Beef Noodles with Spicy XO Sauce

5 from 12 votes

Beef Noodles with Spicy XO Sauce is a less than 20-minute easy Chinese beef stir fry recipe with crunchy vegetables and a spicy XO sauce for the perfect noodle slurping bite.

Cook Time20

Total Time20

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Chinese

Servings:

Calories: 281kcal

Author: HWC Magazine

Equipment

wok or frying pan

Ingredients

Beef Marinade

¼ pound beef
cut against the grain
1 tablespoon rice wine Shaoxing wine or a dry sherry
3 tablespoon tamari (soy) sauce
(1 tablespoons for marinade and 1-2 tablespoon for sauce)
¼ teaspoon white pepper
or to taste
1 teaspoon cornstarch

Noodles and Sauce

100 grams rice noodles
dried (we used medium Pad Thai noodles but if you can find the extra wine those are nice too)
water enough hot water to cover the noodles to soak
2 tablespoon canola oil
1 tablespoon to cook the beef and 1 tablespoon to pan fry the rice noodles.
1 small onion
sliced in moons
2 cloves garlic
minced
2 tablespoon oyster sauce
2 tablespoon XO Sauce
spicy or regular
1 teaspoon sesame oil

Garnishes and Veggies

1 cups bean sprouts
sprouted mung beans or sliced snow peas
2 teaspoon green onions optional - garnish

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

In a medium bowl add your sliced beef, shaoxing wine, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, white pepper and cornstarch and allow to marinade while your rice noodles are soaking.
Soak your dried rice noodles (medium or extra wide) in a bath of hot water for about 3-5 minutes or just until they start to softened but not completely al dente. (FYI: Noodles will continue to cook when they are fried.) Rinse noodles with cool water, drain and set aside.
Put 1 tablespoon of oil in your wok (frying pan) and turn on medium-high heat . Once the temperature is at medium heat add the onions and garlic and fry for a minute just until the aroma hits your nose.
Add your marinated beef to the pan and stir fry for a minute or two or just until turns golden brown. Remove beef and onions to a plate and keep warm and set aside. If you wanted to cook some other veggies then you would add them at this point and stir fry until crisp tender and then remove from your pan. We stir fried sliced snow peas as that is what we had on hand. (Feel free to add any quick cooking thin sliced vegetables at this time and stir fry until crisp tender and then remove from pan.) If you choose to add bean sprouts (sprouted mung beans), wait to add them to the pan until you have added all the sauces at the end of the cooking process.
Add 1 tablespoon of oil and your presoaked noodles to the seasoned pan turn up the heat to medium high. Move the noodles quickly around in the pan keeping them separated so they do not stick. (feel free to add a little more oil or a little more water just to prevent sticking and to confirm that your noodles are aldente- test a noodle)
Add your beef mixture and stir fried snow peas or veggies cooked back to the noodles and add XO sauce, Tamari (soy sauce), oyster sauce, and mix until well incorporated. If you want to add in bean sprouts, you would add them to the pan at this time and just toss until warm but crisp.
Serve Pan Fried Beef Noodles with Spicy XO Sauce with a sprinkle of green onions for garnish and get ready to make second helpings...

Video

Notes

How to Make Best Pan-Fried Noodles

Don’t over crowd your wok or frying pan. If you overcrowd your pan, you are no longer stir frying but that is steaming. Steaming will change the texture of your dish and your goal is to dry fry. Cook in small batches. Sometimes, people will refer to this method as the Hong Kong fried spaghetti recipe.
Use the Dry Fry technique just like in our Garlic Pork and Dry Fried Green Beans The Dry fry technique is using the heat of the pan and oil to cook the ingredients in the pan. No extra liquids like water or broth are added to cook the recipe.
Keep an eye on your noodles when you are pre-soaking them. It only takes about 3- 5 minutes in boiled water. Don’t let your rice noodles get too soft. Your goal is to have a noodle a firm aldente as the noodles will be fried again in the pan. No one likes mushy noodles.
We used pad Thai style rice noodles for the Beef Noodles with Spicy XO Sauce dish. However, you could use any noodle you wish in this dish and have in your pantry. We are all about staying budget friendly and using up your inventory. Remember, if you are using other noodles like egg noodles, you will need to cook these to a firm aldente before adding them to this pan-fried noodle recipe.
If you need to adhere to strict gluten-free guidelines, pass on the XO sauce or make your own from scratch. Use a gluten free oyster sauce and use tamari instead of soya sauce. Need more spice? Add a dash of dried red chili flakes or sriracha sauce.
Adjust your seasonings to your taste. If you like it spicier add additional XO sauce or red pepper flakes. Want it saltier? Then, add more tamari (soya sauce). If you’re used to having that Chinese balance in flavors, you are probably missing the little bit of sugar. We left it out intentionally as this brand of xo sauce has a little sugar in it already.
If want a lower carb version, just load up on loads of veggies like bell peppers, broccoli, snow peas or baby corn, etc. Skip the rice noodles all together or just add a few to say that you did. Maybe even go for a fried egg on top…
A helpful hack for cutting your beef ultra-thin is to freeze it for about 45 minutes before slicing it against the grain.
Extra beef? Make a Beef and Peppers in Black Bean Sauce and enjoy!

Be creative! Use what you have in your crisper and in your pantry and adjust the recipe to your needs.

Nutrition