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 beef noodles recipe in the points below:
- Save on takeout: for sure it is easy to whip out your phone, press a few buttons and have dinner on its way to you. But! That can get expensive real fast. This beef noodle stir fry is just like take out, yet cheaper and made from the comfort of home.
- Beef Mince With A Chinese Twist: noodles are a lot more 'Chinese cuisine' than they are 'Australia'. Yet we are lucky with our culture that the influences of Asian cuisines has found its way into our day to day food consumption.
- Simple Noodle Sauce: the sauce comes together easily with few ingredients so it is a win, win.
- Economical: using budget friendly beef mince and vegetables with 2 minute noodles means that we cut the cost of the dish from the get go.
- Can prep in advance: from start to finish this is a quick dish to bring together. You can however, make that process even faster by prepping the vegetables in the morning so that step is done already when you walk in the door from work.
🥗 Ingredients
The photo below is to show you everything you need to make the beef and noodles 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:
- 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 😉).
- Garlic: chunky chopped garlic from a jar is my preference (keeps things easy). Or you can use fresh garlic cloves, diced.
- Cabbage: perfect to use in stir fry recipes as it is a robust vegetable that cooks well in the pan, this bulks our noodles up with a ton of veggies!
- Green onions: another excellent choice for stir fry recipes. We use both the white and green bits but cut the roots off.
- Mushrooms: either purchased pre sliced mushrooms or slice yourself, which ever suits you.
- Noodles: I like to use 2 minute noodles as they are quick to good with a good chewy texture. You can do the same or use your favourite noodles.
- Beef mince: beef mince, also known as ground beef is an inexpensive cut of meat. Hence why it is so popular.
🍜 Beef Noodle Stir Fry Sauce
- Hoisin Sauce: thick and rich. It is brown in colour, perfect on its own for a stir fry or pairs well with complimentary ingredients.
- Dark Soy Sauce: this is how we achieve the rich golden colour that the noodles have.
- Brown sugar: an optional ingredient in the salt. It balances the saltiness of the hoisin and sauce so at least a small amount is recommended to use.
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. Grab the sauce ingredients and whisk them together like the photos below.
- Gather sauce ingredients (Photo 1)
- Whisk them together (Photo 2)
- Then add the oil, garlic and beef to the pan (Photo 3)
- Add the veggies to pan (Photo 4)
👩🍳 How to Make Beef Noodle Stir Fry
Combine the dark soy sauce, hoisin sauce and sugar in a small jug. Use a mini whisk to ensure it is consistently mixed. Then set it aside, place a large sauté pan on the stove top, turn the heat to high and add the peanut oil.
Add both the garlic and beef mince to the pan and season the meat with salt and pepper. Use a wooden spoon to stir it breaking up any clumps as you go.
When the mince is cooked through, remove it from the pan. Next add the vegetables and stir fry them for 2 to 3 mins.
As the vegetables cook they will soften and have a shiny appearance. At the same time as they are cooking you can read and follow the package instructions to cook the noodles. Drain them and then add them to the pan as shown in the photos below.
- Add the cooked noodles (Photo 5)
- Next the cooked beef (Photo 6)
- Pour the sauce over the top (Photo 7)
- Toss and allow to heat through (Photo 8)
Once the noodles are cooked use a colander over the sink to drain them and discard the noodle water.
Next add the drained noodles and the cooked beef back to the pan like you see in the photos above.
When ready pour the sauce over the top of the dish like you see me doing above and then toss to ensure that everything is consistently mixed together.
The dark soy sauce will cover the noodles giving it that golden brown appearance seen in the photos.
It will feel that you have just made a dish exactly like your local take away store.
There is great textures in the dish with the chewy noodles, juicy beef and crispy stir fried vegetables.
🍽 Beef Noodle Serving Ideas
The beef noodles are a flavor packed hearty and satisfying dish
It is likely that you will want a huge bowl and nothing else. If however an Asian themed appetizer is on your mind then the Air Fryer Frozen Spring Rolls dunked in sweet chilli sauce will do the trick.
Sprinkle the top of the noodles with sliced green onions, sesame seeds and add a dollop of chilli crisp or chilli oil if you want to knock your own socks off.
👍 How to Guide
How to Store
Once the noodles have cooled, transfer any leftovers into a sealed, airtight container.
They will keep 2 to 3 days in the fridge and need to be reheated before being consumed.
How to Freeze
You can freeze the noodles if you wish to, however, personally I find making them fresh delivers the best results.
How to Reheat
Transfer refrigerated leftovers into a bowl and pull cling wrap over the top. Heat in the microwave on high for 1-3 minutes giving them a stir at the halfway point.
😉 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:
- If you want an alternative protein use pork mince (ground pork), chicken mince (ground chicken) or lamb mince (ground lamb).
- 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
Ramen noodles, 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.
You can use ground beef (beef mince), beef strips, beef steak or diced beef for stir frying.
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.
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)
Yes, of course! 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.
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
It is time to get our beef noodle stir fry on my friend! 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
- Whisk together the sauce: add the hoisin sauce, dark soy sauce and brown sugar to a small glass jug and use a mini whisk to consistently combine.
- Brown the beef: heat the 2 tablespoons of peanut oil in a large sauté pan. Add the garlic, beef mince, salt and pepper. Cook breaking up any clumps of meat as you go.
- Vegetables: add the cabbage, mushrooms and the green onions to the pan. Cook for 2-3 minutes keeping them moving about the pan as you do.
- Noodles: follow the packet instructions to cook the noodles. Drain the water once they are cooked and discard it.
- Combine: next add the cooked beef back to to the pan, pour the sauce over the top and use a pair of kitchen tongs to toss till everything is consistently mixed together and heated through.
- Serve: use the tongs to portion the beef noodles out into bowls and provide chopsticks.
Notes
- Note 1 - Beef Mince: or you can use pork or chicken mince as alternative proteins.
- Note 2 - Dark Soy Sauce: this is how we achieve the takeaway store 'golden noodles' affect. If you use regular soy sauce, the flavor will be almost exact, however your noodles won't be golden brown.
- Note 3 - Brown Sugar: optional to use in the sauce. It does help balance the saltiness of the other ingredients though.
- Note 4 - Salt: optional. The hoison and soy are high in salt, so some readers won't want to include this when seasoning the beef.
- Note - Tablespoons: An Australian tablespoon (which is what I use) is 20ml. In many other countries (such as the USA and Canada) the same tablespoon measures 15ml (0.5 oz). So if you are using a 15 ml tablespoon, use 2 tablespoons for the dark soy sauce ie 30ml or 1oz as an adjustment.
Elena says
Looks amazing.
Adrianne says
Thank-you Elena for the compliment!
Stephanie Lorner says
These noodles are amazing! Made it for hubby and the kids on the weekend and they already asked me to make it again for them!!
Rachel A says
This looks delicious, but we have nut allergies here. Is there another kind of oil we could use other than peanut?
Adrianne says
Hi, yes for sure. Canola, grapeseed or sunflower are all good alternatives. At the end of the day you could also make it with olive oil, it is just not as 'traditional' for Asian style cooking. I hope that you enjoy the recipe when you make it!