Beef Rice Noodles
Quick rice noodle stir fry with tender, succulent beef, crisp Asian greens and a savoury garlic soy sauce.
Beef Rice Noodle Stir Fry
This quick Beef Rice Noodle Stir Fry combines thin slices of beautifully tenderised beef with soft rice noodles, leafy Asian greens and a savoury garlic soy sauce. The secret is a simple Chinese restaurant technique called velveting, which helps keep the beef succulent and tender even during stir-frying.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
A small amount of baking soda helps keep thin beef slices soft, juicy and succulent.
Dried rice noodles are quick to prepare and soak up the savoury stir-fry sauce beautifully.
Bok choy, choi sum, gai lan or other leafy greens turn this into a satisfying complete meal.
Once everything is prepared, the actual stir-frying happens quickly over high heat.
Ingredients
🥩 Tenderised Beef
Stir Fry Ingredients
The Stir Fry Sauce
How to Make Beef Rice Noodle Stir Fry
The key to a great stir fry is preparation. Have your beef, vegetables, sauce and noodles ready before you turn on the heat. Once cooking starts, everything moves quickly.
Tenderise the Beef
Sprinkle the sliced beef with the baking soda. Use your fingertips to toss and separate the slices so the baking soda coats them evenly.
Rinse & Season
Rinse the beef in a colander to remove the baking soda. Shake off excess water and gently pat dry with paper towel. Place the beef into a bowl and toss with the 2 teaspoons of light soy sauce.
Prepare the Sauce
Mix the light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, water and white pepper together in a small bowl.
Soak the Rice Noodles
Prepare the rice noodles according to the package directions. They usually need to soak in boiling water for around 5–10 minutes. Drain and rinse under tap water to remove excess starch.
Cook the Onion & Beef
Heat the peanut oil over high heat in a large wok or deep frying pan. Add the sliced onion and cook for about 30 seconds. Add the beef and cook until most of the red has disappeared, about 1 minute. Add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds.
Add the Asian Greens
Add the stems of the Asian greens first and stir fry for approximately 1 minute. The stems need slightly more cooking time than the leafy parts.
Add Greens, Noodles & Sauce
Add the leafy greens, then the prepared rice noodles, followed by the sauce. The noodles help weigh down the leafy greens while everything comes together.
Toss & Serve
Toss everything for about 1½–2 minutes, gently separating the noodles as you go. Stop once the sauce has coated the noodles and there is no sauce remaining at the bottom of the pan.
It's a Complete Meal!
This stir-fried rice noodle dish already contains a generous amount of leafy greens and protein, making it a complete meal on its own. The generous portions are especially satisfying when you want a hearty weeknight dinner without preparing multiple side dishes.
Yes, You Can Use Chicken!
Use 250 g / 8 oz boneless chicken thighs.
Use 250 g / 8 oz chicken breast and tenderise it using the same baking soda method.
Pork chops can also be used as an alternative protein.
Bok choy, choi sum, gai lan, spinach or chopped cabbage can all work well.
Rice Noodle Options
Use 200 g / 7 oz. This is the standard quantity used for this recipe.
For approximately 1 cm / 0.4-inch Pad See Ew-style noodles, use around 250 g / 8 oz.
For very thin 1 mm rice vermicelli noodles, use approximately 175 g / 6 oz.
The thinner the noodles, the less weight you generally need because they expand more after soaking.
Scaling the Recipe
Use a large 30 cm / 12-inch pan. Cook the onion and beef as usual. When the stems are added, add 2½ tablespoons of sauce and cook for about 1 minute before transferring the mixture to a bowl. Finish the leafy greens, noodles and remaining sauce separately, then combine everything.
Follow the doubling method, but cook the leafy greens, noodles and sauce in two batches so the pan does not become too crowded.
Storage
Leftovers can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. This recipe is not recommended for freezing because the rice noodles can break during reheating.
Beef Rice Noodles
Tender beef, rice noodles, Asian greens and savoury soy sauce.
Ingredients
- 200 g / 7 oz rump steak / top sirloin, sliced 3–4 mm
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp light soy sauce
- 2 tbsp peanut oil
- 200 g / 7 oz Pad Thai-thickness flat rice noodles
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ onion, sliced
- 6–8 baby bok choy, choi sum or Chinese broccoli
Sauce
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1½ tbsp dark soy sauce
- 3 tbsp oyster sauce
- 2 tsp white sugar
- 1 tbsp water
- Pinch white pepper
Instructions
- Toss the beef with baking soda and leave for 20 minutes.
- Rinse the beef, pat away excess water and season with light soy sauce.
- Mix all sauce ingredients in a small bowl.
- Soak the rice noodles according to packet directions, drain and rinse.
- Heat oil over high heat. Cook onion for 30 seconds, then add beef.
- Add garlic and cook for about 30 seconds.
- Add Asian green stems and cook for 1 minute.
- Add leafy greens, noodles and sauce.
- Toss for 1½–2 minutes until the sauce coats the noodles.
- Serve immediately.
Nutrition Information
Beef Rice Noodles FAQ
What does the sauce taste like?
Can I use chicken instead of beef?
Is this recipe gluten-free?
How long will leftovers keep?
Why do I need to rinse the noodles?
Why should I soak the noodles just before cooking?
Watch How to Make It
Ready for Tender Beef Rice Noodles? 🥩🍜
Prepare your ingredients, heat up the wok and enjoy a fast, savoury Asian-inspired dinner tonight.
Final Thoughts
Beef Rice Noodles are a great choice when you want a fast, filling and flavour-packed dinner. The velveting technique makes a noticeable difference to the beef, while the combination of rice noodles, leafy greens, garlic and soy-based sauce creates a complete meal in one wok.
Recipe at a Glance
10 minutes
10 minutes
20 minutes
2 generous / 3 sensible
