Here’s a great beef mince recipe for you that’s quick to make, economical and full of hidden vegetables so it’s a complete meal – Beef Chow Mein! It’s the beef version of everybody’s favourite Chicken Chow Mein, made with the convenience of ground beef. Beef chow mein Here’s something new to try with that packet of... Get the Recipe
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]]>Here’s a great beef mince recipe for you that’s quick to make, economical and full of hidden vegetables so it’s a complete meal – Beef Chow Mein! It’s the beef version of everybody’s favourite Chicken Chow Mein, made with the convenience of ground beef.
Beef chow mein
Here’s something new to try with that packet of beef mince you throw into your shopping cart every week! The beef is stir fried with chow mein sauce until it’s beautifully caramelised then tossed in a tangle of noodles and vegetables.
A neat trick in today’s recipe is to scramble up an egg with the beef. It makes the beef bits stick to the noodles better, with the added bonus of upping the protein.
Another bonus: chow mein actually has a vast amount of noodle-shaped vegetables hidden in the noodles. A carrot, 2 heaped cups of cabbage and a heaped cup of bean sprouts. That’s a good veg serving for a meal!
What you need
Here’s what you need to make this:
Noodles & add-ins
Noodles – Chow mein noodles are sort of dry and crinkly, rather than oily and straight like hokkien noodles, lo mein noodles. But this dish can really be made with any noodles – or even spaghetti (yes really, who’s going to know once tossed in chow mein sauce??). Use the same weight.
Garlic – Rarely do Asian stir fries happen without garlic, and this one is no exception!
Beef mince – That’s ground beef to Americans. Any fat % is fine here though lean beef won’t caramelise quite as well.
Other proteins – Any other mince will work just fine here. Chicken, pork, turkey, even lamb! Though bear in mind the sauce is quite intense flavoured to suit the beefy flavour of beef, so you won’t taste the flavour of white meats through the sauce.
Egg – We use this to scramble into the beef. Neat trick to make the beef stick to the noodles better with the added bonus of a free protein boost!
Green cabbage – Or Chinese cabbage. Finely sliced so it disappears into the tangle of noodles.
Bean sprouts – Excellent grab-and-throw-in vegetable option! STORAGE TIP: Keep bean sprouts in water in an airtight container. Change the water every couple of days. This will increase the shelf life of beansprouts 3x.
Carrot – Cut into thin batons. More noodle shaped vegetables so it all jumbles up together!
Green onion – We use 3 whole stems here. They are the onion in this dish, as well as some fresh green colour.
Chow Mein Sauce
The combination of sauces used in Chow Mein is common in Chinese dishes.
Soy sauces – We’re using both light and dark soy sauce in this recipe. What’s the difference? Dark soy stains the noodles a lovely warm mahogany colour as well as adding soy flavour. Light soy sauce provides the salt without overwhelming with soy flavour, and does not stain the rice.
Substitutions -You can use only light soy sauce or just an all-purpose soy sauce (ie bottle just labelled “soy sauce” without “light” or “dark” in front of it) instead of dark soy sauce. But you cannot use only dark soy sauce as the flavour is too strong! More on different types of soy sauces here.
Oyster sauce – A load of flavour, all in one sauce! It’s sweet and savoury and adds a neat flavour shortcut in dishes. Makes a regular appearance in Asian dishes, from Pad See Ew to Asian Glazed Salmon to Honey Pepper Beef to Supreme Soy Noodles. And Steamed Asian Greens with Oyster Sauce!
Vegetarian oyster sauce is available these days, at Asian stores and some large grocery stores (Australia – there’s Ayam vegetarian oyster sauce at Woolies). Otherwise, hoisin is a good alternative. Slightly different flavour profile (hint of Chinese five spice) but similar savoury / sweetness.
Chinese cooking wine (Shaoxing wine) is an essential ingredient for making truly “restaurant tasting” Chinese dishes. Without it, the dish will be lacking something. Substitute with Mirin, cooking sake or dry sherry.
Non alcoholic sub – sub both the cooking wine and water with low sodium chicken broth/stock.
Cornflour / cornstarch (left out of photo – oops!) – For thickening the sauce so it clings to the noodles. It also makes the sauce lovely and glossy.
White pepper and sugar – For seasoning.
How to make Beef Chow Mein
Be sure to cook the beef well once you add the sauce to get it really nicely caramelised, for a free flavour boost!
1. Sauce & thickener
Sauce – Mix the soy sauces, oyster sauce, Chinese cooking wine, sugar and pepper in a small bowl. We’re going to use some to flavour the beef, then we will mix the rest with the sauce thickener (next step) to make the noodle sauce.
Sauce thickener (cornflour slurry) – Mix the cornflour / cornstarch and water in a separate small bowl. This is what thickens the sauce so it coats the noodles, as well as making it shiny and glossy.
2. Making the stir fried noodles
Prepare the noodles per the packet directions then drain. I usually get the water boiling while I’m prepping the vegetables then cook the noodles when I start cooking. The chow mein noodles I get just call for soaking in hot water for 3 minutes. Some brands need to be boiled.
Caramelise beef – Using a large non-stick pan, cook the garlic first to flavour the oil. Then cook the beef, breaking it up as you go, until you can no longer see raw beef.
Then add the white part of the green onions and 1 1/2 tablespoons of the Sauce. We add the white part of the green onions first as it takes longer than the green part. Cook for another 2 minutes to get the beef nicely caramelised.
Finish sauce – Meanwhile, mix the cornflour slurry into the remaining sauce.
Scramble egg – Add the egg into the pan then mix it through the beef, it will sort of scramble into the mixture. This is what makes beef stick to the noodles better!
Keep cooking! – When the egg is mostly cooked, add the carrot and cabbage. Cook for 1 minute until cabbage starts to wilt.
Sauce & noodles – Give the sauce a quick mix. Add the bean sprouts, noodles and sauce into the pan. Toss well for 1 minute or until sauce is dispersed through the noodles. Add green part of green onions. Toss for another 1 minute, then serve!
So there you go! Stir fried noodles for dinner, relatively low effort and quick to make. Great way to get a noodle fix, very economical, and highly versatile – switch out the vegetables and proteins with what you’ve got or what you love.
Enjoy! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
Beef Chow Mein – great beef mince noodle recipe!
Ingredients
Chow Mein:
- 200g/ 7 oz chow mein noodles , or other thin yellow egg noodles or 3 ramen cakes (Note 1)
- 1 1/2 tbsp canola oil
- 2 garlic cloves , finely minced
- 200g/ 7 oz beef mince / ground beef (any fat %)
- 3 green onion stems , cut into 5cm/2″ lengths, white and green parts separated
- 1 egg
- 2 cups green cabbage , finely sliced (or Chinese cabbage)
- 1 carrot , peeled, cut into thin batons
- 1 heaped cups bean sprouts (~ 75g / 2 1/2 oz) (Note 5 – storage tip)
Chow Mein Sauce:
- 1 1/2 tbsp light soy sauce or all-purpose soy sauce (Note 2)
- 1 1/2 tsp dark soy sauce (Note 2)
- 1 1/2 tbsp oyster sauce (Note 3)
- 1 1/2 tbsp Chinese cooking wine (Shaoxing) (Note 4)
- 1 1/2 tsp white sugar
- Pinch white pepper
Sauce thickener:
- 1 1/2 tsp cornflour / cornstarch
- 3 tbsp water
Instructions
- Sauce – Mix ingredients in a small bowl then set aside. Some is used to flavour the beef, then the rest for the noodles.
- Sauce thickener (cornflour slurry) – Mix the cornflour / cornstarch and water in a separate small bowl.
- Prepare noodles per packet directions then drain.
- Cook beef – Heat the oil in a large non-stick pan over high heat. Cook garlic for 10 seconds, then add the beef and cook until you can no longer see pink. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons of the Sauce and the white part of the green onions. Cook for another 2 minutes to get the beef nicely caramelised.
- Finish sauce – Mix the cornflour slurry into the remaining sauce.
- Egg – Add the egg into the pan then mix it through the beef, it will sort of scramble. Egg makes the beef stick to the noodles better!
- Cabbage & carrot – When the egg is mostly cooked, add the carrot and cabbage. Cook for 1 minute until cabbage starts to wilt.
- Sauce & noodles – Give the sauce a quick mix. Add the bean sprouts, noodles and sauce into the pan. Toss well for 1 minute or until sauce is dispersed through the noodles. Add green part of green onions. Toss for another 1 minute.
- Serve – Divide between bowls and serve!
Notes
Nutrition
My noodle life
Life of Dozer
Visited our old stomping ground on the weekend – Bayview dog beach! Plenty of Dozer smiles that morning. 🥰
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A good dose of chilli crisp, the popular Chinese condiment found “everywhere” these days, adds firecracker crunch into these Chili Crisp Noodles that’s astoundingly quick to make. Tastes like Spicy Sichuan Dan Dan Noodles – but much faster to make! Chilli crisp, how I love thee! Chilli crisp. That highly addictive Chinese condiment that’s the... Get the Recipe
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]]>A good dose of chilli crisp, the popular Chinese condiment found “everywhere” these days, adds firecracker crunch into these Chili Crisp Noodles that’s astoundingly quick to make. Tastes like Spicy Sichuan Dan Dan Noodles – but much faster to make!
Chilli crisp, how I love thee!
Chilli crisp. That highly addictive Chinese condiment that’s the perfect blend of crunchy, spicy and savoury. Adds a stack of flavour into anything without overpowering heat.
Are you already familiar with it? If not, meet your new best friend!
But the best part about chili crisp isn’t even the spice kick. It’s the crispy bits. Those fabulous crunchy bits of chili and garlic add fabulous texture to anything lucky enough to be graced with a dollop of this wondrous Chinese sauce that has taken the western world by storm!
What it is – Jars of red chilli oil packed with chopped chilli and bits of garlic, seasoned with salt and sugar. Sometimes with peanuts or crispy soy beans, for extra flavour and crunch!
What it’s called – Sold under various names but all akin to similar meaning – crispy chilli oil, chilli crunch, crunchy chilli oil, and just plainly “chilli crisp”. Also remember in the States, chilli is spelt with one “l” – chili.
Where to get it – Some larger grocery stores in Australia (Coles, Woolies) and Asian stores. A$4 for 200g/7oz jar, I use around 1/4 of the jar for these noodles (serves 2).
Which one I use – My go-to is Laoganma’s Spicy Chilli Oil (above) which is a worldwide favourite. But I am currently obsessed with Mrs C’s Chilli Crisp which I discovered at the Melbourne Good Food & Wine Show last month. A secret recipe passed down through generations, this chilli crisp made by a small family run Australian business is exceptional in flavour and crunch. Treat yourself when you’ve been good, support a small Aussie business or gift it to chilli loving friends! This stuff is special. Get the APPRENTICE if you can’t handle the heat, or the OG (classic) if you can! The OG is spicier than Laoganma.
Homemade – try the Serious Eats or Chili Pepper Madness recipes for “real” ones , or Marion’s Kitchen for a quick one (haven’t tried but is rated well).
How to use chilli crisp – Add into stir fries, noodles, soups, dipping sauces, dressings and fried rice for an instant flavour hit. See specific list above the recipe video.
Today, we’re using this flavour bomb to make Chilli Crisp Noodles. Quick. Easy. Outrageously good!
Ingredients in Chili Crisp Noodles
Other than chilli crisp, the ingredients in these noodles are flexible because the chili crisp does so much of the heavy lifting here. So there’s no need to dash out to the store if you don’t have exactly everything listed, I’ve added substitution notes.
Chinese sesame paste (plenty of sub options!) – Tahini in steroids. Stronger sesame flavour! Find it in Asian stores and the Asian aisle of some large grocery stores.
Mix well – Sesame paste has a tendency to separate, like tahini, pure peanut butter and other natural products. Mix to combine into a smooth paste. If yours has been sitting around for a while and proving impossible to mix, microwave to warm then mix. Last resort – stick blender. 3 seconds and you’re done! (Make sure the head is fully submerged)
Subs – Don’t fret if you can’t find sesame paste, and don’t make a special trip out just for this paste. The main purpose is for creating a creamy sauce base for the noodles so you can substitute with similar ingredients. In order of preference (starting with best): Chinese sesame sauce (sesame flavour not as intense), tahini, pure peanut butter, commercial peanut butter spread (Bega, Jiff etc). Add a dash of extra sesame oil.
Light soy sauce – Or all-purpose soy or half the amount of dark soy sauce (sauce colour will be darker)
Rice vinegar – Substitute with apple cider vinegar or other clear vinegar.
White sugar – or any other type of sugar, or honey, maple syrup etc. Just a touch, to balance the other flavours.
Toasted sesame oil – For tasty sesame flavour! I always use toasted sesame oil which is brown and has more flavour than un-toasted (which is yellow). Default sesame oil sold in Australia is toasted, un-toasted is harder to find.
Salt – Start with the conservative 1/8 teaspoon as per the recipe then add more at the end if needed. Not all chili crisp brands have the same level of saltiness. Particularly with homemade chilli crisp, I always need to add more.
Noodles – This recipe will work for dried or fresh (fridge) noodles, quantities included in the recipe for both. I like to use ramen/instant noodle cakes because the crispy chili bits get caught up in the tangle of noodles.
Garlic and ginger, fresh – Still worth making even if you don’t have fresh ginger and garlic. But it’s even better WITH!
Green onion – For a hit of freshness. Sub with 1/4 red onion or 1 small eschallot, finely sliced.
Coriander/cilantro (optional) – Fresh herby flavour. Actually, I’ve probably made these noodles without more than with!
How to make Chili Crisp Noodles
You’ll love how the sauce is virtually no cook!
Sauce base – Mix the sesame paste, soy, vinegar, sugar, salt and sesame oil until smooth. Use a bowl large enough to toss the noodles because we will be adding the noodles into the sauce. Sprinkle the green onion on top – don’t mix it in. We will be pouring hot oil on it so it partially cooks it.
Chilli crisp fry-up – Heat the chilli crisp and oil in a small saucepan over medium high heat. Then add the garlic and ginger and sauté for 30 seconds until golden. Be prepared for amazing smells!
Sizzle! Pour the hot chilli crisp over the green onion and enjoy the sizzle! Mix to mostly combine.
Cook noodles per packet directions. The ramen cakes I use are boiled for 2 minutes.
Drag the noodles straight out of the hot water into the bowl. The excess water helps thin the sauce to give the finished dish the right consistency. Toss noodles in the sauce until dispersed, adding extra water from the saucepan if needed to loosen the noodles.
Taste and serve! Toss through coriander/cilantro. Add more salt if required – different chilli crisp brands vary in saltiness (most homemade chilli crisp recipes are far less salty). Then devour!
If you’re a chilli crisp first timer, welcome to the first day in your new, tastier world with this magical ingredient now a staple in your fridge. A dollop of chilli crisp will save you all those times you make something (Asian or not!) and you just feel like the dish is missing “something”, and elevate anything you add it to.
And if you’re already firmly on the chilli crisp train, I hope you enjoy this new addition to your speedy-meals repertoire thanks to our trusty friend.
Enjoy! – Nagi x
10 specific things to make with/use chilli crisp
Add a generous scoop into your favourite stir fry or stir fried noodles – like Chop Suey (Chicken Stir Fry), Chicken or Beef Broccoli, Cashew Chicken, Lo Mein, Chow Mein.
Turn your Chinese noodle soup into SPICY Chinese noodle soup!
Add a big dollop onto your San Choy Bow lettuce wraps (classic pork or vegetarian)
Add into the dipping sauce for gyoza, Chinese pan fried dumplings – pork or vegetarian, wontons, spring rolls, Siu Mai etc etc etc!
Make your Asian Sesame Dressing spicy
Add a hit of fire to your fried rice
Make spicy Smashed Cucumbers
Use as the dipping sauce for crispy Chinese Pork Belly
Add a big dollop to dial up the X-factor of Egg Foo Young (Chinese Omelette)
Watch how to make it
Chili crisp noodles
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp Chinese sesame paste (Note 1 subs)
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce (Note 2)
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar (Note 3)
- 1 tsp white sugar (or other sugar, or honey, maple)
- 2 tsp sesame oil , toasted (Note 4)
- 1/8 tsp+ cooking / kosher salt (Note 5)
- 2 heaped tbsp chilli crisp (get oil + chili bits) , Laoganma’s Spicy Chili Oil is my go-to (Note 6)
- 1 tbsp ginger , finely minced*
- 1 tbsp garlic , finely minced*
- 1 green onion stem , finely sliced (or 1/4 red onion finely sliced)
- 1/3 cup coriander/cilantro , roughly chopped*
Noodle options (Note 7):
- 140g/ 5oz (2 cakes) instant noodles / ramen noodles
- 250g/8oz fresh noodles (like hokkien, lo mein)
Instructions
- CHECK the spiciness of your chilli crisp – taste it!! Laoganma is not actually that spicy (most store bought brands I've used are similar) and the quantity used is based on that brand. If yours is very spicy, start with less and add more later.
- Base sauce – Mix the sesame oil, vinegar, soy, sugar, salt and sesame paste in a bowl. Top with green onion (don’t mix in).
- Sizzling chili crisp – Heat chilli crisp and oil in a small pan over medium heat. Add ginger and garlic, stir 30 seconds until golden and it smells amazing. Pour over green onion – enjoy the sizzle! Then mix.
- Toss – Cook noodles per packet directions. Drag the noodles straight from the saucepan into the bowl (extra water loosens the sauce). Toss. Use cooking water to loosen more if needed. Toss through coriander/cilantro.
- Adjust & finish – Taste. Add more salt if needed and more chilli crisp if desired (not all chilli crisp is the same saltiness / spiciness). Eat!
Notes
Nutrition
Life of Dozer
His favourite room in the house. (Mine too)
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A cumin spiced lamb dish might sound totally un-Chinese, but it’s actually authentic and very on-trend! Hailing from Xinjiang province, this Cumin Lamb stir fry is one of the best easy new recipes I’ve tried in months. Xinjiang Cumin Lamb Stir Fry New recipes that truly catch me by surprise are few and far between these days.... Get the Recipe
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]]>A cumin spiced lamb dish might sound totally un-Chinese, but it’s actually authentic and very on-trend! Hailing from Xinjiang province, this Cumin Lamb stir fry is one of the best easy new recipes I’ve tried in months.
Xinjiang Cumin Lamb Stir Fry
New recipes that truly catch me by surprise are few and far between these days. But this one did – and hit it so far out of the park that I declared I must share the recipe “immediately”!
Succulent pieces of lamb generously flavoured with a cumin-sichuan pepper spice mix, golden on the outside and astonishingly tender inside. This is a dish from the Xinjiang province of China where the food is heavily influenced by food of the Middle East, reflecting the predominantly Muslim population. It’s an absolute dead ringer for the ones I’ve had at restaurants, quick to make, and so good I couldn’t stop eating it straight out of the pan.
But what surprised me the most was the ingredients. Everything from the local grocery store.
Even if you are not familiar with Cumin Lamb, if you love Chinese and Middle Eastern food, I guarantee you will love this!
Xinjiang Cumin Lamb backstory – Xinjiang is a province in the north-west of China, situated on the ancient Silk Road that connected China with the Middle East and Europe. With a predominantly Muslim population, the food of Xinjiang is unlike most Chinese food you probably are familiar with. There’s less soy sauce, no pork, and less rice. Instead, think fragrant spices, lots of lamb, flatbreads, skewers, pilafs and richly spiced sauces. Cumin lamb skewers and today’s Cumin Lamb Stir Fry are two signature dishes from the region. Tarim Uyghur in Auburn (Sydney) is highly rated by the community.
Recipe credit: Today’s recipe is adapted from Real-Deal Xinjiang Cumin Lamb recipe from a wonderful website called Omnivore’s Cookbook, one of my trusted sources for authentic Chinese cooking. I made a few minor tweaks to streamline but the flavour is bang on!
Ingredients in Cumin Lamb
Here’s what you need to make this lamb stir fry.
Marinade & spice mix
Lamb & marinade
Lamb cut – I recommend using lamb leg or rump. Good lamb flavour, not too fatty, suitable for quick cooking. More expensive cuts such as backstrap or cutlets are wasted on a stir fry (in my humble opinion) especially given we can tenderise the lamb using the Chinese velveting method (just a touch of baking soda – next point!).
Slow cooking cuts – like shoulder and shank – are a too tough for this recipe (tenderising is not as effective) and most other chops are too fatty.
Baking soda – To tenderise the lamb so it stays beautifully succulent and tender even if it’s kept on the stove for a little longer than ideal. Baking soda is used to velvet chicken and beef in Chinese stir fries too. Tried and loved technique! (Note for velveting-fans: In this recipe we use less baking soda for a larger volume of meat so there’s no need to rinse the baking soda off, you can’t taste it!).
Chinese cooking wine (“Shaoxing wine”) – An essential ingredient for making truly “restaurant standard” Chinese dishes! Substitute with Mirin, cooking sake or dry sherry. Non alcoholic sub – substitute with 2 tablespoons chicken stock/broth.
Cornflour/cornstarch – This creates a light coating on the lamb that the spice mix clings to. Some recipes will have you toss the marinated lamb in cornflour. I tried that, and ended with with a gluey mess. It’s far easier to just mix the cornflour in with the marinade – and the end result is practically the same.
Soy sauce – Either light or all purpose soy sauce. But not dark soy sauce – flavour is too strong and the colour is too intense! More on which soy sauce to use when here.
Salt – For seasoning.
Spice Mix
Cumin – LOTS! 2 whole tablespoons!! This is a bold flavoured dish – and true to its name.
Sichuan pepper (pre-ground) – The cool, numbing, almost lemony spiciness of Sichuan pepper that we all know and love is a signature characteristic of this dish! Completely different to the hot spiciness of powders like cayenne pepper.
Usually I’ll urge you to toast and grind your own, for better flavour. But in this recipe, we (Chef JB and I) tried it with freshly ground and pre-ground and honestly, there was no noticeable difference because the cumin and dried chilli are the dominant flavours here. So feel free to use store bought pre-ground – widely available these days in large grocery stores.
To make your own, dry toast whole peppercorns, cool, grind, sift out lumps, then measure out 1/2 teaspoon powder. Whole peppercorns yield just under half in powder, so start with 1 1/2 teaspoons of Sichuan peppercorns.
Substitute with 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper.
Sugar – Just a small amount, to balance the other flavours. Doesn’t make this dish sweet.
For the stir fry
The whole chilli are used for flavour and fragrance, not for eating. They are used in dry form so they are chewy and not very pleasant to eat.
Dried chilli – Asian ones, if you can. But even sub-continent (Indian) chillis or South American chilli will work! As noted above, they are stir fried with the other ingredients for flavour and releasing some heat, but not intended to be eaten. So the exact type and spiciness of the dried chilli is not as important as in other dishes such as Beef Rendang where dried chilli are blitzed into a curry paste.
Ginger and garlic – Plenty, for beautiful aromatics flavour!
Onion – Also for aromatic flavour.
Coriander/cilantro and sesame – Finishes that are tossed in right at the end.
How to make Cumin Lamb Stir Fry
Slices of lamb are marinated for just 30 minutes to tenderise and flavour. The actual cooking part is very quick, as stir fries typically are. Once you start cooking, you’ll be done in less than 5 minutes.
Marinate the sliced lamb with the soy sauce, Chinese cooking wine, cornflour/cornstarch, salt and baking soda to tenderise.
Mix the cumin, Sichuan pepper and sugar in a bowl.
Cook the lamb in two batches in a large non-stick skillet for just 1 1/2 minutes until light golden, then remove. The thin slices do not take long to cook!
Sauté the aromatics – garlic, ginger, onion and whole dried chillies.
Add the lamb back in with the spice mix and toss just to coat the lamb in the spices. It doesn’t need to be cooked.
Toss the coriander/cilantro and sesame in, then toss again just to disperse. Then serve immediately!
You will love how tender the lamb pieces are! We deliberately keep the slices not too thin so you get a nice satisfying bite of lamb. Caramelised on the outside, pink and succulent inside!
How to serve Cumin Lamb
This is a dry-style stir fry, which means it is one of those stir fries that doesn’t come with loads of sauce. Absence of sauce is compensated for with robust flavours in the stir fry, like you find in other “dry” stir fries like Kung Pao Chicken, Thai Cashew Chicken and Crispy Mongolian Beef.
So personally, I’m fine serving it with plain white rice though I think some people would prefer a flavoured rice – because there’s no sauce for rice soaking. And I get it. If you’re in that camp, try it with Fried Rice (or the now infamous Emergency “Dump & Bake” Fried Rice if you don’t have day-old cooked rice), Garlic Butter Kale Rice or Buttered Rice. Supreme Soy Noodles will also be great as a side dish, along with steamed Asian Greens with Oyster Sauce.
Love to know what you think if you try this! I know it’s a little more niche than the usual stir fries I share. So that should tell you it’s extra great!! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
Xinjiang Cumin Lamb Stir Fry
Ingredients
Lamb & marinade:
- 500g/ 1 lb boneless lamb leg meat (or rump) , sliced 1/2 cm / 1/5″ thick (Note 1)
- 1 tbsp soy sauce , light or all-purpose (not dark or sweet)
- 1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine (Note 2)
- 1/2 tsp cooking/kosher salt
- 1 1/4 tsp baking soda , sifted if lumpy (Note 3)
- 2 tbsp cornflour / cornstarch
Spice mix:
- 2 tbsp cumin powder
- 1/2 tsp white sugar
- 1/2 tsp ground Sichuan pepper (Note 4 to grind your own)
Stir fry:
- 4 tbsp vegetable oil (or canola, peanut)
- 1/2 cup dried Chinese chillis , whole, 25-30 pcs (Note 5)
- 1 onion , halved then sliced 8mm / 1/4" thick
- 2 tbsp finely minced ginger (~5cm/2″ piece)
- 5 cloves garlic , finely sliced
- 1/2 cup coriander/cilantro , roughly chopped
- 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds
- Plain rice , fried rice – more suggestions listed in post
Instructions
- Marinade – Combine lamb, soy sauce, Chinese cooking wine, salt, baking soda and cornflour in a mixing bowl. Mix well then set aside for marinade for 30 minutes (counter fine).
- Spice mix – Mix the ingredients in a small bowl.
- Cook lamb – Heat 3 tablespoons of the oil in a large non-stick skillet (30cm/1") over medium-high heat until hot. Add half the lamb and spread out in a single layer. Leave for 30 seconds then, using 2 wooden spoons, toss for a further 1 minute until the lamb is slightly golden. Remove onto a plate then repeat with remaining lamb (you shouldn't need more oil).
- Sauté aromatics – Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil. Add the dried chilli, ginger and garlic. Stir for 10 seconds to release flavour, then add the onion. Cook for 2 minutes until the onion just starts to soften.
- Spiced lamb – Add the cooked lamb then sprinkle the spice mix over. Toss well to evenly coat.
- Finish dish – Add the cilantro, sesame seeds and toss. Serve over rice! (Note: the dried chillies are not meant to be eaten.)
Notes
Nutrition
Life of Dozer
Many of you inquired about the well being of Geoff* when I moved away from the northern beaches. I’m happy to report he is well, and still receiving a stead flow of meals from us! My assistant still lives in the northern beaches so she takes meals to him and I still go to the dog beach (Bayview) on weekends. He is also very well looked after by other locals. Small token of appreciation for how well he looks after the park for us!
Here he is with his companion, Cubby, yesterday morning (Sunday).
You’d think Dozer would be more respectful given he doesn’t see Geoff every day anymore. But no. Still begging for a little taste of the breakfast I gave Geoff not 5 seconds ago. #Shameless!
* Geoff is a local who lives in his van at the dog park/beach. He has special permission from the council to park there. He looks after the park like its his own backyard which is why it is the most pristine dog park in the whole of Sydney. He wakes up to gun-barrel views over beautiful Pittwater every morning!
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The meat-free version of Chinese san choy bow. You never knew vegetarian lettuce wraps could be so delicious! Crumbled tofu makes the filling meaty while vegetables add lovely texture, smothered in a glossy, savoury sauce. Healthy food was never so delicious. And interesting. And easy. {Just 245 cal for a generous serving} Vegetarian lettuce wraps... Get the Recipe
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]]>The meat-free version of Chinese san choy bow. You never knew vegetarian lettuce wraps could be so delicious! Crumbled tofu makes the filling meaty while vegetables add lovely texture, smothered in a glossy, savoury sauce. Healthy food was never so delicious. And interesting. And easy. {Just 245 cal for a generous serving}
Vegetarian lettuce wraps (san choy bow)
Today’s recipe is a meat-free version of the Chinese restaurant favourite san choy bow which is a lettuce wrap with a pork filling.
I hate that I used the word “awesome” for a recipe name (in caps! 😅) but I couldn’t think of another way to capture your attention for these lettuce wraps. A vegetarian one, no less, made with lots of vegetable and tofu.
So if you’re reading this, perhaps the somewhat childish name I’ve bestowed upon these lettuce wraps worked! Because they are Awesome – with a capital A. Not just “ok”, not just “good”. That doesn’t make the cut to be shared on my website. They. Are. AWESOME!
(I need a new word. My high school English teacher would be horrified if she read this post).
Right, let me go straight to an up-close-and-personal of this tofu and vegetable filling that is the star of today’s show. Try telling me this doesn’t look delicious!
And before it was that, it was this:
Tofu crumbled up like mince (that’s ground meat, to you folks in the States). Much more effective for flavour absorption than dicing (plus, easier); then
Sauced with san choy bow sauce that stains the tofu an enticing mahogany colour and coats everything in a glossy savoury sauce.
Ready to see how to make these vegetarian lettuce wraps?? Let’s do this!
What you need for Vegetarian Lettuce Wraps
Here’s what you need:
The filling
Firm or extra-firm tofu – Use a firm or extra firm tofu, not silken tofu. It needs to be firm enough so you can crumble it like mince / ground meat. Tub label will give you clues – it will be labelled as such. 😂 Also, give it a squeeze. It should feel like soft rubber, rather than a very fragile jelly (silken tofu).
Vegetables – Green beans, carrot and mushrooms are the mix I’m using today. Love the texture the green beans and carrots give to the filling, and the savouriness the mushrooms bring.
Having said that, feel free to use what you’ve got! Any sauté-able vegetables will work fine.
Garlic and onion – Aromatics. Don’t skip these – they become more important in vegetarian dishes!
San choy bow sauce for filling
The sauce used for these vegetarian lettuce wraps is the same as the one I use for my classic pork san choy bow. It’s glossy and savoury, and each ingredient contributes to the flavour so please don’t skip any. This sauce, it can make anything taste amazing – even tofu! (There, I said it, go ahead and call me immature 😂).
Cornflour / cornstarch – This makes the sauce shiny and thickens it so it coats the filling ingredients beautifully.
Oyster sauce – A whole lot of flavour, jammed into one bottle! As the name suggests, the sauce is made with oysters – not that you would ever pick it. It just tastes savoury and sweet.
Alternatives – Vegetarian options available these days, even at large grocery stores in Australia. Else, Hoisin works great (though you get a five spice flavour which is lovely, just different!)
Light soy sauce provides salt but doesn’t stain things a brown colour and has a mild soy flavour. Can be substituted with all purpose soy sauce but not dark soy sauce (too intense). More on different soy sauces here.
Dark soy has intense colour (this is what makes the sauce and stains the tofu a brown colour) and much more intense soy flavour. It can be substituted with more light or all-purpose soy sauce but the sauce flavour will be more mild, and the tofu won’t go brown.
Chinese cooking wine (“Shaoxing wine”) is an essential ingredient for making truly “restaurant standard” Chinese dishes. It adds depth of flavour and complexity into sauces. More info on Chinese cooking wine here.
Substitute with Mirin, cooking sake or dry sherry. Non alcoholic sub – use 1/2 cup (125 ml) low sodium chicken broth/stock instead of water + Chinese cooking wine.
Sesame oil (toasted) – For lovely sesame flavour in the dish. Use toasted (brown oil) not un-toasted (yellow oil) as it has stronger sesame flavour. For fellow Aussies, toasted is the standard sesame oil sold in grocery stores. Un-toasted is harder to find (generally in health food stores).
The lettuce wraps & toppings
Filling sorted, now here’s what you need to make the wrap. The peanuts and sriracha or other chilli paste/sauce is highly, highly recommended for a great lettuce wrap!
Lettuce leaves – Chinese san choy bow lettuce wraps served at restaurants here in Australia use iceberg lettuce. At fancy places, they cut into neat rounds!
But honestly, any lettuce leaves where filling can be bundled inside, or have a natural cup shape works fine. Crispy (cos / romaine lettuce) or soft, pliable leaves (like butter lettuce).
Sriracha or other chilli sauce – Highly recommended. It just works so well to add a hit of spiciness to the freshness of the vegetable filling!
Peanuts – For an authentic san choy bow experience, chopped peanuts is also highly recommended!
Green onion – Sprinkle of fresh. Not as highly recommended, but it can be skipped if you don’t have it.
How to make vegetarian lettuce wraps
Mix the sauce ingredients in a small bowl in this order: cornflour/cornstarch and water first until lump free, then mix in everything else. Why? Because it’s easier to dissolve cornflour in less liquid than too much liquid.
Crumble tofu – Drain tofu. Cut into 5mm/0.2″ slices then use your fingers to crumble into a mince. It will crumble with little effort. Don’t make the crumbs too fine, you can always break the tofu up more when cooking – just like cooking mince/ground meat!
No need to press the tofu – There’s no need to press water out of the tofu using weights. The water contained in the tofu prevents it from being too dry.
Filling – Using a large non stick pan, heat the oil over high heat then cook the onion, garlic and carrot for just 1 minute. Add green beans and mushrooms then cook for 2 minutes. The green beans should still be firm. This is good! The texture the green beans add to the filling is really nice.
Add tofu and just toss through. Tofu doesn’t need to be cooked to eat it so for this recipe we just need to warm it through.
Sauce it! Pour in the sauce then let it come to a simmer. As it heats up, the cornflour in the sauce will make it thicken. Stir for 1 minute or until it becomes thick and glossy so it coats the mixture nicely. See the photo in step 6 for what the filling looks like once the sauce thickens. Look at all that flavour on the tofu and vegetables!
If the sauce reduces and thickens too quickly (which might happen if you’re using an extra large pan or an extra strong stove <– I’d love this problem), then just add a splash of water.
Serving – Transfer the filling into a bowl. Put it out on the table with the lettuce leaves, green onion, peanuts and bottle of sriracha. Then let everyone make their own wraps!
DIY lettuce wraps – Spoon filling into lettuce leaf.
Toppings – Drizzle with sriracha, sprinkle with peanuts and green onion. Bundle / wrap (for soft lettuce leaves) or fold like tacos (for crisper lettuce leaves) then devour!
I have to confess, this recipe took me by surprise. I made it during one of those patches when I was trying to “be healthier”. (But then mango pancakes and chili dogs happened which derailed my good intentions, followed by pizza bread and carbonara which didn’t help.)
Even though I knew the san choy bow sauce had flavour-power, the thought of a tofu-vegetable medley wrapped in yet more vegetable (lettuce) wasn’t exactly making me excited.
How very, very wrong I was. It’s not just “good”. It’s extremely tasty. As in – I WANT to have it for dinner tonight.
The fact that it’s just 245 calories for a generous dinner-size serving is a bonus.
And with that, I’m done in my efforts to convince you to try this. Perhaps I didn’t even need to do all this writing and the excellent name I christened this dish was enough?? Awesome Vegetarian Lettuce Wraps. Full points for creative writing! 😂 – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
San choy bow = san choy bau = san choi bow = lettuce wraps!
AMAZING vegetarian lettuce wraps
Ingredients
San choy bow sauce:
- 1 1/4 tsp cornflour / cornstarch
- 3 tbsp water
- 1 1/2 tbsp light soy sauce (Note 1)
- 1 tsp dark soy sauce (Note 1)
- 1 1/2 tbsp oyster sauce (Note 2)
- 1 tsp sesame oil , toasted
- 1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine (or sub Mirin or dry sherry, Note 3)
- 1 tsp white sugar
- 1 tsp finely grated ginger (sub garlic)
Filling:
- 250g/8oz extra firm tofu (Note 4)
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 garlic , finely minced
- 1/2 onion , finely diced
- 1/2 cup carrot , chopped into 5mm/ 0.2″ pieces
- 1/2 cup green beans , sliced into 5mm/0.2″ rounds
- 1/2 cup mushroom , chopped into 5mm/ 0.2″ pieces
Wraps:
- 12 lettuce leaves (+/- depending on lettuce size, Note 5)
- Peanuts , finely chopped (I like salted, but unsalted fine)
- Green onion , finely sliced
- Sriracha , for drizzling (highly recommended)
Instructions
- Sauce – Mix cornflour/cornstarch with water until lump free. Add everything else, then mix.
- Crumble tofu – Drain tofu, then cut into 5mm/0.2" slices. Use your fingers to crumble into a mince. Not too fine crumbs, can always break up more when cooking (just like cooking mince/ground meat!).
- Filling – Heat oil over high heat in a large non stick pan. Cook onion, garlic and carrot for 1 minute. Add green beans and mushrooms. Cook 2 minutes – green beans should still be firm.
- Sauce it – Add tofu and toss through. Pour in the sauce. Stir for 1 minute or until the sauce thickens and is coating the mixture nicely. (If it evaporates too quickly, add a splash of water)
- Serving – Transfer filling into a bowl. Lay out on the table with lettuce leaves, green onion, peanuts and bottle of sriracha.
- DIY lettuce wraps – Spoon filling into lettuce leaf. Drizzle with sriracha, sprinkle with peanuts and green onion. Bundle / fold, eat!
Notes
* Light soy sauce can be substituted with all purpose soy sauce but not dark soy sauce (too intense). More on different soy sauces here.
* Dark soy can be substituted with more light or all-purpose soy sauce 3. Chinese cooking wine (“Shaoxing wine”) is an essential ingredient for making truly “restaurant standard” Chinese dishes. Substitute with Mirin, cooking sake or dry sherry. More info on Chinese cooking wine here. Non alcoholic sub – use 1/2 cup (125 ml) low sodium chicken broth/stock instead of water + Chinese cooking wine, expect to simmer filling for an extra 1 minute as it will take slightly longer to thicken. 4. Tofu – Use a firm or extra firm tofu, not silken tofu. It needs to be firm enough so you can crumble it like mince / ground meat. Tub label will specify it is firm tofu (also, give it a squeeze!). 5. Lettuce leaves – Chinese san choy bow lettuce wraps served at restaurants here in Australia use iceberg lettuce. At fancy places, they cut into neat rounds! But honestly, any lettuce leaves where filling can be bundled inside, or have a natural cup shape works fine. Crispy (cos / romaine lettuce) or soft, pliable leaves (like butter lettuce). 6. Leftover filling will keep for 3 days in the fridge. Not suitable for freezing. Nutrition per serving, assuming 2 servings. Excludes toppings.
Nutrition
Life of Dozer
Before / during / after:
Before he realised it was plain baby spinach.
During the realisation.
After the realisation.
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