Chinese macaroni with beef
- Preparation 20 min
- Cooking 30 min
- Servings 4 to 6
- Freezing Absolutely
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🇨🇦 Chinese macaroni was invented in Quebec City
The name is misleading. Chinese macaroni is not a Chinese dish and never was. Chinese restaurant owners in Quebec City came up with it around the middle of the 20th century, cooking elbow macaroni instead of rice noodles for Canadian customers who had never seen a rice noodle in their life. Ground beef, vegetables, soy sauce. The name stuck, and today far more of it gets cooked in home kitchens than in restaurants.
🥢 Soy sauce, and one herb nobody expects
My mom always made hers with herbes de Provence. Soy sauce and Provencal herbs in the same pot should not work. It is really, really good, and I would rather you try it than take my word for it.
There is no other Asian sauce in here. No hoisin, no five spice, no molasses, nothing sweet. Mine is a different Chinese macaroni, on purpose.
🍳 Cheap, and it makes an absurd amount
One pot for the pasta, one pot for everything else, and you have dinner for days. She made it with beef and so do I, though chicken works just as well. It reheats without falling apart. Not necessarily better the next day. Just good, period.
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🫗 I drain the fat by tipping the pot on its side
Nobody writes this one down, and it is the difference between a decent Chinese macaroni and a greasy one. Once the meat is cooked, I put the lid on, hold it tight against the rim, and tip the pot on its side over the sink. The fat runs out, the meat and vegetables stay in.
No spoon, no paper towel, no extra strainer to wash. Do it slowly though: hold that lid properly, because hot fat burns.
🔥 Slightly pink is on purpose
Step 4 says to cook the meat until it is slightly pink, and that is not a typo. It keeps cooking afterwards, since the mushrooms, peppers, pasta and soy sauce all still have to go into the pot. Finish it completely at that stage and it lands dry on the plate.
⏲️ Do not overcook the pasta. That is my only real trick.
Honestly, that is the one thing I do differently from everyone else, and I do it without thinking. The macaroni comes out al dente, never rinsed, and goes straight into the pot with the rest. It keeps cooking in there.
The second reason is the one people forget. Overcooked pasta releases water. In a soup that does not matter at all, the flavor stays in the broth. Here there is no broth: the water pools at the bottom of the pot and dilutes the soy sauce. You end up with pale macaroni that tastes like water. Same logic as my homemade chicken and beef chop suey, where nothing is allowed to release liquid either.
🧂 Half a teaspoon. Not a handful.
The herbes de Provence make the recipe, but they get measured: ½ tsp, with the same amount of Italian seasoning. It is right there in the ingredients and there is nothing to add on top.
🥕 The broccoli comes out crunchy
It goes in at the same time as the meat and, after those 5 to 7 minutes, it is still crunchy. No need to pull it out and put it back. Same for the carrots and celery: cooked, never soft. That is the line you do not cross in this dish.
🧊 It freezes, and it makes an absurd batch
Up to 3 months in the freezer. I let it thaw slowly and warm it in the oven, because the pasta on top goes a little crispy and a microwave will never do that. If you like this kind of cheap recipe that fills the fridge for a week, my homemade Hamburger Helper plays the same game, in a tomato and cheddar version.
✅ What to serve with my Chinese macaroni with beef
Most nights it stands on its own: there are already five vegetables in there and a deep bowl does the job. When I want to stretch it into a real dinner, I put out pork and cabbage egg rolls and sriracha on top. For more dinners in the same family, look at my chicken chow mein, my Singapore noodles or my chicken and vegetables fried rice.
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Ingredients for the Chinese macaroni with beef
- 375 g (¾ lb) macaroni
- 1 medium Spanish onion, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- Olive oil
- 2 large carrots, sliced into half-rounds
- 3 celery stalks, sliced
- 550 g (1.2 lb) medium-lean ground beef (or ground chicken)
- 2 cups (500 ml) broccoli florets
- ½ tsp (2.5 ml) herbes de Provence (or a mix of dried thyme, rosemary and savory)
- ½ tsp (2.5 ml) Italian seasoning
- 227 g (½ lb) white mushrooms, halved (or creminis)
- 1 green bell pepper, cubed
- ½ cup (125 ml) reduced-sodium soy sauce (or regular soy sauce, with less added salt)
- Salt and pepper
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Preparation
- In a large pot, bring a good amount of water to a boil and cook the pasta as per the instructions on the box. Drain and set aside.
- In another large pot over medium heat, warm a drizzle of olive oil. Cook the onion and garlic for 5 minutes. Stir often.
- Add the carrots and celery, then cook for 10 minutes, stirring often. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add the meat, the broccoli florets and the spices, then cook for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the meat is slightly pink. Break the meat into small chunks. Drain off the fat.
- Add the mushrooms and bell pepper, then cook for another 5 minutes, stirring often.
- Add the pasta and the soy sauce, then stir well. Add more soy sauce if needed! I always add a ton, which works out to about 2 more tablespoons.
It is a Quebec dish, not a Chinese one. Chinese restaurant owners in Quebec City created it in the middle of the 20th century for Canadian customers who were not ready for rice noodles, so they used elbow macaroni instead. Ground beef, roughly cut vegetables, soy sauce. The name stuck and the dish became a weeknight staple in Quebec homes.
No. You will not find it in China, and you will not find it on a menu in most of North America either. It belongs to the same family as the dishes Chinese restaurants adapted for local tastes wherever they opened. This one happens to be from Quebec City, which is why it shows up with celery, carrots and a bottle of soy sauce rather than anything you would call traditional.
Medium-lean ground beef is how my mom made it and how I still make it. Ground chicken works just as well, same cooking time, nothing else changes. Ground pork works too. Whatever you pick, break it into chunks rather than crumbs so there is something to bite into.
Up to 3 months, and it comes back well. Thaw it slowly, then reheat it in the oven rather than the microwave so the pasta on top crisps up a little. It is not necessarily better the next day. It is just as good, which is the whole point of a recipe that makes this much.
A deep bowl and a bottle of sriracha on the table cover most nights. If people are coming over, pork and cabbage egg rolls as a starter turn it into an evening. And to keep going in the same direction: chicken chow mein, Singapore noodles or pad thai with chicken and shrimp.
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