This meal is so good, I don't even want to call it a fake-away. It's BETTER than getting a delivery, trust me. Plus, it's super easy to make and even quicker to cook. If you don't have a deep fat fryer you can shallow fry the beef in a deep frying pan filled with oil, or use a large sauce pan filled with oil, heated to 180 degrees.
I made this dish to celebrate the recent entering of the new year, the Chinese Year of the Ox. The dish is quite red in colour, which works well with the idea that red is a lucky, wealthy colour , bringing good fortune in Chinese culture.
This dish was on the Summer and Autumn Menu at The Cleveland Arms (right before all the new lockdowns!) and was incredibly popular, it's definitely something I hope to bring back once we reopen. For now, here's how you can make it yourself at home!
Crispy Chilli Beef Noodles
Serves 4
Prep time: 15mins (+ marinating time)
Cook time: 10 mins
Special equipment needed:
Deep Fat fryer
Airtight container or lunchbox
Wok
Tongs
Large heat proof/mixing bowl
Ingredients
2 Sirloin Steaks (or 200g Skirt Steak)
150ml Sweet Chilli Sauce
200g Cornflour
1 Red Pepper, sliced
1 Orange Pepper, sliced
1 Red Onion, sliced
3 tbsp Dark Soy Sauce
5 Tbsp Sesame Oil
4 Noodle Nests (medium egg noodles)
4 tbsp Sesame Seeds
4 Spring Onions, sliced
2 Red chillies, finely sliced
Serving and garnish instructions
Method:
Finely slice the beef into strips and place in an airtight container, stirring through 100ml of sweet chilli sauce. Leave this to marinate overnight
Place a pan of water on to boil, once boiling add your noodle nests and cook for 4 mins then drain and set aside. You can drizzle them with a little sesame oil to stop them sticking together
Heat the rest of the sesame oil in a wok until it it smoking
Add the peppers and onions to the wok and stir fry until beginning to soften
Take the beef from the chilli sauce and coat in cornflour. Ensure no pieces of beef are sticking together and place them in the deep fat fryer for up to 5 mins, until they are crispy and beginning to float on the surface. If you are using a pan to do this you must ensure the oil reaches 180 degrees
Meanwhile, add the cooked noodles to the wok with the soy sauce and give everything a good stir fry
When the beef is cooked, transfer this to a heatproof bowl and toss around in the remaining 50ml of sweet chilli sauce
Build the dish by adding a twist of noodles to a bowl (use tongs to do this!) and topping with plenty of the crispy beef
Finish by sprinkling with the sesame seeds, spring onions and chilli slices
and remember, anyone can cook!
