Basil Tomato Beef Chow Mein (紫蘇番茄牛肉炒麵, Zi2 Sou1 Faan1 Ke4 Ngau4 Juk6 Caau2 Min6)

This recipe was updated on 17 June 2015. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed.

Well it’s that time of year again, when the tomatoes from my garden are abundant and ready to eat. This year I have both red and yellow tomatoes. Time again to make Tomato Beef Chow Mein (番茄牛肉炒麵, Faan¹ Ke⁴ Ngau⁴ Juk⁶ Caau² Min⁶), but unlike the last recipe there’s no curry and I’ve added basil leaves (also from my garden). I also tweaked the sauce ingredients a bit, adding ketchup and the liquid used to cook the noodles. Making the noodles burned and crispy is another variant to this dish, which was done for this recipe.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

¾ lb.	375 g.	Beef flank or flap meat (牛肉, ngau4 juk6), cut into thin 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces
1 tsp.	5 ml.	Baking soda (蘇打粉, sou1 daa2 fan2)
½ in.	15 mm.	Knob of ginger (薑, goeng1), crushed in a garlic press
2 cloves	2 cloves	Garlic (蒜, syun3), crushed in a garlic press
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Corn starch (粟粉, suk1 fan2)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Soy sauce (豉油, si6 jau4)
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Hoisin sauce (海鮮醬, hoi2 sin1 zoeng3)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Shaoxing rice wine (紹興酒, siu6 hing1 zau2) or dry sherry
½ tsp.	2.5 ml.	Ground white pepper (白胡椒, baak6 wu4 ziu1)
1 tsp.	5 ml.	Sesame oil (麻油, maa4 jau4)
1	1	Medium onion (洋蔥, joeng4 cung1), halved and then quartered
1	1	Green bell pepper (青椒, ceng1 ziu1), cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) pieces
½ lb.	250 g.	Bean sprouts (芽菜, ngaa4 coi3)
½ lb.	250 g.	Fresh or canned bamboo shoot strips (筍, seon2)
3	3	Red tomatoes (番茄, faan1 ke4), cut into wedges (from my garden)
3	3	Yellow tomatoes (番茄, faan1 ke4), cut into wedges (from my garden)
3 stalks	3 stalks	Green onions (蔥, cung1), cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) pieces
¼ cup	30 ml.	Basil leaves (紫蘇, zi2 sou1) (from my garden)
1 lb.	500 g.	Chow mein noodles (炒麵, caau2 min6)
		Oil for cooking

 

Sauce Ingredients

4-6 Tbs.	60-90 ml.	Rice vinegar (米醋, mai5 cou3)
4-6 Tbs.	60-90 ml.	Hoisin sauce (海鮮醬, hoi2 sin1 zoeng3)
4 Tbs.	60 ml.	Ketchup (茄汁, ke4 zap1)
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Worcestershire sauce (喼汁, kip1 zap1)
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Soy sauce (豉油, si6 jau4)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Shaoxing rice wine (紹興酒, siu6 hing1 zau2) or dry sherry
½ tsp.	2.5 ml.	Ground white pepper (白胡椒, baak6 wu4 ziu1)
1 tsp.	5 ml.	Sesame oil (麻油, maa4 jau4)
1 cup	125 ml.	Noodle cooking liquid

 

Equipment

		Garlic press
8 qt.	7.5 L.	Pot
14 in.	35.5 cm.	Wok or pan

 

Preparation Instructions

1. Prepare the beef flank or flap meat by removing any silver skin or fat, and cut the meat into thin 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces. Cutting the beef against the grain makes it easier to eat (if cut with the grain, the beef would be stringy and difficult to eat). Wet with water and add the baking soda to the beef, allow to tenderize for 15 minutes, and then wash the baking soda from the meat. The baking soda can be omitted but results in the tender meat experienced in restaurant dishes.
2. Marinate the beef in a covered container for at least one hour or overnight in the refrigerator with the ginger and garlic crushed in a garlic press, corn starch, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry, ground white pepper, and sesame oil. If marinating the beef overnight, take it out of the refrigerator at least one hour before cooking.
3. Cut the onion in half and then into quarters.
4. Wash and cut the red bell pepper into 1- (2.5 cm.) x 1-inch (2.5 cm.) pieces. First cut off the ends of the bell pepper, leaving an open cylinder. Remove the seeds and central core of the bell pepper and make one cut lengthwise to open the cylinder. Flatten the open bell pepper cylinder and cut 1- (2.5 cm.) by 1-inch (2.5 cm.) pieces.
5. Wash the bean sprouts and bamboo shoots. I am able to buy fresh bamboo shoot strips at my local Asian supermarket, but you can easily use canned if fresh is not available.
6. Wash the tomatoes and cut into wedges.
7. Wash and cut the green onions into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) pieces.
8. Wash the basil and remove the leaves from the stem.

Sauce Preparation Instructions

The balance of sourness to sweetness is controlled by the amount of rice vinegar and hoisin sauce used in the sauce, and that balance depends upon personal preference. I use hoisin sauce rather than sugar because it adds to the sauce’s thickness and you want the sauce to be somewhat thick (you could also use corn starch to thicken the sauce). The sauce needs to be tasted to gauge the balance. The sauce should taste concentrated and stronger than you prefer since it will be diluted once you add it to the other ingredients.

1. In a small bowl, add 4 Tbs. (60 ml.) rice vinegar, 4 Tbs. (60 ml.) hoisin sauce, ketchup, Worchester sauce, and soy sauce. Mix together and taste for the sourness to sweetness balance. If the taste is not sour enough, add more rice vinegar, or if more sweetness is desired, add more hoisin sauce.
2. Mix in the Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry, ground white pepper, and sesame oil.

Cooking Instructions

1. Cook the noodles according to the instructions on the package and until the noodles are al dente. Reserve 1 cup (125 ml.) of the cooking liquid for later use in the sauce. Drain the noodles and set aside. If using thawed, ready-made, or fresh noodles, “fluff” the noodles to separate them (i.e. you don’t want put a single mass of noodles into the wok).
2. Heat a wok or pan over high heat before adding oil and then the beef. Stir fry the beef until brown by forming one layer of beef in the wok and leaving the beef alone for a while before flipping it over to brown the other side. You may have to stir fry the beef in batches, in which case, reheat the wok over high heat before adding more oil and then the beef. Transfer the browned beef to a bowl.
3. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the onion. Stir fry the onion and then transfer them to the bowl with the beef.
4. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the bell pepper. Stir fry the bell pepper and then transfer them to the bowl with the beef.
5. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the bamboo shoot strips. Stir fry the bamboo shoot strips and then transfer them to the bowl with the beef.
6. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the bean sprouts. Stir fry the bean sprouts and then transfer them to the bowl with the beef.
7. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding more oil and then the noodles. The wok should be very hot before adding the oil and then the noodles. Noodles cooked in a restaurant wok (over much higher heat than that available in your kitchen) are served slightly burned, which gives the noodles an extra added flavor.  To try to emulate slightly burned noodles, try to put the noodles in one layer in the hot wok and add some liquid (water, stock, or Shaoxing wine; but not too much liquid otherwise you’ll steam the noodles) to facilitate the heat transfer from the wok to the noodles, and leave the noodles alone. You want the noodles to get burned before adding more oil to the noodles and turning them over, repeating the process.
8. Add the contents of the bowl with the cooked beef and other ingredients back into the wok and stir fry the ingredients together.
9. Add the basil, tomatoes, and green onions to the wok and gently mix in these ingredients. The tomatoes are added at the end to preserve their shape and to see chunks or wedges of tomatoes in the finished dish.
10. You want a slightly thick sauce for this dish. Add the sauce ingredients, and then the reserved noodle boiling water or stock to the wok to adjust the thickness or if you desire more sauce. Mix all the ingredients together. Put the cooked ingredients into a serving dish and serve immediately.