Get ready to make dinners instantly more exciting! Hoisin Beef Noodles with caramelised beef tossed in glossy udon noodles and a deliciously thick Chinese sauce. Lots of ginger and garlic and greens to deliver a world of flavour. Better than takeout (healthier too!) and ready in 20 minutes!
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🍜 Why Make My Hoisin Beef Noodles?
Everyone loves a fast, cheap weeknight dinner that is not only incredibly delicious but super low effort too. Here is why you need to make my Hoisin Beef Noodles ASAP!
- Ready in 20 minutes.
- Packed with authentic flavour but better than takeout (and healthier too!).
- A crowd-pleaser.
- Can be easily doubled.
- These noodles are great for packed lunches and travel well.
- Can be made up to 2 days ahead and stored in the fridge.
📝 Ingredients
Noodles - Any thick noodle like Hokkien or udon works well in this recipe. I use dry udon noodles. They are easily available and a staple in my pantry. They cook in just 4 minutes and are instantly ready to use in stir-fries.
Beef - I use organic lean beef mince. It cooks quickly and caramelizes well.
Aromatics - You will need brown onion, ginger and garlic for the stir-fry base and spring onions for garnish.
Vegetables - Any quick-cooking Asian greens will work well in this recipe. I use Bok Choy.
Soy Sauce - This recipe uses light soy sauce (preferably salt-reduced). Tamari is a good substitute.
Kecap Manis - Kecap manis is a sweetened dark soy sauce that adds incredible colour and flavour to the stir-fry. It is aromatic, and viscose and has a molasses-like flavour due to adding palm sugar or jaggery.
Hoisin Sauce - Hoisin sauce is a thick, caramel-coloured, fragrant sauce often used in Chinese cooking to boost flavour. It has a sweet and salty taste and is made of soybeans, fennel, chilli and garlic.
Oil (not pictured) - Any neutral oil (like grapeseed oil) or peanut oil is good for this stir-fry.
🔥 How to make Hoisin Beef Noodles
One of the key things to remember when making these noodles is to use a large carbon steel wok on very high heat. A thinner metal wok like carbon-steel gets hot lightning fast and retains heat well throughout the stir-frying.
The large size means the beef mince isn't overcrowded and has room to cook (overcrowding mince in a pan sweats and steams it instead of browning and caramelizing it). And the high heat ensures the beautiful caramelization of the meat.
- Mix soy sauce, hoisin sauce and kecap manis in a bowl to make the stir-fry sauce.
- Slice spring onion and bok choy for the stir-fry.
3. Cook udon noodles as per packet instructions. Drain and set aside.
4. Heat oil in a large wok on high heat and stir-fry onion for 1-2 minutes until translucent.
5. Fry ginger and garlic for a few seconds until fragrant.
6. Add beef mince and break it up with a wooden or metal spatula.
7. Spread beef mince in the wok and allow it to cook for 5-6 minutes without tossing, so the beef crisps, chars and caramelizes.
8. Add the greens and cook for 30 seconds until just wilted.
9. Add cooked noodles and stir-fry sauce to the wok.
10. Toss and stir-fry on high for a couple of minutes until heated through.
🍴Storage & Serving Suggestions
The Hoisin Beef Noodles keep well in the fridge in an air-tight container for up to 2 days. I wouldn't recommend freezing as cooked noodles don't thaw and reheat well, they tend to disintegrate and become mushy.
Serve these delicious noodles as part of a larger Asian meal with the following recipes
Indo-Chinese Sweet Corn Chicken Soup
👩🏻🍳 Recipe FAQs
Make sure you are cooking in a large wok at the highest heat you can go to. When the wok is smoking, start adding ingredients in intervals as per the recipe, allowing each ingredient to cook before proceeding. Don't overcrowd ingredients in the pan as this leads to sweating and steaming.
Cook beef mince at a very high temperature in a hot wok for a few minutes. Break up the mince and spread it. Don't toss, allow chunks of the beef mince to cook, brown and caramelize to perfection.
🧡 More Noodle Recipes To Make
Recipe
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Ingredients
for the stir-fry sauce
- 1 tbsp (20 ml) soy sauce
- 1 tbsp (20 ml) kecap manis , (sweet dark soy sauce)
- 2 tbsps (40 ml) hoisin sauce
for the stir-fry
- 1½ tbsps (30 ml) neutral oil
- 1 brown onion, peeled and diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tbsp grated ginger
- 2 cups bok choy, chopped
- 500 g beef mince
- 2 spring onions, sliced
Instructions
- Mix soy sauce, hoisin sauce and kecap manis in a bowl to make the stir-fry sauce.
- Slice spring onion and bok choy for the stir-fry.
- Cook udon noodles as per packet instructions. Drain and set aside. (see notes)
- Heat oil in a large wok on high heat and stir-fry onion for 1-2 minutes until translucent.
- Fry ginger and garlic for a few seconds until fragrant.
- Add beef mince and break it up with a wooden or metal spatula. Spread beef mince in the wok and allow it to cook for a 5-6 minutes without tossing, so the beef crisps, chars and caramelizes. When all liquid has evaporated, toss the cooked beef around.
- Add the greens and cook for 30 seconds until just wilted.
- Add cooked noodles and stir-fry sauce to the wok.
- Toss and stir-fry on high for a couple of minutes until heated through. Serve
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