Beef Chow Fun

Beef chow fun (also known as gan chao niu he) is a Cantonese stir-fry made with wide, fresh rice noodles called "he fen." These noodles are flat, chewy, and absorb flavors incredibly well due to their porous texture.

"Wok hei" translates to "breath of the wok," referring to the smoky, charred flavor imparted by stir-frying ingredients over extremely high heat. Achieving perfect wok hei in beef chow fun is considered a benchmark dish for testing a Chinese chef's wok technique.

The dish traditionally includes fresh bean sprouts, scallions, and a savory sauce made from soy, often utilizing both light and dark soy sauce. The beef is typically marinated to keep it tender, while the bean sprouts provide a necessary, crisp textural contrast.

The most difficult part of preparing this dish is preventing the delicate, fresh rice noodles from breaking apart or sticking to the wok. The chef must toss the noodles rapidly over intensely high heat to sear them without turning them into a broken, mushy paste.