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Home Beef mince recipes - ground beef

Beef chow mein – great mince/ground beef recipe!

By Nagi Maehashi
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Published3 Jul '23 Updated11 May '25
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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.

Bowl of Beef chow mein ready to be eaten

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!

Serving Beef chow mein

What you need

Here’s what you need to make this:

Noodles & add-ins

Ingredients in Beef chow mein
  • 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.

Ingredients in Beef chow mein
  • 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

How to make Beef Chow Mein
  1. 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.

  2. 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

How to make Beef Chow Mein
  1. 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.

  2. 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.

How to make Beef Chow Mein
  1. Finish sauce – Meanwhile, mix the cornflour slurry into the remaining sauce.

  2. 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!

  3. Keep cooking! – When the egg is mostly cooked, add the carrot and cabbage. Cook for 1 minute until cabbage starts to wilt.

  4. 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!

Freshly cooked Beef chow mein

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

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Bowl of Beef chow mein ready to be eaten

Beef Chow Mein – great beef mince noodle recipe!

Author: Nagi
Prep: 15 minutes mins
Cook: 10 minutes mins
Mains
Asian, Chinese
4.99 from 51 votes
Servings2
Tap or hover to scale
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Recipe video above. The beef mince version of everybody's favourite Chicken Chow Mein – great way to cook up ground beef with noodles. Economical and no meat chopping required, with plenty of hidden vegetables so it's a complete dinner!
Scrambling up an egg with the beef is a neat trick to make the beef cling to the noodles better.

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
Prevent screen from sleeping

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!

Recipe Notes:

1. 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.
2. Soy sauce – Light soy sauce and all-purpose soy sauce add salt but doesn’t add much soy flavour or colour. The dark soy sauce stains the noodles a brown colour and adds soy flavour. It’s intense so you don’t need much!
3. Oyster sauce – Sweet and savoury, adds depth of flavour to an otherwise simple sauce. Sub with vegetarian oyster sauce (available in some large grocery stores and Asian stores these days) or Hoisin (different flavour with hint of five spice but similar savouriness and sauce thickness).
4. Chinese cooking wine (“Shaoxing wine”) is an essential ingredient for making truly “restaurant standard” Asian noodles. Substitute with Mirin, cooking sake or dry sherry.
Non alcoholic sub – sub both the cooking wine AND water with low sodium chicken broth/stock.
5. Keep beansprouts submerged in water in an airtight container in the fridge. Change the water every couple of days. This will extend the shelf life 3x. Also, here in Australia, bean sprouts at Asian stores are much better quality than ordinary grocery stores!
6. Leftovers will keep for 3 to 4 days in the fridge. Will freeze fine but not ideal – noodles get a little soft.
Nutrition per serving. Serves 2 very generously – more like 2 1/2 servings. 🙂

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 664cal (33%)Carbohydrates: 71g (24%)Protein: 32g (64%)Fat: 30g (46%)Saturated Fat: 8g (50%)Polyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 14gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 149mg (50%)Sodium: 1681mg (73%)Potassium: 732mg (21%)Fiber: 6g (25%)Sugar: 11g (12%)Vitamin A: 5473IU (109%)Vitamin C: 39mg (47%)Calcium: 100mg (10%)Iron: 6mg (33%)
Keywords: beef mince recipe, beef noodles, Chow Mein, ground beef stir fry
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @recipe_tin.

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Visited our old stomping ground on the weekend – Bayview dog beach! Plenty of Dozer smiles that morning. 🥰

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Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative!

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120 Comments

  1. Gillian says

    July 4, 2023 at 12:47 pm

    5 stars
    Loved the beef chowmein recipe.
    Dozer you lucky dog all smiles in the water
    For the person who is concerned about soy, Try Braggs coconut aminos

    Reply
  2. Karl says

    July 4, 2023 at 4:38 am

    Cooked this for 4 tonight…fantastic flavour and great with the crunchy veg. Complete hit….but pleased I’ve got a huge wok or I would have been struggling!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      July 4, 2023 at 7:07 am

      That’s so great to hear Karl!! YES it’s a giant batch for 4 🙂 N x

      Reply
  3. Leslie says

    July 4, 2023 at 2:08 am

    Help! Nagi. I make many of your recipes even though I am allergic to soy sauce. However, these kind of recipes don’t have wiggle room for the soy. Any suggestions?? Thanks so much.

    Reply
    • Jennifer says

      July 5, 2023 at 5:06 pm

      Hi Leslie, my daughter is allergic to soy, wheat and gluten.She uses coconut aminos as a substitute that will give you a similar umami flavour.

      Reply
      • Leslie says

        July 8, 2023 at 1:25 am

        Thank you so much for responding. I have many food allergies like your daughter, but because of having to read labels and eat healthy, I am thin and am extremely healthy into my sixties.

        Reply
    • Nagi says

      July 4, 2023 at 7:09 am

      HI Leslie – I’m sorry to hear that 🙁 What do you use as a substitute in other recipes calling for soy sauce? Is it the gluten?

      Reply
      • Leslie says

        July 8, 2023 at 1:27 am

        I usually use “fish sauce” or anchovies paste.

        Reply
  4. Paula says

    July 3, 2023 at 10:18 pm

    Love that this recipe serves only two. Perfect for a single person! ALWAYS appreciate your detailed instructions and substitute suggestions. So understanding of we amateur cooks! From a loyal Canadian!!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      July 4, 2023 at 7:09 am

      Happy Canada Day Paula! Hope you had a good one! N x

      Reply
  5. G. Goins says

    July 3, 2023 at 8:43 pm

    Beef chow mein recipe

    Instead of hamburger can I use beef steak cut in stripes? It’s like the beef Mexican restaurants use for fajitas.

    Thank you,

    GG 🙂

    Reply
  6. Lynette Devries says

    July 3, 2023 at 7:32 pm

    Haven’t tried it yet but it sounds yummy. I’m writing to tell you canola is one of the worst oils to cook in. Extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil is much better

    Reply
  7. Lynne says

    July 3, 2023 at 7:05 pm

    Wow! Dozer looks like he hit the jackpot. Guess there’s no doubt – he clearly misses his beach.

    Reply
  8. Rakel says

    July 3, 2023 at 6:35 pm

    I love easy mince meals, can´t wait to make this and it absolutely made my day seing Dozer so happy, he will come around, we all need time to adjust to new surroundings, not just humans, but he has the best mamma in the world x

    Reply
  9. Mackenzie Pinkstone says

    July 3, 2023 at 5:38 pm

    5 stars
    Hi Nagi,
    Can we use Charlie for this recipe and if so how much?
    Thank you very much

    Reply
    • Jeani says

      July 4, 2023 at 4:00 am

      What in heck is Charlie?????

      Reply
      • Nagi says

        July 4, 2023 at 7:08 am

        My all-purpose make-and-keep stir fry sauce!! N x

        Reply
  10. Ann says

    July 3, 2023 at 5:29 pm

    Blast autocorrect- chow mein notchow mean

    Reply
  11. Ann says

    July 3, 2023 at 5:28 pm

    Which brand of chow mean noodles do you use, Nagi? Are they available at Woolies or Coles?

    Reply
  12. Ailsa McQuade says

    July 3, 2023 at 5:16 pm

    I’m giving this a go for sure! I know not many people go gor it but in these economic hard times offal is SO cheap aside from lambs fry or speak and kidney pie (even stewing,steak ain’t cheap) I’m not sure what else to do with this and chicken hearts (lamb hearts too in my freezer) if you have,anything upvyour sleeve I’d be greatful. So glad to see Fozer happy, poor wee boy misses his mates unfortunately its difficult to explain to a dog that they’ll meet new friends.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      July 3, 2023 at 5:28 pm

      Hi Ailsa! I’m afraid I’m not expert at cooking offal, I’m sorry to say! I’d love tips myself 🙂 N x

      Reply
      • Ailsa McQuade says

        July 3, 2023 at 6:34 pm

        One tip i have ..soak kidney in brandy overnight and discard liquid to take the bitterness out for S&K pie.
        If I get any tips I’ll pass em on and let you do your thing….xxx

        Reply
  13. Debi says

    July 3, 2023 at 5:04 pm

    Thank you for the recipe…very busy week for me, so think this will be dinner tomorrow night!!
    One very happy Dozer, that’s definitely a doggy smile on his face!!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      July 3, 2023 at 5:28 pm

      YES. This is a good one for busy nights! N x

      Reply
  14. Kerry says

    July 3, 2023 at 4:46 pm

    Oh!! Happy Dozer! 🙂

    Reply
  15. bev says

    July 3, 2023 at 4:43 pm

    thank you Nagi, love your recipes. Thank you so much.

    Reply
  16. Katie says

    July 3, 2023 at 4:37 pm

    Hi Nagi, what are the red chilli’s in liquid in the side bowl? My partner is a chilli fiend and I would like to serve this meal with the chilli’s. Can I buy them at Coles. Thanks heaps Xx

    Reply
    • Nita says

      July 3, 2023 at 4:51 pm

      I noticed the chilli too! I believe Adz is correct, it’s also known as chilli crisp I think. Nagi has a couple of other recipes using it, definitely worth purchasing! (Try her chilli crisp noodles recipe if your partner loves chilli! 👌)

      Reply
      • Nagi says

        July 3, 2023 at 5:24 pm

        YES! I always have chilli on the side of stir fries and noodles, just in case I feel like a boost 🙂 N x

        Reply
    • Adz says

      July 3, 2023 at 4:42 pm

      Looks like chilli oil you can buy at Coles and woolies in the Asian section. Laoganma chilli oil I think it is. Definitely a good addition if your partner likes chilli!

      Reply
      • Katie says

        July 4, 2023 at 7:27 am

        Thankyou legends I found it at Coles 🙏🏻

        Reply
      • Danielle says

        July 3, 2023 at 6:35 pm

        Thanks Nagi, I’ve been waiting for a “Nagi beef chow mein”. I’m surprised with the addition of egg but will give it a go as you’re the expert! Congratulations on the success of your
        Cookbook

        Reply
  17. Holly says

    July 3, 2023 at 4:12 pm

    This is creepy! I was just asking my partner if he had any ideas for this week’s dinners and he said how about like a mince chow mein? Will definitely make this!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      July 3, 2023 at 5:28 pm

      It’s a sign! 🙂 N x

      Reply
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I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative! Read More

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