Braised beef ho fun noodle soup is a classic and famous Cantonese Chinese noodle like wonton noodle soup, soy sauce noodle, beef chow fun, lobster yee mein, Singaporean rice noodles and crispy noodles. This beef ho fun noodle soup uses simple Asian aromatic spices. Not only does it taste great, but it also smells fantastic. Besides, the secret to making delicious beef ho fun noodle soup is to use an instant pot pressure cooker. It is faster and the meat is soft. Also, it’s only a few steps, so you can enjoy melt-in-mouth beef and juicy daikon ho fun noodle soup recipe! Let’s learn how to make braised beef ho fun noodle soup for your meals.
Love noodles? Check out these laksa noodle soup, pork & pickled vegetable noodle soup, Taiwanese beef noodle soup, lo mein, instant noodle stir fry and beef pho recipes.
What is braised beef ho fun noodle soup (牛腩河)?
Chinese braised beef with radish is a popular Chinese dish in the southern part of China. Often, braised beef radish is served with rice or noodles. And, braised beef ho fun noodle soup is one of the well-known noodle soups among Canton area in China.
Braised beef ho fun noodle soup in Cantonese it called ngau lam ho (牛腩河). It is a popular and comforting noodle soup. Typically it uses beef brisket and it's braised until the beef is tender and flavorful. The braising process involves slow-cooking the beef in a savory sauce made with ingredients like soy sauce, star anise, clove, garlic and ginger. This results in tender, melt-in-your-mouth beef pieces with rich and aromatic flavors.
Beef ho fun soup is one of my favorite noodle soups. Traditionally, brisket beef is slowly cooked for hours with radish (daikon). Now, I can use an instant pot pressure cooker to make them easily and the beef is so tender and moist. In addition, it’s only a few steps and you can enjoy melt-in-mouth beef served with ho fun, rice noodle soup. The juicy radish is yummy because it absorbs the meat sauce.
In this beef and radish recipe, I used the same ingredients, but different ways to cook them in a pressure cooker because some people don't like daikon too soft. Check out this full braised beef and daikon recipe and video.
What is ho fun noodles?
Ho fun or ho fan (河粉) is a Cantonese term for wide rice noodles. In Mandarin Chinese it is called he fen or shahe fen. It is a type of Chinese noodle made from rice. It is a popular ingredient in Chinese cuisine, especially in Southern China like Guangdong and Hong Kong.
Ho fun noodles are rice noodles in white color, broad and oily. Also, the texture is elastic and a bit chewy. Most of the time, ho fun noodles are in strips or sheets that cut to the desired width. They are versatile and often used in dishes like stir fry and soup dishes. Personally, I like to use narrower ho fun for noodle soup and wider ho fun noodles for stir fry.
One of the most well-known dishes featuring ho fun noodles is beef chow fun. It is a stir fry of noodles with beef, bean sprouts and a savory sauce. Also, this braised beef ho fun noodle soup is a classic.
Generally, ho fun noodles are sold as fresh. However, the place where we live is hard to find fresh made ho fun. Most of them are refrigerated and made from California. If fresh ho fun noodles are not available, you can also use dried form.
What are the ingredients for braised beef ho fun noodle soup?
In this beef ho fun noodle soup recipe, the main ingredients are garlic, clove, ginger, star anise, daikon, beef, ho fun noodles, oyster sauce, soy sauce, brown sugar, salt, green onion and water.
Most people use brisket beef, we called them ngau lam (牛腩) in Cantonese or niu nan in mandarin. However, I like to use beef chuck roast because it has less fat and more meat. On the other hand, it is cheaper and easy to find at regular grocery stores. Therefore, in this recipe I use beef chuck roast instead of beef brisket and cook them in an instant pot pressure cooker.
Is stir fry ho fun noodles different from soup?
In general, stir fry ho fun is wider and soup ho fun noodles is narrower and softer. If you get them at Asian stores, you can see the package. It usually labels them for stir fry or noodle soup.
Can I substitute daikon with carrots?
Yes, you can. Although it’s slightly different, it will taste good as well.
How to have more liquid?
If you want more liquid, you can add ¼ cup of oyster sauce, 3 tablespoons of soy sauce, ¾ teaspoon of salt, 2 tablespoons of brown sugar and 2 cups of water into the instant pot instead of 3 tablespoons of oyster sauce, 3 tablespoons of soy sauce, ½ teaspoon of salt, 2 tablespoons of brown sugar and 1 cup of water. Or, you can add water, salt and some of the broth to serve the noodles.
Can I make this over the stove top or slow cooker?
Sure, you can make it over the stove top and use a small fire and braise it for 2-2.5 hours. Or, you can use a slow cooker to cook them for 6-8 hours.
Cooking tip for how to cook braised beef ho fun noodle soup:
- Put beef, radish, garlic, clove, star anise, ginger and sauce into an instant pot. Then, push the manual button to adjust time for 60 minutes at high pressure and natural release pressure.
- When water is boiling, add ho fun noodles into water and let it cook for a few seconds to a minute or until the noodle is loosen up. (Remember don't over cook the noodles because the noodles are cooked, just loosen up the noodles after refrigerating and remove extra oil.)
FAQs:
I bought mine at an Asian store. Some Asian stores don't have fresh ones. You can use dried ho fun noodles if you cannot find fresh ones.
Most people use brisket beef. We called them ngau lam (牛腩) in Cantonese or niu nan in mandarin. However, I like to use beef chuck roast because it has less fat and more meat. On the other hand, it is cheaper and easy to find at regular grocery stores. In this recipe, I use beef chuck roast instead of beef brisket. So, you don't have to go to an Asian store to get them.
Instructions for how to make braised beef ho fun noodle soup:
Preparation:
1. Wash and peel a small piece of ginger (2 oz). Then, cut it into 5 slices.
2. After that, peel 4 cloves of garlic (1.1 oz).
3. Wash and cut 2 sticks of green onion (1 oz). Then, set them aside.
4. Peel off one medium sized daikon (2 pounds) and wash it.
5. Cut the daikon from step 4 into big chunks.
6. Rinse 3.5 pounds of beef chuck roast and cut them into chunks.
Cooking beef and radish:
7. Put the sliced ginger from step 1 and peeled garlic from step 2 into the instant pot.
8. After, add 5 pieces of star anise (0.1 oz) and 8 pieces of clove into the instant pot. (Just rinse the star anise and clove before putting them in.)
9. Next, put the cut daikon from step 5 into the instant pot.
10. Put the cut beef from step 6 into the instant pot.
11. The following step, put 3 tablespoons of oyster sauce, 3 tablespoons of soy sauce, ½ teaspoon of salt, 2 tablespoons of brown sugar and 1 cup of water into the instant pot. (If you want more liquid, you can add ¼ cup of oyster sauce, 3 tablespoons of soy sauce, ¾ teaspoon of salt, 2 tablespoons of brown sugar and 2 cups of water into the instant pot instead.)
12. After that, mix the ingredients a little bit. Close the lid and vent. Then, push the button manual and adjust time 60 minutes at high pressure and natural release pressure.
Cooking ho fun noodles:
13. Pour 4 cups of water into the pot. Turn on medium high heat and let it boil.
14. When water is boiling, add 1 pack ho fun noodles (32 oz) into water and let it cook for a few seconds to a minute or until the noodle is loosen up. (Remember don't over cook the noodles, the purpose is to loosen up the noodles after refrigerating and remove extra oil.)
15. Drain the ho fun noodles.
16. After, put the cooked ho fun noodles from step 15 into the bowl.
17. When the braised beef and radish is done, open the lid and use a strainer to remove excess fat.
Combine the noodle soup:
18. Put the beef and radish from step 17 in the bowl of ho fun noodles.
19. Sprinkle some green onion from step 3 into the bowl of braised beef radish ho fun noodle. Then, pour some broth over the noodles when they are ready to serve.
Enjoy this tasty, delicious and simple instant pot braised beef ho fun noodle soup recipe! Also, check out these chicken udon stir fry, Hawaiian spam musubi, chicken satay, pan fried buns, salt & pepper squid, salmon sushi cups, grass jelly drink and lychee slush recipes.
You May Also Like these Noodles Recipes:
- BEEF CHOW FUN (乾炒牛河)
- RICE NOODLES HOMEMADE
- HOMEMADE CHOW MEIN STIR FRIED NOODLES
- HOMEMADE RAMEN NOODLES
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Braised Beef Ho Fun Noodle Soup
Equipment
- 1 Instant pot pressure cooker/ pot/ slow cooker
Video
Ingredients
- 1 pack Fresh ho fun rice noodles (around 32 oz or 2 pounds)
BRAISED BEEF RADISH:
- 2 pounds Daikon radish
- 3.5 pounds Beef chuck roast boneless (or beef brisket)
- 5 slices Ginger (2 oz)
- 4 cloves Garlic (1.1 oz)
- 5 pieces Star anise (0.1 oz)
- 8 pieces Clove
- 2 sticks Green onion (1 oz)
Sauce:
- 3 tablespoons Oyster sauce
- 3 tablespoons Soy sauce
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 2 tablespoons Brown sugar
- 1 cup Water
Instructions
- Wash and peel a small piece of ginger (2 oz). Then, cut it into 5 slices.
- After that, peel 4 cloves of garlic (1.1 oz).
- Wash and cut 2 sticks of green onion (1 oz). Then, set them aside.
- Peel off one medium sized daikon (2 pounds) and wash it.
- Cut the daikon from step 4 into big chunks.
- Rinse 3.5 pounds of beef chuck roast and cut them into chunks.
- Put the sliced ginger from step 1 and peeled garlic from step 2 into the instant pot.
- After, add 5 pieces of star anise (0.1 oz) and 8 pieces of clove into the instant pot. (Just rinse the star anise and clove before putting them in.)
- Next, put the cut daikon from step 5 into the instant pot.
- Put the cut beef from step 6 into the instant pot.
- The following step, put 3 tablespoons of oyster sauce, 3 tablespoons of soy sauce, ½ teaspoon of salt, 2 tablespoons of brown sugar and 1 cup of water into the instant pot. (If you want more liquid, you can add ¼ cup of oyster sauce, 3 tablespoons of soy sauce, ¾ teaspoon of salt, 2 tablespoons of brown sugar and 2 cups of water into the instant pot instead.)
- After that, mix the ingredients a little bit. Close the lid and vent. Then, push the button manual and adjust time 60 minutes at high pressure and natural release pressure.
- Pour 4 cups of water into the pot. Turn on medium high heat and let it boil.
- When water is boiling, add 1 pack ho fun noodles (32 oz) into water and let it cook for a few seconds to a minute or until the noodle is loosen up. (Remember don't over cook the noodles, the purpose is to loosen up the noodles after refrigerating and remove extra oil.)
- Drain the ho fun noodles.
- After, put the cooked ho fun noodles from step 15 into the bowl.
- When the braised beef and radish is done, open the lid and use a strainer to remove excess fat.
- Put the beef and radish from step 17 in the bowl of ho fun noodles.
- Sprinkle some green onion from step 3 into the bowl of braised beef radish ho fun noodle. Then, pour some broth over the noodles when they are ready to serve.
Notes
Cooking tip for how to cook instant pot braised beef ho fun noodle soup:
- Put beef, radish, garlic, clove, star anise, ginger and sauce into an instant pot. Then, push the manual button to adjust time for 60 minutes at high pressure and natural release pressure.
- When water is boiling, add ho fun noodles into water and let it cook for a few seconds to a minute or until the noodle is loosen up. (Remember don't over cook the noodles because the noodles are cooked, just loosen up the noodles after refrigerating and remove extra oil.)
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