Chow fun
炒河粉 · chǎo héfěn (pinyin)
Wide, flat rice noodles stir-fried with meat and vegetables; on US menus the stir-fried dish is usually written chow fun.
What it means
The noodle behind chow fun is called shahe fen (沙河粉) or he fen (河粉), romanized in Cantonese as ho fun. Wikipedia describes a wide, white, slippery noodle made from rice, with an elastic, slightly chewy texture. The stir-fried dish is called chao fen in Mandarin, and Wikipedia says North American Chinese restaurants most often use the Cantonese-influenced name chow fun.
Beef chow fun is the standard example. Made With Lau gives its Cantonese name as 乾炒牛河, 'dry stir-fry beef flat rice noodles', where 'dry' means little sauce pooling at the bottom of the plate. The Woks of Life notes that fresh he fen come in steamed, lightly oiled, folded sheets.
Wikipedia adds that some restaurants distinguish shahe fen from the related guotiao (kway teow) noodle by texture and starch content, while more casual restaurants may use the two interchangeably.
A common mix-up
Chow fun uses wide rice noodles, while chow mein and lo mein use wheat noodles.
Questions people ask
What noodle is used in chow fun?
Wide, flat rice noodles, called he fen or ho fun. Wikipedia describes them as white, broad, slippery and a bit chewy.
What does 'dry' mean in dry-fried beef chow fun?
Made With Lau says it means minimal sauce pooling on the plate, as opposed to a saucy preparation.
Sources & further reading
Background and preparation references. Our descriptions are editorial summaries, not restaurant reviews.