November 20, 2015

Stir Fry Beef Udon Noodles 牛肉炒烏冬面

Stir Fry,  Beef,  Udon Noodles,  牛肉, 炒, 烏冬面, recipe

Sometimes there's nothing you want so much as a good heap'in plate of steaming hot stir fried noodles.  Yuummmm...  Noodles are a great all in one dish!  

You've got your long twirling noodles that you can slurp or suck up, your various bits of lovely vegetables (healthy!), and your lovely splash of marinated meat (scrummy!).  Everything you need for a super tasty all in one dinner or lunch.  

We love to use udon noodles to make our stir fry noodles cuz you get the added perk of the udon oozing just enough starch to make a deliciously sticky, oh so satisfying! sauce that juicily coats all your stir fry.  So good!  Try this Stir Fry Beef Udon Noodles, it's an easy, throw together leftovers kind of dish that makes a lovely, tasty, saucy plate of delicious noodles.

Stir Fry,  Beef,  Udon Noodles,  牛肉, 炒, 烏冬面, recipe

Udon noodles are a thick type of wheat noodles that originate from Japan.  A very nice chewy soft noodle that is really good at absorbing the flavors around it (really great for hotpot!).  Beware though, not all udon noodles are created equal as we have had the opportunity to discover.  

Udon noodles, these days, of course can be bought everywhere at a very good price.  The trick to getting good udon noodles is to get them fresh, naturally.  But how to get fresh udon noodles if you don't live near an actual udon noodle maker?  Get them frozen!  Look in your supermarket freezer section for frozen udon noodles and you will get udon noodles as fresh as can be! 

Do not get the udon noodles that are packaged and stored at room temperature!  Who knows what chemical preservative stuff they put in those noodles to have them last so long on the shelf.

Stir Fry,  Beef,  Udon Noodles,  牛肉, 炒, 烏冬面, recipe

The vegetables that you add to your stir fry can be most anything that you have leftover in your pantry or that you dig out from the recesses of your refrigerator.  I like to be sure to add onions for their lovely savory caramelized flavors and also carrot for their slight crunch and sweetness.  

Other good stir fry vegetables might be cucumber, cabbage, baby corn, bean sprouts, snow peas, mushrooms (not a veg, I know) and even chillies if you like it hot.  

Stir Fry,  Beef,  Udon Noodles,  牛肉, 炒, 烏冬面, recipe

This might be the only part of making Stir Fry Beef Udon Noodles that might be a bit time consuming, the slicing of all the vegetables and meat.  Slicing everything into thin, longish slices will help create a stir fry noodle dish that is easy to pick up with chopsticks and eat, and also that looks very pretty.  Also, as everything is sliced into similar sizes, the vegetable and meat will cook at approximately equal times and this helps immensely with a stir fry.

Stir Fry,  Beef,  Udon Noodles,  牛肉, 炒, 烏冬面, recipe

You can, of course, use whatever meat that you like.  A great way to use up leftover chicken, or beef or even pork.  As we are making Stir Fry Beef Udon Noodles, we used beef.  

A trick that we like to use to save time and to make our noodles extra tasty is that we just buy the sliced beef that is sold for using in hotpot.  These marbled thinly precut slices of prime beef make the meat part of our stir fry a breeze to prepare and tastes delicious to boot.  Just defrost the beef, separate the slices and marinate and you're good to go!

beef, recipe, stir fry, Udon Noodles, 炒, 烏冬面, 牛肉,
Stir Fry Beef Udon Noodles Recipe
牛肉炒烏冬面

Prep time: 15 mins  Cook time: 8 mins

Ingredients:

  • 2 packs udon noodles
  • 1/2 lb beef (227g)
  • 1 garlic clove, crushed
  • 1 onion, sliced to matchsticks
  • 1 carrot, sliced to matchsticks
  • 1 cucumber, deseeded and sliced to matchsticks
  • 1 package enoki mushrooms, about one cup
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 3 tbsp oyster sauce
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper

   Meat Marinade

Directions:

Heat up a pot of water.  When boiling drop in your udon noodles and stir until loosened.  Remove immediately from water into strainer and let drain.  Prepare all vegetables and meat (if using steaks or large cuts) into similar sized matchstick pieces.  Marinate your meat for 10-15 mins.

Heat wok to high heat.  When wok is hot add in 2 tsp oil.  Stir fry beef quickly until the pink is just gone and remove immediately from wok and set aside.

Heat wok.  Add in 1 tsp oil, then the garlic and stir a few seconds until fragrance rises.  Add in onions and stir fry until golden brown spots appear.  Remove from wok and set aside.  

Add 1 tsp oil and then the rest of your vegetables and mushrooms and stir fry until vegetables are soft.  Add in udon, onions and meat, then the soy sauce, oyster sauce and black pepper and stir fry for a few minutes until the thoroughly mixed and saucy.  Serve hot.

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2 comments:

  1. I think having the measurement/weight for the packet noodles might be good. I know different brands sell them in different weights. I tried the recipe, it's delicious, but I had to use less than 2 packets because of the difference in the sizes

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    Replies
    1. The udon packets we use are 230g each. I've never seen other sizes, but thanks for letting me know. ~ellen

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