Beef chow fun, also known as gōn cháau ngàuh hó or gānchǎo níuhé in Chinese (乾炒牛河) meaning "dry fried beef Shahe noodles", is a staple
Cantonese dish, made from stir-frying
beef
Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus'').
In prehistoric times, humankind hunted aurochs and later domesticated them. Since that time, numerous breeds of cattle have been bred specifically for the quality or quantity ...
, ''
hor fun'' (wide rice noodles) and
bean sprout
Sprouting is the natural process by which seeds or spores germinate and put out shoots, and already established plants produce new leaves or buds, or other structures experience further growth.
In the field of nutrition, the term signifies ...
s. It is commonly found in ''
yum cha
''Yum cha'' is the Cantonese tradition of brunch involving Chinese tea and ''dim sum.'' The practice is popular in Cantonese-speaking regions, including Guangdong province, Guangxi province, Hong Kong, and Macau. It is also carried out in other ...
'' restaurants in
Guangdong
Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...
,
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
, and overseas, as well as in ''
cha chaan teng
''Cha chaan teng'' (; "tea restaurant"), often called a Hong Kong-style cafe or diner in English, is a type of restaurant that originated in Hong Kong. Cha chaan teng are commonly found in Hong Kong, Macau, and parts of Guangdong. Due to the w ...
s''. Chow fun, or stir-fried hor fun (''
shahe fen
''Shahe fen'' (沙河粉), or simply ''he fen'' (河粉), is a type of wide Chinese noodle made from rice. Its Minnan Chinese name, translated from the Mandarin 粿條 (''guotiao''), is adapted into alternate names which are widely encounter ...
'') noodles, is any number of different individual preparations (and could be compared to the number of
pizza
Pizza (, ) is a dish of Italian origin consisting of a usually round, flat base of leavened wheat-based dough topped with tomatoes, cheese, and often various other ingredients (such as various types of sausage, anchovies, mushrooms, onions ...
varieties in United States cuisine).
In the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
, it is called "beef hofan" (
河粉).
The main ingredient of this dish is ''hor fun'' noodles, which is also known as ''shahe fen'', originating in the town of Shahe in
Guangzhou
Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...
. It is a wide, flat noodle that is cut into shape (''
qiefen'').
The most common methods of cooking ''hor fun'' are in soup or stir fried. ''Hor fun'' can be dry-fried (fried only with condiments such as soy sauce) or wet-fried (fried with a thickening sauce). Today, the dry-fried variant is much more common, to the extent that the method is usually not specified—"hor fun" on a restaurant menu would refer to dry-fried hor fun.
Sliced beef is
marinated
Marinating is the process of soaking foods in a seasoned, often acidic, liquid before cooking. The origin of the word alludes to the use of brine (''aqua marina'' or sea water) in the pickling process, which led to the technique of adding flavor b ...
first. Then, the beef is seared in a
wok
A wok (; Pinyin: ; Cantonese ) is a deep round-bottomed cooking pan from China. It is believed to be derived from the South Asian karahi. It is common in China and similar pans are found in parts of East, South and Southeast Asia, as well as ...
. Other ingredients and the ''hor fun'' noodles are added, then combined with the beef and sauce. The
bean sprouts
Sprouting is the natural process by which seeds or spores germinate and put out shoots, and already established plants produce new leaves or buds, or other structures experience further growth.
In the field of nutrition, the term signifies ...
are then
stir-fried
Stir frying () is a cooking technique in which ingredients are fried in a small amount of very hot oil while being stirred or tossed in a wok. The technique originated in China and in recent centuries has spread into other parts of Asia and t ...
with the rest of the chow fun until they are tender and the dish is ready to serve.
An important factor in the making of this dish is ''
wok hei
A wok (; Pinyin: ; Cantonese ) is a deep round-bottomed cooking pan from China. It is believed to be derived from the South Asian karahi. It is common in China and similar pans are found in parts of East, South and Southeast Asia, as well a ...
'' (). The cooking must be done over a high
flame
A flame (from Latin ''flamma'') is the visible, gaseous part of a fire. It is caused by a highly exothermic chemical reaction taking place in a thin zone. When flames are hot enough to have ionized gaseous components of sufficient density they ...
and the stirring must be done quickly. Not only must the ''hor fun'' be stirred quickly, it must not be handled too strongly or it will break into pieces. The amount of oil also needs to be controlled very well; if not, the excess oil or dry texture will ruin the dish.
Because of these factors, this dish is a major test for chefs in Cantonese cooking.
History
The origin of chow fun is unknown, but there is a legend concerning the origin of dry-fried chow fun:
See also
*
Kwetiau sapi
Beef kway teow or beef kwetiau is a Maritime Southeast Asian dish of flat rice noodles ( kway teow) stir-fried and topped with slices of beef or sometimes beef offal, served either dry or with soup. The dish is commonly found in Southeast Asian c ...
*
Kwetiau goreng
( Indonesian for 'fried flat noodle') is an Indonesian style of stir fried flat rice noodle dish. It is made from noodles, locally known as , which are stir fried in cooking oil with garlic, onion or shallots, beef, chicken, fried prawn, crab ...
*
Char kway teow
''Char kway teow'' () is a stir-fried rice noodle dish from Maritime Southeast Asia and is of southern Chinese origin. In Hokkien and Teochew, ''char'' means 'stir-fried' and ''kway teow'' refers to flat rice noodles. It is made from flat r ...
*
Chinese noodles
Chinese noodles vary widely according to the region of production, ingredients, shape or width, and manner of preparation. Noodles were invented in China, and are an essential ingredient and staple in Chinese cuisine. They are an important part ...
*
List of noodle dishes
This is a list of notable noodle dishes. Noodles are a type of staple food made from some type of unleavened dough which is rolled flat and cut into one of a variety of shapes. While long, thin strips may be the most common, many varieties of no ...
*
Shahe fen
''Shahe fen'' (沙河粉), or simply ''he fen'' (河粉), is a type of wide Chinese noodle made from rice. Its Minnan Chinese name, translated from the Mandarin 粿條 (''guotiao''), is adapted into alternate names which are widely encounter ...
References
{{Guangdong topics
Beef dishes
Cantonese cuisine
Chinese noodle dishes
Fried noodles
Hong Kong noodle dishes
Soy-based foods