Vietnamese Beef Pasta Stir-Fry (Nui Xao Bo)
Vietnamese Beef Pasta Stir-Fry (Nui Xao Bo) is composed of pasta, beef and your choice of vegetables, all coated with a tasty savory sauce. This quick and easy stir-fried pasta is great for any meals of the day.
Servings: 2 people
Calories: 678kcal
Ingredients
- 8.5-10 oz beef, thinly sliced against the grain
- 1/4 teaspoon salt (and more for cooking the pasta)
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper, divided
- 4-5 garlic cloves, minced, divided
- olive oil
- 5 oz pasta, short type (I use fusilli)
- 1 small onion, thinly sliced
- 1 small carrot, julienned (or half a large carrot, around 2.5 oz)
- half a red bell pepper, julienned
- 3.5 oz baby bok choy, cut into sections (or other greens like yu choy sum, spinach)
For the Stir-fry Sauce
- 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon ketchup (see Notes for substitute)
- 3/4 teaspoon sugar (to taste)
Instructions
- In a bowl, toss thinly-sliced beef with 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon pepper, 1 teaspoon minced garlic and 1 teaspoon oil. Set aside for about 10 minutes while preparing other ingredients.
- Combine oyster sauce, soy sauce, ketchup, sugar and 1/8 teaspoon pepper in a bowl to make the stir-fry sauce. Taste and adjust the level of sweetness to your liking
- Cook pasta in boiling salted water according to package instructions, but undercook by 1 minute. Rinse under cold water, drain and toss with some olive oil to prevent sticking.
- Heat a pan over medium heat, add some oil. Once the oil is hot, add half of the remaining minced garlic, stir and cook for a few seconds until fragrant. Then add sliced onions, stir briefly and then add julienned carrots and bell pepper. Stir and cook for 1-2 minutes, then add baby bok choy. Continue to stir and cook for another minute until all veggies are crisp-tender. Transfer to a plate.
- To the same pan, add a bit more oil. Sauté the remaining minced garlic for a few seconds until fragrant. Add beef to the pan in a thin layer (increase the heat to medium-high if needed), sear, stir and cook until beef is 70-80% cooked. Add pasta and half of the stir-fry sauce. Toss and cook for a few seconds to coat beef and pasta with sauce.
- Add the vegetables to the pan and give everything a quick toss. Then add the remaining sauce and continue to stir-fry quickly until everything is cooked through. Transfer to serving plates and serve immediately.
Video
Notes
This recipe can serve 3 people as a light meal or if the meal also has additional side dishes.
If you want to cook this stir-fried beef pasta for a lot of people, I think you may need to work in batches. Crowding the pan with too much food may affect the results.
While you cook, pay attention to the heat because if the pan is not hot enough, the ingredients may be steamed instead of stir-fried.
In case you don't like using ketchup, you can mix 1 teaspoon of tomato paste with some water and sugar to your desired sweetness.
Nutrition
Calories: 678kcal | Carbohydrates: 71g | Protein: 35g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 84mg | Sodium: 1976mg | Potassium: 788mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 7342IU | Vitamin C: 30mg | Calcium: 117mg | Iron: 5mg