Beef chow fun

Beef chow fun is a staple , made from stir-frying beef, ''hefen'' and bean sprouts and is commonly found in ''yum cha'' restaurants in Guangdong, Hong Kong, and even overseas, as well as in ''cha chaan tengs''.

The main ingredient of this dish is '''' noodles, which is also known as ''Shahe fen'', originating from the town of Shahe in Guangzhou. The most common methods of cooking ''ho fun'' are in soup or stir fried. ''Ho fun'' can be dry-fried or wet-fried .

Dry-fried beef ho fun is made by first stir frying beef strips until they are half-cooked. Bean sprouts and onions are then fried in oil. The ''ho fun'' is added and stir fried very quickly, along with soy sauce and heated oil. Finally, the beef is added.

An important factor in the making of this dish is "''wok hei''" . The cooking must be done over a high flame and the stirring must be done quickly. Not only must the ''ho fun'' be stirred quickly, it must not be handled too strongly or it will break into pieces. The amount of oil also needs to be controlled very well, or the extra oil or dry texture will ruin the flavor. Because of these factors, this dish is a major test for chefs in Cantonese cooking.