged in water in an airtight container in the fridge. Change the water every couple of days. This will extend the shelf life 3x. Also, here in Australia, bean sprouts at Asian stores are much better quality than ordinary grocery stores!

6. Leftovers will keep for 3 to 4 days in the fridge. Will freeze fine but not ideal – noodles get a little soft.

Nutrition per serving. Serves 2 very generously – more like 2 1/2 servings. 🙂

Nutrition

Calories: 664cal | Carbohydrates: 71g | Protein: 32g | Fat: 30g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 14g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 149mg | Sodium: 1681mg | Potassium: 732mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 5473IU | Vitamin C: 39mg | Calcium: 100mg | Iron: 6mg

My noodle life

Chow Mein

Lo Mein Noodles

Chinese Crispy Noodles (Chow Mein)

Chicken Stir Fry with Rice Noodles

Singapore Noodles

Thai Drunken Noodles (Pad Kee Mao)

Supreme Soy Noodles (NEW recipe – finally!)

Noodles

Life of Dozer

Visited our old stomping ground on the weekend – Bayview dog beach! Plenty of Dozer smiles that morning. 🥰

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