Vietnamese Rice Noodles with Beef Stir-fry (Pho Xao Thit Bo)
Vietnamese Stir Fried Rice Noodles with Beef (Pho Xao Thit Bo) is a delicious dish with tender and flavorful beef and soft rice noodles. Everything comes together in just 15-20 minutes! An excellent quick and easy dish for everyday meals!
Vietnamese Stir Fried Rice Noodles (Pho Xao)
Pho must be the most well-known Vietnamese dish in the world. I sometimes wonder why pho noodle soup has become so famous while we also have a gazillion of other delicious noodle dishes in Vietnam.
Don’t get me wrong, I love pho and people in my country also love pho. We are really happy to see the success of pho abroad. It’s great to see that people from different cultures with different tastes also enjoy a steamy bowl of pho with rich and hearty broth, soft noodles and tender beef (or chicken) just like us. You can get my authentic beef pho soup recipe here.
Besides noodle soup, pho can also be stir-fried and the dish, which is called “pho xao“, is also popular in Vietnam. It is much quicker and more simple to make than traditional pho soup. A plate of stir-fried pho can be put together in just 15 – 20 minutes.
A typical stir-fried pho with beef in Vietnam contains pho (of course), beef and yu choy sum. The yu choy sum in the U.S. is not as tender as the yu choy sum in Vietnam but I have found that baby bok choy is an awesome substitute since it can stay crisp-tender in this stir fry rice noodles dish.
How to Cook Vietnamese Stir Fried Rice Noodles with Beef (Pho Xao Thit Bo)
To make pho xao thit bo, you will need Vietnamese rice noodles (pho), beef and vegetables. I love to use onions and baby bok choy. You can also use your other favorite veggies such as carrots.
We will need to stir fry the beef and vegetables separately, and then all ingredients will be stir-fried together in the very last minute so that nothing is under or overcooked.
Also make sure your pan is hot all the time, otherwise you will be steaming your ingredients instead of stir-frying them. Detailed instructions are in the recipe card below.
Note: I explained the tips for stir frying beef in this Vietnamese Beef Noodle Salad recipe (Bun Bo Xao). Basically, we should slice the beef against the grain thinly, marinate, and stir-fry in small batches.
Other Vietnamese stir-fried noodle with beef dishes you should try are this Vietnamese-style beef pasta (nui xào bò) and beef egg noodle stir-fry (mì xào bò).
If you prefer pho noodle soups, here are some recipes you may like:
- Beef pho noodle soup (Pho Bo)
- Beef stew pho noodle soup (Pho Bo Sot Vang)
- Vegan pho noodle soup (Pho Chay)
- Chicken pho noodle soup (Pho Ga)
I’d love to hear what you think about this dish, so please feel free to leave a comment. New recipes are added every week so let’s connect on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for the latest updates. You can find my collection of Vietnamese recipes here.
Vietnamese Stir Fried Rice Noodles with Beef
Ingredients
- 0.5 lb beef (I like flank steak but you can use any beef cuts you like)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon oyster sauce
- black pepper
- 1 onion (small or medium)
- 0.5 lb baby bok choy
- 2 teaspoons fish sauce
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 1/3 cup water (or beef stock)
- 3/4 teaspoon cornstarch
- dried Vietnamese pho noodle
- olive oil
Instructions
- Thinly slice the beef and marinate with 1/4 teaspoon of salt, garlic, oyster sauce and freshly cracked black pepper.
- Trim off the top and bottom of the onion, peel, cut in half and then thinly slice. Cut baby bok choy into shorter pieces. If the stems are large, slice in half lengthwise.
- Mix together fish sauce, soy sauce, water (or beef stock) and cornstarch to make the sauce. Set aside.
- Cook dried pho noodle according to package instructions but take it out 1 minute earlier than what is recommended in the instructions. Run it through cold water thoroughly, then set aside.
- Put a pan over medium high heat. When it’s hot, add some oil and the beef. Let the beef cooked undisturbed for about 30 seconds and then start stir-frying. When it is about 80% cooked, transfer to a plate.
- Add a little more oil to the pan and then add onions and baby bok choy. Quickly stir fry to soften them.
- Add rice noodles and beef back to the pan and the sauce. Stir fry and mix well until everything is fully cooked. Adjust seasoning to taste and sprinkle with more black pepper. Transfer to clean plates and serve immediately.
Great recipe! Thanks
You are so right about people trying other vietnamese dishes, I’m just as guilty! I’m planning on making this tonight! Thank you for sharing!!!
Hi Candice,
Sorry about my late reply! I hope you enjoyed the dish. I’m glad that more people try cooking lesser known Vietnamese dishes at home :).
Thanks so much for this amazingly tasty and easy recipe. I came across it searching for something else to do with pho besides a soup version and this is perfect. I made a big batch of it and everyone at home devoured it. Can’t wait to try more of your recipes. And again thanks for sharing! 😊
Hi Penny,
It’s great to know that everyone in your family enjoyed it. The stir-fried pho version is really quick and easy to make compared to the soup version (I do love both versions :D). Thanks so much for the feedback and if you try other recipes, I look forward to hearing how they turn out :).