aka 沙嗲牛肉麵 (sa-deh-ao-yuk-meen). A bowl of hot instant noodles with tender beef cooked in a satay sauce – a salty sweet nutty flavour. One of the most popular items that you’ll find at a Hong Kong style café.
When I go to a Hong Kong style café, my go-to order is satay beef noodle soup. Hong Kong people usually order this for breakfast or lunch (you can even have this for dinner if you like). In Hong Kong style cafés, you are also given the choice to change the instant noodle base to rice vermicelli. Personally, I like having this with instant noodles (probably because instant noodles holds a spot in my heart). There is something about this dish that gives you such a satisfying feeling, yet makes you crave for more.
It’s so hard to find a place that does decent satay beef noodle soup here in Canada. I find that either the beef doesn’t have enough satay flavour, or it’s way too salty. Not to worry, now I will share how we can all make it at home – just like an authentic Hong Kong style café.
The satay beef is actually fairly easy to make.
- We first marinate the beef for 30 minutes. You may be confused as to why we need baking soda to marinate the beef. This is crucial because baking soda is actually a great tenderizer to soften the fibres and ensures that the beef remains juicy and tender. Water is also another crucial ingredient because think about it this way: the beef needs to drink some water too in order to stay moist and tender after cooking. This is called “velveting beef”.
- We need to stir fry the sauce to bloom the aromatics and spices, or it won’t be fragrant. Stir fry the paste and add more or less water depending on how thick/runny you want the consistency to be.
You can also swap the beef for chicken or any other protein you like. This also goes for the noodles as well.
If you do try out this recipe, be sure to leave a comment and/or give it a rating! I’d also love to see your creations so don’t forget to tag me on Instagram!
Satay Beef Noodle Soup
Ingredients
Beef
- 350 g flank beef steak (thinly sliced)
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp ground white pepper
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- 3 tbsp water
- 1 tsp sesame oil
Satay Sauce
- 2 shallots (minced)
- 3 garlic cloves (minced)
- 2 tbsp satay paste
- 2 tbsp sha cha sauce
- 2 tbsp peanut butter
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 2 tsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- 2 tsp sugar
- Water (add more or less depending on how thick/runny you want the consistency to be)
Noodles
- 2 packs instant noodles
Instructions
Beef
- Mix together all the ingredients in a large bowl. Mix the beef with the marinade until all the water has been absorbed (to make the beef juicy and tender). Marinate for 30 minutes.
Satay Sauce
- Mix together all the ingredients in a bowl except for the shallots, garlic and water. Set aside.
Assembling
- In a heated wok/pan with oil over medium-high heat, stir fry the marinated beef until medium rare. Set aside on a plate.
- Then use the same wok/pan to cook the satay sauce. Stir fry the shallots and garlic until fragrant. Add in mixed satay sauce and stir fry it together with the aromatics. Add in water (add more or less depending on how thick/runny you want the consistency to be) and bring to a boil.
- Add back in the cooked beef and give it a good mix.
- Serve the satay beef on top of some cooked instant noodles (make sure to reserve some soup). Mix everything together to have a satay broth. Enjoy!
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