Beef Chow Fun (Beef & Noodle Stir Fry) — A Warm Bowl for the Shifting Season

Labor Day approaches. The end of summer. The marker. I went to the cemetery on Saturday — not Memorial Day, not any particular occasion, just a Saturday in September when the leaves were starting to turn and the cemetery was quiet and the headstones were gray and the lake was visible through the trees. I stood at Paul's grave. I told him about the garden (done for the year). About the pantry (full). About Sven (slowing but here). About the kids (good — all of them, good). About Tom (still eating meatballs, still identifying ships). About Janet (wonderful, Peter is lucky). I said, "I'm fifty-eight, Paul. Fifty-nine in February. The house is mine now — not ours, mine, and the mine-ness is both a freedom and a weight. I cook for one. I garden for one. I set two places but I eat from one. The table is still set for you. It will always be set for you." I said, "I baked bread this morning. Limpa. The weekly promise. I'll bake it next Saturday and the Saturday after that and every Saturday until I can't, because I promised, and Johanssons don't break promises." I said, "The lake is still here, Paul. And so am I." The headstone: PAUL ERIK JOHANSSON. THE LAKE IS STILL HERE. The words are carved in granite. The words will outlast me. The words will outlast the people who read them. The words will stand in this cemetery until the granite erodes, which is a very long time, which is the point. I drove home. The leaves were gold and orange. The drive from Park Hill to Kenwood is ten minutes and I've driven it ten thousand times and the route is muscle memory, the car finding its own way while the driver thinks about headstones and promises and the particular permanence of carved granite. I made a September dinner: kalops — Swedish beef stew, with allspice and bay leaves. The fall stew. The turning stew. The stew that says: the season is shifting. Shift with it. I shift. Every season. Every year. The shifting is the living. The stew is warm. The bread bakes. The promise holds. I shift with it.

I said at the grave that the season was shifting, and shifting is the living — and when I got home and stood at the stove, I wanted something that honored that. Not a slow braise this particular evening, but something with heat and motion, something that required me to be present at the pan: beef and noodles, high heat, the smell of soy and sesame filling the kitchen the way allspice fills it in other seasons. You cook what the evening calls for. This one called for movement.

Beef Chow Fun (Beef & Noodle Stir Fry)

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 15 min | Total Time: 35 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1 lb flank steak, thinly sliced against the grain
• 8 oz wide, flat rice noodles (ho fun), fresh or dried
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce (for marinade)
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
• 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 2 cups fresh bean sprouts
• 3 green onions, cut into 2-inch pieces
• White pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Marinate the beef. In a bowl, combine the sliced flank steak with soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, and cornstarch. Toss well to coat and let sit for at least 15 minutes while you prepare the remaining ingredients.
2. Prepare the noodles. If using dried rice noodles, soak in warm water for 20 minutes until pliable but not fully soft. Drain and separate gently. If using fresh noodles, loosen them carefully and set aside.
3. Mix the stir-fry sauce. In a small bowl, stir together the dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, and sugar until the sugar dissolves. Set aside.
4. Sear the beef. Heat a wok or large cast-iron skillet over high heat until smoking. Add 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil. Add the marinated beef in a single layer and let it sear undisturbed for 1 minute, then toss and cook another 1–2 minutes until just browned. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
5. Char the noodles. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil to the wok. Add the drained noodles and pour the sauce over them. Spread into an even layer and let cook without stirring for 1–2 minutes, allowing the noodles to develop some char on the bottom. Gently toss and repeat once more.
6. Bring it together. Return the seared beef to the wok. Add the bean sprouts and green onions. Toss everything together over high heat for 1–2 minutes until the sprouts are just wilted and the beef is warmed through. Season with white pepper to taste and serve immediately.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 415 | Protein: 27g | Fat: 15g | Carbs: 44g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 870mg