Beef with Black Bean Hong Kong Noodles (豆豉牛肉炒雲吞麵, Dau6 Si6 Ngau4 Juk6 Caau2 Wan4 Tan1 Min6)

This recipe was updated on 07 May 2015. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed.

Here’s another dish using Hong Kong noodles, this one using salted black beans. Chicken and Bell Peppers with Hong Kong Noodles (青椒鷄雲吞麵, Ceng¹ Ziu¹ Gai¹ Wan⁴ Tan¹ Min⁶) and Beef Curry Hong Kong Noodles (咖哩牛肉炒雲吞麵, Gaa³ Lei¹ Ngau⁴ Juk⁶ Caau² Wan⁴ Tan¹ Min⁶) are previous recipes using these noodles. Hong Kong noodles are thin egg noodles and the literal translation in Cantonese is wonton noodles. While there aren’t any wontons in this dish, these noodles are typically used together with wonton in a soup broth, hence their name, and that leads to no end of confusion if you use the literal translation. So you’ll find dishes named in English referring to thin egg noodles, Hong Kong style noodles, and even vermicelli (whose use isn’t quite correct). Needless to say, the noodles are just really thin and are really good in a stir fry.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

¾ lb.	375 g.	Beef flank or flap meat (牛肉, ngau4 juk6), sliced thinly against the grain into 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)
10	10	Dried Shiitake mushrooms (冬菇, dung1 gu1), rehydrated and cut into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces
1	1	Red bell pepper (紅椒, hung4 ziu1), cut into 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces
1	1	Green bell pepper (青椒, ceng1 ziu1), cut into 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Salted black beans (豆豉, dau6 si6)
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 lb.	500 g.	Wonton noodles (aka Hong Kong noodles) (雲吞麵, wan4 tan1 min6)
		Oil for cooking

 

Sauce Ingredients

2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Soy sauce (豉油, si6 jau4)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Dark soy sauce (老抽, lou5 cau1)
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)
½ Tbs.	7.5 ml.	Sesame oil (麻油, maa4 jau4)
		Shiitake mushroom rehydration liquid

 

Equipment

		Garlic press
14 in.	35.5 cm.	Wok or pan

 

Preparation Instructions

1. Pour boiling water over the dried Shiitake mushrooms in a heat proof bowl and rehydrate the mushrooms for at least one hour or overnight.
2. Prepare the beef flank or flap meat by removing any silver skin or fat, and cut thinly against the grain into 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces. 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.
3. Marinate the beef 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.
4. Remove the Shiitake mushrooms from the rehydration liquid, remove the stems, cut into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces, and set aside. Reserve the rehydration liquid for later use in the cooking process.
5. Wash and cut the red and green bell peppers into 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces.
6. Wash and lightly crush the salted black beans in a small bowl. Crush the ginger and garlic in a garlic press and put into the small bowl with the black beans.
7. Prepare and mix the sauce in a small bowl: add the soy sauce, dark soy sauce, hoisin sauce, 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. 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 and before adding oil. Add the beef to the wok in a single layer on the bottom and brown the outside. You may have to cook the beef in batches, so be sure to reheat the wok over high heat before adding more oil. Set the beef aside in a bowl.
3. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the bowl with the salted black beans, ginger, and garlic. Stir fry the ingredients until fragrant and then add the Shiitake mushrooms. Stir fry the ingredients and then remove them to the bowl with the beef.
4. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the bell pepper pieces. Stir fry the bell pepper and then remove them to the bowl with the beef.
5. 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 Shiitake mushroom rehydration liquid (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.
6. Add the contents of the bowl with the beef back into the wok and stir fry all the ingredients together. Add the sauce ingredients to the wok and stir fry the ingredients together. If the mixture appears too dry, add some of the Shiitake mushroom rehydration liquid, and mix all the ingredients together. Put the cooked ingredients into a serving dish.