Beef Noodle Stir Fry is a quick and easy recipe that allows you to get your noodles on anytime you are craving them! Chinese beef noodle stir fry is as easy as browning ground beef, stir frying some vegetables and cooking some noodles. Super simple and soooooo delicious!
Recipes like my Pork Mince Noodles, Beef Yaki Udon and Beef Yakisoba are protein packed, veggie filled noodle yum recipes.
My Soy Sauce Noodles are slippery, slick and sensational.
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🤍 Recipe Highlights
I have summarised everything that you will come to know and love (LOVE ❤) about the recipe in the points below:
- Better than takeout: some nights you want the stuff of Chinese restaurants and dreams coming true. Save your money and waiting in line or for the delivery guy or gal, grab the ingredients and whip it up as you please.
- Chinese Beef Mince: you can think of it like this, or an Asian Australian fusion recipe. The flavour lends itself to Chinese food as does the cooking method!
- 3 ingredient Sauce: I really held back in using 20 ingredients (no Shaoxing wine!) for the sauce for this one!! I want you to be able to make this after work so I have made it super simple 😍😍.
- Instant Noodles, Egg Noodles or your favourite: people usually have a noodle or 2 brand that they like more than others. The good thing about this recipe is you can use your favourite. Cook them according to the packet instructions and throw them in the pan!
- Dark Soy Sauce: this is the secret ingredient in Asian cooking that turns things a lovely golden brown colour! It is different from regular (sushi) style soy sauce. If you made this recipe with regular soy sauce, it will still work, however, the colour will be lighter than shown in the photos throughout the post.
- Budget friendly: there is nothing in this recipe that will break the bank. Mince beef is cheaper than other cuts of meat and you can use in season veggies to keep the weekly shop under control (Mince Beef Noodles, veggies and sauce for around $10 for 4 meals, yes please!)
- Meal prep: it looks like take out, tastes like take out, but you don't have to dial in or wait for it to be delivered. Chop the vegetables in advance and then you can cook it after working, thinking all day that dinner is 'almost done!'.
🥗 Ingredients
The photo below is to show you everything you need to make the recipe. Please refer to the printable recipe card for specific ingredient measurements as well as detailed instructions.
As you can see the recipe calls for:
- Beef mince: this is the same thing as ground beef. It is budget friendly, freezer friendly and extremely versatile! It forms the basis of the stir fry and cooks very quickly at high heat.
- Noodles: as you can see from the photo above, I am using instant noodles. I purchase the version that does not come with seasoning or dried veggies. I like them as they cook fast and have great texture!
- Cabbage: this ingredient is perfect to stir fry and takes only moments to prep. Simply finely shred (chop it) with a knife and chopping board and you are all set!
- Mushrooms: save yourself a little effort and purchase sliced mushrooms. That way all you need to do is throw them in the pan. The price difference is minimal and the effortless nature of them awesome!
- Peanut oil: we start with this ingredient, heat it and add the garlic and beef mince. It is commonly used in Asian cooking and has an aromatic and fragrant taste about it. You can use sesame oil if you want also.
- Salt and pepper: we use a little bit of each of these for seasoning. You can sprinkle directly over the ground beef, but as I feel that is sometimes a bit of overkill, I add to the sauce and utilise their mission in my own unique way (soon to be yours too 😉).
- Green onions: we use a couple of these as our third veggie in the recipe. If you want some pops of colour on top of the noodles, chop some of the green top tubular bits and sprinkle them over the top!
- Garlic: use 2 to 3 cloves of fresh garlic, chopped up. You can use jarred minced garlic if you have it and not the clove.
🍜 Beef Noodle Stir Fry Sauce
- Hoisin Sauce: this is readily available in the Asian food section of all major supermarket, be it Safeway, Tesco, Walmart, Coles or Woolies. It is quite commonly used in Asian recipes.
- Dark Soy Sauce: this is different to normal soy sauce. We use it to bring the dark texture to the noodles and dish. It will be labelled 'dark soy sauce' and has more of a black ink colour than a transparent brown like regular soy sauce.
- Brown sugar: this is optional as some folks won't want to add sugar if they are cutting back etc. That is no worries. The main reason I use it in the recipe is to balance the saltiness of the dish. Both the noodles and sauces have a high amount of sodium, so this touch of sweetness means the dish is not 'too salty!'.
Tasty Tip: if you want to use different vegetables, have a read through my substitutions and variations as well as FAQ's as I offer some further suggestions that you might like to try 👍❤.
🍳 Instructions
Here at the step by step instructions to make the recipe. We start by making the sauce and then browning the beef.
- Gather the sauce ingredients (Photo 1)
- Whisk together (Photo 2)
- Add oil, garlic and beef mince to pan (Photo 3)
- Add vegetables to pan (Photo 4)
👩🍳 How to Make Beef Noodle Stir Fry
Start by whisking together the dark soy sauce, hoisin sauce and sugar. Once that is combined, set it aside and heat the peanut oil in a large pan.
Add the chopped garlic and ground beef to the pan. Cook for 5-10 mins, breaking up any clumps as you go.
When the meat cooked, remove it from the pan. Then add the cabbage, mushrooms and green onions. Stir fry them for 2 to 3 mins.
The vegetables will have a wet look about them when they are cooked. Using high heat cooks them very quickly, but try to use this time to also cook, then drain the noodles (in a separate bowl in a separate space in the kitchen).
- Add cooked noodles to the vegetables (Photo 5)
- Then add cooked beef back to the pan (Photo 6)
- Pour the sauce over the noodles (Photo 7)
- Stir till heated through (Photo 8)
Cook the noodles according to the packet instructions. Drain them and discard the water.
Add them to the stir fried vegetables, as well as adding the cooked pork mince back to the pan.
Pour the sauce over the noodles and then use chopsticks or kitchen tongs to stir and combine.
You will see the slick sauce coat the noodles and turn them a lovely golden brown. This is the effect that the dark soy sauce has!
Normal soy sauce will bring the flavour to the dish, but not the colour. So if you want to use that, go for it, bearing in mind the colour change.
The dish has a wonderful taste about it with crunchy and soft vegetables, slurp worthy noodles and melt in your mouth juicy beef!
🍽 Serving Suggestions
This is a meal in one!
You may not have room for anything else. If however, you want to serve a starter, try my Air Fryer Frozen Spring Rolls, they pair well with store bought sweet chilli sauce!
Portion the dish into bowls and provide chopsticks, if you want a garnish, try thinly sliced green onions, a drizzle of chilli oil or toasted sesame seeds.
👍 How to Guide
How to Store
Let the dish fully cool, then transfer to an air tight container.
It will keep 2 to 3 days in the fridge.
How to Freeze
Ensure the dish has fully cooled before portioning into containers and place in the freezer for up to 3 months.
How to Reheat
Reheating noodles can have mixed results.
The best thing to do, is to ensure that the noodles have fully thawed before reheating.
You can use the microwave or reheat in a pan on the stove. If using the stove, add a couple of drops of peanut oil so that the noodles don't stick to the pan.
😉 Substitutions and Variations
Here are my sub ins and outs that you might be thinking about as you read the post and I will tell you if I think they will work or why they won't:
- You can use pork mince (ground pork), chicken mince (ground chicken) or lamb mince (ground lamb) if you prefer to the beef mince (ground beef).
- Sub in red capsicum (bell pepper) for bright pops of colour or green capsicum (green bell pepper) if you want to add more green to the dish.
- Add some raw sliced onion, peeled and finely sliced into long lengths. Add in some carrot or use Wombok (Napa cabbage/Chinese cabbage) instead of the cabbage.
- You can use light soy sauce, however the dish won't be as dark in colour (something to keep in mind).
- You can use oyster sauce in place of the hoisin sauce if you have it but not oyster.
- Add some red pepper flakes for a little spice if you want.
- Use Udon noodles in place of the ramen noodles.
- Use fresh or dried egg noodles if you prefer them.
- Sub in beef steak strips for the ground beef.
- You can omit or reduce the sugar if you wish to.
- Drizzle some chilli oil over the noodles to serve.
- Throw some roasted peanuts on top for some crunch.
- Sprinkle sesame seeds (toasted or raw) for garnish over the dish.
- Add some additional thinly sliced green onions.
- Drizzle sriracha sauce over the noodles to serve.
💡 Tasty Tips
Here are my top tips and tricks that I want to share with you so that you master the recipe from the get go:
- Allow the oil to heat in the pan before adding the garlic and beef mince.
- Have everything prepped and ready to go prior to turning on the heat. This is a fast cooking recipe and you want to be ready to throw stuff in the pan without stopping to cut things up in the middle of the cook time.
- Read the packet instructions and follow these to cook the noodles.
- Use chopsticks to help uncurl the noodles as they cook, separating them before adding them into to the pan.
- Use high heat.
- Keep things moving in the pan.
🤓 Frequently Asked Questions
What noodles are best for stir fry?
Ramen, Instant or Hokkein noodles are all good options to use when making stir fry. The thickness of the noodle, whether they are fresh or dried to start with and the cook time are all factors to consider. Read the packet and follow the instructions to cook the noodles.
What type of beef is used for stir fry?
You can use ground beef (beef mince), beef strips, beef steak or diced beef for stir frying.
Do you boil noodles for stir fry?
Some noodles require boiling as their cooking technique, whereas others simply require boiling water being poured over them as they sit for 2 to 3 minutes. Always read the instructions on the packet and follow the directions specified.
What can you add to stir-fry?
Here are 11 vegetables that go very well when stir frying:
- Cabbage
- Mushrooms
- Carrots
- Bell peppers
- Onion
- Green onions
- Zucchini
- Wombok (Napa cabbage)
- Broccoli
- Snow peas
- Chinese vegetables (eg Bok Choy)
How do I stir-fry noodles without a wok?
A wok is not essential when stir frying. You can use a large wide fry pan with a heavy base as it is perfect for the volume of ingredients in stir fry recipes.
What is hoisin sauce used for?
Hoisin sauce is a sauce commonly used in Asian recipes. It is brown in colour and has a thick consistency much the same as oyster sauce. Often it is used as a sauce for Vietnamese rice paper rolls.
😍 More Easy Noodle Recipes
If getting your noods on your chopstick is your favourite thing to do (how good are noodles!!), then I have some more recipes to inspire you to get cooking them:
- Cumin Lamb Noodles
- Chicken Yaki Udon
- Hungover Noodles
- Chilli Garlic Noodles
- Seafood Yaki Udon
- Shrimp Yakisoba
- Chorizo Noodles
- Shrimp Yaki Udon
You can also find all of my noodle recipes in the one spot if you want to have a read 😘. It is chopstick noodle time my friend (so yum, right!!).
Adrianne xx
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📖 Recipe
Beef Noodle Stir Fry
Equipment
- 1 Fry pan or wok
- 1 Slotted turner for stir frying
- 1 Kitchen Tongs to help portion and serve
- 1 Heatproof Bowl to cook the noodles
- 1 Chopsticks to separate the noodles
- 1 Colander to drain the noodle water
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons peanut oil
- 2-3 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 500 grams/ 1 pound beef mince (ground beef) Note 1
- 4 cakes ramen noodles
- 2-3 cups mushrooms sliced
- 2-3 cups cabbage finely shredded
- 8 green onions tips and roots trimmed, cut into 3 segments
Beef Noodle Stir Fry Sauce
- ½ cup/120 ml hoisin sauce
- 1.5 tablespoons/30 ml dark soy sauce Note 2
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar Note 3
- ¼ teaspoon salt Note 4
- ½ teaspoon cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Make the sauce: gather the hoisin sauce, dark soy sauce and brown sugar. Combine in a small jug using a mini whisk, then set aside.
- Cook the beef mince: heat 2 tbs of peanut oil in a large heavy based pan at high heat. Add the chopped garlic and beef mince. Cook till browned and use a slotted turner to stir and break up any clumps of meat as you go. Remove it from the pan when cooked.
- Stir Fry the vegetables: add the shredded cabbaged, sliced mushrooms and sliced green onions to the pan. Stir fry for 2 to 3 mins at high heat till they are cooked.
- Cook the noodles: read and follow the instructions on the packet of noodles. Drain once cooked and add to the stir fried vegetables.
- Combine: add the cooked beef mince to the cooked noodles and vegetables. Pour the sauce over the contents of the pan and use tongs or chopsticks to stir the sauce through till it is consistently spread across the dish. Allow to heat through.
- Serve: portion the pork noodles across bowls and provide chopsticks for eating. If you want a garnish, slice some of the green onion top bits and sprinkle over the top. Or use toasted sesame seeds. Enjoy!
Notes
- Note 1 - Beef Mince: you can switch the beef out and use pork or chicken if you prefer.
- Note 2 - Dark Soy Sauce: this is a different ingredient to regular soy sauce. It has a thin consistency however, the colour is dark like black ink. This brings the golden brown colour to the noodles. If you substitute with regular sauce sauce (that will be fine), you will get the same flavour, however, the dish won't be as dark in colour.
- Note 3 - Brown Sugar: if you want to use regular white sugar or caster sugar you can. If you want to omit this ingredient, you can, the dish will be a little more salty in flavour however, as the sugar, balances the sweet and savouriness of the recipe.
- Note 4 - Salt: omit if desired. The sauces are high in salt as it is, so if you are not a fan of salt, skip this ingredient.
- Note - Tablespoons: An Australian tablespoon (which is what I use) is 20ml. In many other countries (USA and Canada for example) the same tablespoon measures 15ml (0.5 oz). So if using a 15 ml tablespoon, use 2 tablespoons for the dark soy sauce ie 30ml or 1oz.
Elena says
Looks amazing.
Adrianne says
Thank-you Elena for the compliment!