Saucy Beef Chow Ho Fun with Gravy (菜遠牛河)

Thinly slice the beef against the grain approximately 1/8 inch thick and place it in a small bowl.

Add all the beef marinade ingredients from the 'Beef Marinade' ingredient list with the beef slices and gently mix the ingredients by hand into the beef. Set aside to marinade.

Wash the choy until the water is clear and there is no more sand.

Discard any yellow leaves and chop the choy in half. Keep the leaves and the stems separate and set them aside.

[If You Are Using Fresh Ho Fun Noodles]Remove the noodles from the packaging and place them on a plate. Microwave it for 1-minute intervals until it is soft. It will usually get softer on the outer edges first. Gently separate each noodle to separate strands, starting from the outer edges.The middle of the chunk of ho fun noodles might be cold and harder to separate, but that's okay, this process should be done in a few steps. Put it in the microwave again in 1-minute intervals until it is slightly softer.Set it aside for later.

[If You Are Using Dried Rice Noodles]Soak the noodles in hot (not boiling) water for 6-8 minutes. Once the noodles are pliable and bendy, drain the water and set it aside for later.

In a small bowl, mix the oyster sauce, with 2-3 tablespoons of chicken stock so that it thins out the oyster sauce. (Oyster sauce is difficult to evenly mix with liquids and will clump unless it is thinned out first)

Once the oyster sauce has thinned out, you can mix the remainder of the chicken stock in the bowl and mix in the rest of the ingredients under the 'Sauce' ingredient list. Set aside for later.

In another small bowl, mix the corn starch and water together and set aside for later.

Bring a small pot of water to a boil and add a bit of oil to the water. (Adding oil is optional, but it will give the choy a nice glossy sheen after it has been cooked)Boil the stems first for about 2 minutes first. Then add in the leaves and cook it for 20 seconds.Drain the choy and set it aside for later.

Set the stove to medium-high to high heat and add oil to the wok or pan. Don't be shy with the oil, it will help the noodles cook better and prevent them from sticking to each other and the pan.

Add the noodles in once the oil starts to smoke. Quickly cook the noodles for about 2-3 minutes until they are all soft.I like to use chopsticks to wiggle the noodles quickly to keep them moving and flip them a few times so that I don't break the noodle strands. Alternatively, you can also use a spatula, just make sure you are flipping the noodles from the outer edge of the pan to the middle. Don't cut right into the middle, which will cut your noodle strands.

Transfer the noodles to a serving plate when they are done cooking.

[If You are using Dried Rice Noodles]You will need to add about 3-4 tablespoons of water into the pan while you are stir-frying the noodles to reconstitute them and soften them further.

Add a bit more oil back into the pan. Once the oil is hot, add in the beef slices and stir fry them until they are about 50% cooked. Don't worry you will cook it the rest of the way in the sauce.

Remove the beef from the pan and set it aside with the par-boiled choy for later

Set the stove to medium heat and add the sauce to the pan.

Once the sauce starts to simmer, re-mix the corn starch slurry in the bowl (the starch may have settled to the bottom).

Add the corn starch slurry to the sauce and quickly stir the sauce until it thickens. It's important to keep stirring the sauce quickly until it is thick to prevent the sauce from clumping

Once the sauce is thick, add the beef slices and choy into the sauce and let it cook for about 1-2 minutes. The choy and beef will release a bit of water which will thin out the sauce a little.

Once the sauce is done, pour it over the noodles and dig in!