Beef Chow Fun

Wide, silky rice noodles tossed at blazing heat with tender slices of marinated beef, crunchy bean sprouts, and spring onions. The key is wok hei — that elusive smoky caramelisation that only comes from a screaming-hot wok and lightning-fast hands.

The noodles must be charred just enough to carry a whisper of smoke without breaking apart, each ribbon glistening with dark soy sauce and an almost imperceptible sweetness. It sounds simple. It is not. The oil must be controlled precisely — too much and it's greasy, too little and the noodles stick. The beef seared separately, then reunited with the noodles for mere seconds.

Getting it right is why this dish is the benchmark for judging a Cantonese cook. Best eaten at a dai pai dong, where the flame roars and the wok hei drifts through the air.