Our easy, Cantonese-inspired, beef chow mein is loaded with crisp veggies, tender beef, and noodles. Asian medley frozen veggies make the prep quick & easy!
In a large bowl, whisk together the marinade ingredients. Add the sliced beef (1 pound) and toss to evenly coat. Marinade for 30 minutes.
Whisk together all sauce ingredients in a small bowl; set aside.
Prepare the noodles (8 ounces) according to package directions. Rinse under cold water, drain well, and set aside.
Heat the oil (2 tablespoons) in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over high heat just until smoking. Add half of the flank steak in a single layer. Cook without stirring for 60 seconds. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, the another 60 seconds. Remove to a plate. Add 2 teaspoons oil to the skillet and repeat the cooking procedure with the remaining beef. Remove to a plate.
Add the remaining 2 teaspoons oil to the skillet and thawed vegetables to the pan and cook until tender-crisp. Add Sauce to the pan and bring to a boil. Add beef and any juice that has accumulated and the cooked noodles and simmer, adjusting heat as needed, until everything is heated through. Adjust seasoning.
Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds and serve.
Notes
Other types of beef – Flank should be easy to get your hands on for this recipe, but sliced sirloin will work too. You can also make a ground Beef Chow Mein, though it’s definitely a little harder to eat with your chopsticks!
Frozen veggies – If you can’t find the frozen Asian medley, you can substitute another veggie mix that has broccoli in it. If you want to substitute fresh veggies, you’ll need about 3 ½ cups of your favorite combination. Broccoli, bell peppers, yellow squash, sliced shiitake mushrooms . . . you just may need to stir-fry them a little longer to reach the crisp-tender stage since frozen veggies are often blanched before freezing.
No noodles – Regular pasta can be used instead of the Chinese egg noodles in a pinch. Spaghetti is probably the closest in size, and you can try this little trick using baking soda to add a little more spring to the noodles so they’ll mimic the Chinese variety.