Caramelised Beef with Peanut Noodles
Meet your new weeknight hero: protein-rich caramelised beef, browned hard and glazed sticky-sweet, piled onto chewy XO Mushroom noodles swimming in a creamy peanut sauce. It tastes like the takeaway you would queue for, and it comes together in one pan and one blender. A spoon of Chilli Chan's Crispy Hot Honey brings the sweet heat, a little Crispy Chilli Oil brings the crunch, and the knife-cut noodles bring the bite. Twenty-five minutes, serves 4, zero guesswork.
Prep 10 min Cook 15 min Total 25 min Serves 4 Heat 🌶 2/5
Jump to
- Why this bowl works
- The one-blender peanut sauce
- What you need
- The method
- Swaps and hard-to-find bits
- What goes wrong
- FAQs
Why this bowl works
Caramelised beef is exactly what it sounds like: minced beef browned until it has crispy edges, then coated in a glossy teriyaki glaze so every bite lands savoury, sticky and a little sweet. Soft strips of pointed cabbage melt into it and soak up all that flavour.
It is a filling bowl, too. The minced beef is your main protein, the peanut butter in the creamy peanut sauce adds a bit more as well as the noodles, and the cabbage keeps things fresh. Hungry kids and hungry adults, sorted.
Then we pile it onto proper noodles. Chilli Chan's knife-cut noodles are sun-dried the traditional Guan Miao way and never fried, so they cook in about three minutes and stay springy. That chew is exactly what a thick, creamy peanut sauce needs to cling to.
The one-blender peanut sauce
Here is the easy bit. Peanut butter, warm water, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil and sugar go into a blender with Chilli Chan's Crispy Hot Honey and a little Crispy Chilli Oil. Blitz until smooth and you have a creamy, sweet, nutty, gently spicy sauce with no whisking and no fuss.
One sauce, one pan of beef, one pot of noodles. That is the whole trick.
Our hot honey and chilli oil are natural, zero MSG and made in the EU, so the flavour comes from real ingredients and not a cupboard full of extras.
What you need
The noodles
- 2 portions of Chilli Chan's XO Mushroom Noodles
The caramelised beef
- 452 g (1 lb) minced beef
- 1 tbsp butter, for frying
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- 79 ml (about 1/3 cup) teriyaki sauce
- 1 whole pointed cabbage, cut into small strips
The creamy peanut sauce
- 86 g (about 1/3 cup) peanut butter
- 2 tbsp Chilli Chan's Crispy Hot Honey
- 59 ml (about 1/4 cup) warm water
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp Chilli Chan's Crispy Chilli Oil
The method
- Blend the sauce. Add the peanut butter, warm water, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, sugar, hot honey and chilli oil to a blender. Blitz until smooth and creamy, then set aside.
- Brown the beef. Heat the butter in a large pan over high heat. Add the minced beef, break it up a little, then leave it alone until you see browned spots.
- Caramelise it. Sprinkle in the cornstarch and stir fry quickly for 15 to 30 seconds. Pour in the teriyaki sauce and cook for about a minute, until the sauce has spread and the beef is glossy and coated. Lower the heat.
- Add the cabbage. Stir the pointed cabbage strips through the beef for 4 to 5 minutes, until the cabbage is cooked. Set the pan aside.
- Boil the noodles. Cook Chilli Chan's XO Mushroom Noodles in boiling water for 3 minutes, then drain.
- Toss the noodles. Add the hot noodles to the peanut sauce and mix until every strand is nicely coated.
- Plate up. Pile the noodles into bowls, top with a generous scoop of the beef and cabbage, add an extra drizzle of chilli oil if you like, and get stuck in.
The sweet-heat behind this bowl
Chilli Chan's Crispy Hot Honey and Crispy Chilli Oil: sticky, spicy and made for creamy sauces. Natural, zero MSG, vegan. Pair them with our sun-dried knife-cut noodles for a bowl that looks like a takeaway and cooks like a shortcut.
Shop Hot Honey • Shop Crispy Chilli Oil • Shop Knife-Cut Noodles • Shop the full range
Swaps and hard-to-find bits
Want a different protein? Pork, chicken or turkey mince all work, and so does plant-based mince if you want it meat-free. Brown it and glaze it exactly the same way.
| Called for | What it does | Use instead |
|---|---|---|
| Pointed cabbage | Sweet, soft and quick to cook | Savoy cabbage, white cabbage or pak choi |
| Minced beef | The protein and the browned, crispy bits | Minced pork, chicken, turkey or plant-based mince |
| Teriyaki sauce | The sticky, caramelised glaze | Hoisin sauce, or soy sauce with a spoon of Hot Honey |
| Rice vinegar | A gentle tang that lifts the sauce | Any mild vinegar, or a squeeze of lime |
| Butter | Richness and browning | A neutral oil |
What goes wrong
- Stirring the beef too soon. Let it sit until you see browned spots. Those crispy bits are where the caramelised flavour comes from.
- Crowding the pan. Give the beef room to sear instead of steam. Cook in two batches if your pan is small.
- Adding the cornstarch late. Stir it in before the teriyaki so the glaze turns glossy and clings to the beef.
- Overcooking the noodles. Three minutes is plenty. Sun-dried knife-cut noodles keep softening off the heat, so drain them a touch early.
- Letting the sauce get too thick. Peanut sauce firms up as it sits. Stir in a splash of warm water to loosen it.
- Skipping the vinegar. The tang stops the sauce feeling flat and heavy. Do not leave it out.
FAQs
What is caramelised beef?
It is minced beef browned over high heat until crispy at the edges, then coated in a sweet-savoury glaze, here made with teriyaki sauce. The browning and the glaze together give it that sticky, caramelised flavour.
What are Chilli Chan's XO Mushroom Noodles?
They are knife-cut Taiwanese noodles that are sun-dried rather than fried. They cook in about 3 minutes and have a chewy, hearty bite that works brilliantly with creamy sauces.
Is this a high-protein dinner?
It is a protein-forward bowl. Minced beef is the star, and the peanut butter in the sauce adds a little extra. If you want to push it further, top the bowls with a soft-boiled egg or a handful of crushed peanuts.
Can I make the peanut sauce ahead of time?
Yes. Keep it in a sealed jar in the fridge for up to 3 days. It thickens as it chills, so stir in a little warm water before using.
Is it very spicy?
It sits around 2 out of 5. Most of the warmth comes from the Hot Honey, which leans more sweet than fierce. Add an extra spoon of Chilli Chan's Crispy Chilli Oil if you want to push the heat up, or leave the chilli oil out of the sauce for a milder bowl.
Can I use a different noodle?
You can, but thick, chewy knife-cut noodles are what make this dish special. They grip the peanut sauce in a way thinner noodles do not.
How long do the noodles take to cook?
About 3 minutes. Chilli Chan's knife-cut noodles are sun-dried rather than fried, so they cook fast and keep their spring.
Does it contain allergens?
Yes. This recipe contains peanuts, soy and sesame, and the noodles contain gluten. Always check the labels of every ingredient you use.
What else can I serve it with?
A fried or soft-boiled egg on top is never wrong. A quick cucumber salad or a few spring onions and crushed peanuts add freshness and crunch.
Keep reading
- Hot honey chicken with mushroom and sesame noodles, if you want more sweet-heat noodle energy
- Hot honey miso eggplant XO noodles, the same noodles, meat-free
- Dan Dan-style noodles with Crispy Chilli Oil
- What is hot honey? (and 15 ways to use it)
- Knife-cut noodles: an introduction to Taiwan's Guan Miao noodles
- Browse all knife-cut noodles
Made it? Tag us. Bonus points for the glaze shot.
