Chewy vermicelli rice noodles pan fried with juicy tender beef with crunchy snap peas and gai-lan in a light savory sauce. This quick and easy beef noodle stir-fry is ready in 30 minutes. A delicious meal that beats takeout!
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These noodles features thin chewy rice noodles stir fried with succulent beef, crisp snap peas, and tender gai-lan. The noodles are lightly seasoned with soy sauce, oyster sauce, and sesame oil.
This is a great dish for the whole family, especially if you love beef and noodles! It's also a fantastic way to sneak in more vegetables for the picky eaters. If you're not a fan of beef, you can swap it for chicken, pork or shrimp.
This Chinese dish brings me back to my childhood days when my grandmother used to cook lunch for us kids. She would make a similar version of this vermicelli noodle dish but instead of beef, she would use chicken.
To enhance the flavor, she would always add more black pepper to give it that punch. My grandmother would also crisp up some of the noodles by frying them for a bit longer in the wok.
Whenever I make fried vermicelli, I think of my Poh-poh (grandma in Cantonese). She inspired a lot of my recipes and was an incredible cook herself.
She owned a small restaurant with my grandfather in Kate River, Alberta. We even have some of their serving plates from the restaurant!
Ingredients & Substitutes
Please scroll down to below recipe card for exact measurements.
- Rice Vermicelli: these are thin 2-3 mm wide white noodles made of rice flour and water sold dried at the Asian market and are naturally gluten-free. Or substitute with other noodles like udon noodles, lo mein noodles, chow mein noodles and prepare to package directions.
- Flank steak: is the ideal cut for this recipe as it has little muscle fibres. Or substitute with sirloin tip steak, tri-tip steak, hanger steak, or top round steak.
- Snap Peas: or substitute with snow peas, sliced carrots, celery or bell peppers.
- Gai-Lan (aka Chinese Broccoli): the Asian market will sell this leafy green in the produce aisle. Or substitute with bok choy or yu choy sum.
- Garlic
- Neutral oil: like avocado oil, sunflower oil, grapeseed oil, peanut oil, vegetable oil or canola oil. Avoid olive oil, coconut oil or any heavy scented oils.
Noodle Sauce
- Regular Soy Sauce: or substitute with low sodium soy sauce or light soy sauce. If you’re gluten-free, substitute with tamari sauce, coconut aminos or a gluten-free soy sauce of your choice.
- Dark Soy Sauce: different than regular soy sauce as it's thicker and darker.
- Black Pepper: or substitute with white pepper.
- Oyster sauce: this is a thick brown sauce made of oysters that adds a lot of umami flavor. Or substitute with vegetarian stir-fry sauce. If you're gluten-free: substitute with a gluten-free version.
- Sesame Oil: or substitute with sesame seeds. If you're allergic to sesame, omit it.
Beef Marinade
- Cornstarch: or substitute with potato starch. Avoid using tapioca starch.
- Neutral oil: like avocado oil, sunflower oil, grapeseed oil, peanut oil, vegetable oil or canola oil. Avoid olive oil, coconut oil or any heavy scented oils.
- Cold Water: to add moisture to the beef.
- Regular Soy Sauce: or substitute with low sodium soy sauce or light soy sauce. If you’re gluten-free, substitute with tamari sauce, coconut aminos or a gluten-free soy sauce of your choice.
- Baking soda: to velvet the meat making it tender. Do not skip this! Don't worry you won't taste it as we're using a small amount.
- Black Pepper: or substitute with white pepper.
Note: Most Asian grocers will carry these ingredients. You may find some at your select grocery store or online, like on Amazon.
Expert Tips
- Use flank steak steak for the most tender cut.
- Do not boil your rice noodles. Only soak them in warm water for 5-10 minutes until loose and softened a bit and monitor the process!
- Slice the beef against the grain on an angle to create a tender cut.
- To easily cut the beef thinly, freeze the beef for 45 minutes ahead of time and slice with a sharp knife.
- Do not skip the baking soda in the beef marinade because this is the secret ingredient to making beef taste super tender.
Instructions
Below are step-by-step instructions on how to make Chinese beef noodle stir-fry:
- In a large bowl, marinate thinly sliced beef with marinade ingredients as listed above. Set aside.
- In another large bowl, soak rice noodle vermicelli in warm water for 5-10 minutes until loosened and slightly softened. Monitor this process. Drain the noodles in a colander and set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine noodle sauce ingredients as listed above and set aside.
- Heat vegetable oil in a large non-stick pan on medium heat. Fry marinated beef and until it’s 50% cooked and still a bit red.
- Toss in minced garlic, chopped gai-lan and snap peas and cook until the gai-lan has softened a bit.
- Next toss in the strained noodles with the prepared noodle sauce. Mix everything together until noodles are well coated and there's no liquids in the base of the pan. Serve and enjoy!
Storage
- Leftovers will last up to 4 days stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. To reheat: microwave for 2-3 minutes until hot or reheat in a pan on medium heat.
- Freezer friendly? I don't recommend freezing this beef noodle stir-fry because the rice noodles and vegetables will change in texture.
Pairing Suggestions
These Asian noodles serve well with:
- starters like egg rolls, crab rangoons, egg drop soup, hot and sour soup
- white or brown rice, cauliflower rice, fried rice
- cooked vegetables like bok choy, spicy garlic bok choy, choy sum, gai lan, garlic green beans or stir fried snow pea leaves.
- protein dishes like Cashew Chicken, Mongolian Beef, Honey Walnut Shrimp, Bang Bang Shrimp, Shrimp Omelet, Soy Garlic Tofu, and more!
FAQ
Beef noodle stir-fry can be made up to 4 days in advance and stored into an airtight container in the fridge. To reheat: microwave for 2-3 minutes until hot or reheat in a pan on medium heat.
📖 Recipe
Quick & Easy Chinese Beef Noodle Stir-Fry
Ingredients
- 7.93 oz rice vermicelli 2-3 mm wide
- ½ lb flank steak sliced into ¼-inch thick pieces on a bias (see Notes)
- 1 cup snap peas or snow peas
- 3 cups gai-lan chopped into 2-inch long pieces (or chopped baby bok choy or yu choy sum)
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil or any neutral oil
Noodle Sauce
- 1 tablespoon regular soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce or vegetarian stir fry sauce
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper or white pepper
- 2 teaspoon sesame oil
Beef Marinade
- ¾ tablespoon cornstarch or potato starch
- ½ tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon water cold
- 1 tsp regular soy sauce
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda do not skip!
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper or white pepper
Instructions
- In a large bowl, marinate thinly sliced beef with marinade ingredients as listed above. Set aside.
- In another large bowl, soak rice noodle vermicelli in warm water for 5-10 minutes until loosened and slightly softened. Monitor this process. Drain the noodles in a colander and set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine noodle sauce ingredients as listed above and set aside.
- Heat vegetable oil in a large non-stick pan on medium heat. Fry marinated beef and until it’s 50% cooked and still a bit red.
- Toss in minced garlic, chopped gai-lan and snap peas and cook until the gai-lan has softened a bit.
- Next toss in the strained noodles with the prepared noodle sauce. Mix everything together until noodles are well coated and there's no liquids in the base of the pan. Serve and enjoy!
Gina
This was delicious! The flavors were great. Did not have gai-lan or bok choy, so subbed broccoli. And I didn’t have snap peas so I used edamame, but regardless it was so good! Thank you!
Christie Lai
So happy to read this kind review and so glad you enjoyed it with the substitute of broccoli! Thank you for making my recipe, Gina!
Chloe
delicious! I didnt have enough noodles, so i added a side of rice & the family loved it.
Christie Lai
Thanks so much for making my recipe and for the positive review, Chloe! Glad you and your whole family enjoyed it with your side dishes!
Heidi | The Frugal Girls
Your noodle sauce is totally dynamite... I love the flavors. And that was such a smart tip for how to prepare the rice noodles!