Beef chow fun

Beef chow fun
Beef chow fun
Traditional Chinese	乾炒牛河
Simplified Chinese	干炒牛河
Hanyu Pinyin
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin	gānchǎo níuhé
Yue: Cantonese
Yale Romanization	gōn cháau ngàuh hó
Jyutping	gon1 caau2 ngau4 ho2

Beef chow mai fun
	Dry-fried beef hor fun
Alternative names	Wide Flat Rice Noodle
Course	Main
Place of origin	Guangdong, Hong Kong
Serving temperature	Hot
Main ingredients	Bean sprouts, soy sauce. rice noodles, onions
	Media: Beef chow mai fun;

Beef chow fun is a staple Cantonese dish, made from stir-frying beef, hor fun (wide rice noodles) and bean sprouts. It is commonly found in yum cha restaurants in Guangdong, Hong Kong, and overseas, as well as in cha chaan tengs. Chow fun, or stir-fried hor fun (shahe fen) noodles, is any number of different individual preparations (and could be compared to the number of pizza varieties in United States cuisine).^[1]

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. It is a wide, flat noodle that is cut into shape (qiefen.)^[2] The most common methods of cooking hor fun are in soup or stir fried. Hor fun can be dry-fried (fried without sauce) or wet-fried (fried with a sauce).

Sliced beef is marinated first. Then, the beef is seared in a wok. Other ingredients and the hor fun noodles are added, then combined with the beef and sauce. The bean sprouts are then stir-fried with the rest of the chow fun until they are tender and the dish is ready to serve.^[3]

An important factor in the making of this dish is wok hei (鑊氣). The cooking must be done over a high flame 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.^[3] Because of these factors, this dish is a major test for chefs in Cantonese cooking.^{[citation needed]}

History

The origin of chow fun is unknown, but there is a legend concerning the origin of dry-fried chow fun:^[4]^[5]

During World War II, a man named Mr. Hui migrated from Canton to Hunan to become a chef. He then was forced back to his hometown due to the Japanese invasion. The story continues: "One night, Mr Hui's food stall ran out of the powder (like a cornstarch thickening agent) for sauces. A military [commander] was hungry and wanted to have his wet chow fun. Due to a curfew [they were] unable to go purchase the powder... It is also said the commander was so mad he was about to take out his gun and kill someone. Mr Hui's mom and brother immediately went to make some tong yuen (sticky rice dessert dumplings) and Mr Hui himself tended to the kitchen. It was there that he thought about doing it dry stir fried style, and thus the stall (and his family) were spared from the bullet [sic].

References

^ Tiffany Lam and Virginia Lau (24 July 2009). "Chow fun challenge". CNN Go. Archived from the original on 2012-10-19. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
^ Yun Li; et al. (24 March 2016). "Traditional Chinese Rice Noodles: History, Classification, and Processing Methods" (PDF). China Highlights. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
^ ^a ^b "Beef Chow Fun Noodles (Gon Chow Ngau Ho)". AACC International, Inc. 2015. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
^ "Your Favorite Origin Story of a Dish? My Example: Cantonese Dry Fried Beef Chow Fun and E-fu Noodles". 15 October 2009. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
^ "这些广州美食的传说，你可知道？ (Do you know the legends surrounding these Cantonese dishes?)". VisitGZ (in Chinese). Tourism Administration of Guangzhou Municipality. 23 December 2016. Archived from the original on 2017-04-10. Retrieved 9 April 2017.

[cnn-1] Tiffany Lam and Virginia Lau (24 July 2009). "Chow fun challenge". CNN Go. Archived from the original on 2012-10-19. Retrieved 11 August 2012.

[aacc-2] Yun Li; et al. (24 March 2016). "Traditional Chinese Rice Noodles: History, Classification, and Processing Methods" (PDF). China Highlights. Retrieved 14 September 2016.

[WOL-3] "Beef Chow Fun Noodles (Gon Chow Ngau Ho)". AACC International, Inc. 2015. Retrieved 14 September 2016.

[origin-4] "Your Favorite Origin Story of a Dish? My Example: Cantonese Dry Fried Beef Chow Fun and E-fu Noodles". 15 October 2009. Retrieved 14 September 2016.

[5] "这些广州美食的传说，你可知道？ (Do you know the legends surrounding these Cantonese dishes?)". VisitGZ (in Chinese). Tourism Administration of Guangzhou Municipality. 23 December 2016. Archived from the original on 2017-04-10. Retrieved 9 April 2017.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

v t e Cantonese cuisine
Main dishes	Bao yu Bird's nest soup Buddha's delight Cantonese seafood soup Chinese steamed eggs Congee Crispy fried chicken Dragon tiger phoenix Egg foo young Eight treasure duck Hot pot Lemon chicken Pork knuckles and ginger stew Seafood birdsnest Shark fin soup Snake bite chicken Soy sauce chicken Steam minced pork Subgum Suckling pig Sweet and sour pork White boiled shrimp White cut chicken Wonton noodles Yangzhou fried rice
Dim sum and yum cha	Almond tofu Beef tripe Cha siu bao Chicken feet Coconut bar Har gow Jian dui Jiaozi Lo mai gai Nian gao Ox-tongue pastry Rice noodle roll Shumai Spring roll Steamed meatball Swiss wing Taro cake Taro dumpling Tendon Tofu skin roll Turnip cake Water chestnut cake Yau gok Youtiao Zhaliang
Siu laap	Char siu Chinese sausage Lou mei Orange cuttlefish Roast goose Siu mei Siu yuk White cut chicken
Desserts and pastry	Almond biscuit Biscuit roll Deuk Deuk Tong Douhua Ginger milk curd Lo mai chi Malay sponge cake Mooncake Red bean cake Red bean soup Sausage bun Tang bu shuai Tong sui White sugar sponge cake
Condiments and spices	Fermented bean curd Five-spice powder XO sauce
Ingredients	Beef ball Black bean paste Chenpi Conpoy Fermented black beans Fish ball Fishcake Frog legs Garland chrysanthemum Kai-lan Mantis shrimp Ong choy Pig blood curd Pig's ear Rapeseed Saang mein Sea cucumbers Shahe fen Shrimp roe noodles Spare ribs Suan cai Tofu skin Wonton Yi mein Youmian Zha cai
Others	Chinese herb tea Dried shredded squid Lou fo tong
Cantonese restaurant Beijing cuisine Shanghai cuisine Hong Kong cuisine Macanese cuisine Chinese cuisine History of Chinese cuisine

v t e Hong Kong cuisine
Food	Almond biscuit Almond jelly Bakkwa Banana roll Bao yu Beef ball Beef bun Beef chow fun Bird's nest soup Biscuit roll Buddha's delight Cart noodle Cha siu bao Char siu Chinese herb tea Chinese sausage Cocktail bun Coconut bar Congee Cream bun Crispy fried chicken Deuk Deuk Tong Dim sum Douhua Dried shredded squid Egg tart Egg waffle Fish ball Fishcake Flame on the iceberg Got fan Ham and egg bun Haw flakes Honey walnut shrimp Hong Kong-style milk tea Hot pot Jerky Jin deui Kai-lan Lai fun Mango pomelo sago Mango pudding Nuomici Ox-tongue pastry Paper wrapped cake Peanut butter bun Pineapple bun Poon choi Put chai ko Rapeseed Red bean ice Rice noodle roll Roast goose Roasted pig Rousong Saang mein Sausage bun Sea cucumber Seafood birdsnest Shahe fen Singapore style noodles Siu mei Steamed meatball Shrimp roe noodles Shumai Sorrowful Rice Stinky tofu Sweetheart cake Swiss wing Tang bu shuai Taro cake Taro dumpling Tea egg Tofu skin roll Water caltrop Water chestnut cake White boiled shrimp White cut chicken White sugar sponge cake Wonton Wonton noodle XO sauce Yeung Chow fried rice Yi mein Yin Yang Fried Rice Yuenyeung Zha cai Zhaliang
Films	The Banquet (1991) Shogun and Little Kitchen (1992) The Chinese Feast (1995) The God of Cookery (1996) Osaka Wrestling Restaurant (2004) Kung Fu Chefs (2009)
TV series	Magic Chef (2005)
Culture	Hong Kong tea culture Siu yeh One bowl with two pieces Private kitchens Yum cha
Places	Cha chaan teng Dai pai dong
Beijing cuisine Cantonese cuisine Shanghai cuisine Macanese cuisine Chinese cuisine History of Chinese cuisine

v t e Guangdong topics
Guangzhou (capital)
General	History Politics Economy
Geography	Cities Metropolitan areas Chaoshan Pearl River Delta Sanyi (Sam Yup) Sze Yup (Siyi) Leizhou Peninsula Regions Pearl River Delta Yuexi Yuebei Yuedong Pearl River East River West River Nanling Mountains Pratas Island and the Vereker Banks (claimed) Shamian Island
Education	Guangzhou Education Shenzhen Education
Culture	Lingnan culture Cantonese people Varieties of Chinese Yue Chinese Hailufeng Teochew Hakka Lingnan architecture Tong lau Lingnan garden Cantonese embroidery Teochew woodcarving Lingnan penjing Canton porcelain Lingnan School Music Cantonese opera Naamyam Guangdong music Gou Wu Cantonese poetry Cantonese nationalism Hung Ga Wing Chun Lingnan Confucianism Flowermarket Cantonese lion dance Wong Tai Sin Hung Shing Cantonese merchants Red cotton flower Cantonese folktales The Legend of Five Goats Villain hitting Hakka people Teochew people Zhuang people Chu Hua Yuan
Cuisine	Cantonese cuisine Beef chow fun Chow mein Char siu Roasted suckling pig Bird's nest soup Seafood birdsnest Shumai Cantonese fried rice Dim sum Yum cha Leung cha Tong sui Hakka cuisine Teochew cuisine
Category Commons

History

See also

References