Classic Beef Stir Fry - Khin's Kitchen (2024)

Published: Mar 18, 2023 · by Khin · This post may contain affiliate links.

Simple and delicious classic Chinese style easy beef stir fry with bell peppers, onions, spring onions, and savoury umami sauce. One of the best easy stir-fried beef recipes, you can make everything from scratch with cupboard-friendly everyday ingredients. Serve with a bowl of plain rice or noodles.

Stir-fries are our Asian family's staple and are always in our family meal rotations. We love stir fry steak and we've tried so many versions of it. If you love to cook restaurant-quality Chinese beef recipes at home, you must try our Easy Beef Chop Suey and Chinese Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry recipes.

Why this recipe works

One of our much loved tried and tested, fail-proof beef recipes that anyone can cook at home.

When you cook it at home you can customize the vegetables and sauces to your preference. You can serve the whole family with a minimum budget. Skip the dried crushed chillies if you are cooking for children.

In this recipe, I am sharing our authentic Chinese-style juicy tender beef stir fry with colourful crisp vegetables and homemade delicious sauce. If you follow these simple cooking steps you will be a stir-fry master in no time! I can guarantee that!

What do we need

You will need beef steak, garlic, onion, ginger, a choice of stir fry vegetables, and pantry-staple sauces. Following is a quick guide with step-by-step photos and you can find the detailed measurements on the recipe card at the bottom of this page.

Beef - The secret of tender beef starts with choosing the right steak cut. You don't always have to use the expensive steak cut. It's good to go with rump, sirloin, chuck, ribeye steak, etc.

Garlic & ginger - Add freshly chopped garlic and ginger paste for the best flavour.

Vegetables - I used onions, bell peppers, and spring onions ( green onions ) in this recipe. Feel free to add your choice of stir fry vegetables.

Stir-fry sauce - Oyster sauce, light soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, and Chinese cooking rice wine ( Shao Xing ) are essential sauces to make this sauce. I add cornstarch to create a thick and glossy sauce texture.

Crushed chillies - I love to add crushed dried chillies for a kick of heat.

How to cut and marinate beef

Slicing the beef is an important step and you need a well-sharpened knife to slice the beef into thin strips or slices. Make sure you cut the steak against the grain. The purpose of slicing against the grain is to cut through the meat fibres. It creates a very tender beef result and is easy to chew.

Once you've sliced all the beef, add them to a mixing bowl and start the marinating process. Add soy sauce, baking soda, cornstarch, sesame oil, and ginger paste.

Give it a good massage by using your hands and set it aside for at least 15 minutes. If you have more time you can leave it for up to 30 minutes. This process is a Chinese technique of marinating beef and is also known as meat velveting.

How to make this beef stir fry

Prepare the sauce and vegetables:

• Cut the peppers, and onions into thin slices and finely chop the garlic cloves. Cut spring onions into 2" pieces. Combine sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set it aside.

Stir fry the beef:

• Heat the large wok/pan over medium-high heat and add 3 tbsp of oil and add the marinated beef. Flatten the beef and let it sear for 2-3 minutes or until the bottom part is charred. Then flip the beef and continue to stir fry for another 1-2 minutes or until no longer pink.
• Then add chopped garlic and follow the crushed chillies, onions, and bell peppers.
• Next, pour the sauce into the wok and continue to stir fry for about 1 minute or until the sauce is glossy.
• Add spring onions and make a quick toss. Finish with toasted sesame seeds and serve immediately with plain rice or noodles.

Frequently asked questions

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