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 (American)
Course	Main dishes
Place of origin	Guangdong, Hong Kong
Main ingredients	bean sprout, 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 even overseas, as well as in cha chaan tengs. Chow fun, or stir-fried hor fun (Shahe fen) noodles, is a term that can refer to any number of different individual preparations (could be compared to pizza 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. Hor fun wide rice noodles, or Guangzhou Shahe fen, is a noodle that is said to have originated in the town of Shahe, now a subdistrict of the city of Guangzhou, China. (Hinsbergh) 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).

The meat is marinated first. Then, the beef is seared in the 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]

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. 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. {{cite web}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |author= (help)
^ ^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.

[cnn-1] Tiffany Lam and Virginia Lau (24 July 2009). "Chow fun challenge". CNN Go. 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. {{cite web}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |author= (help)

[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.

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