Beef Stir Fry
Updated
Updated
Tender strips of sirloin steak and crisp snow peas are cooked in a quick and flavorful homemade sauce in 20 minutes for a fantastic easy dinner!
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After years of making countless stir fry dishes, I can whip up a simple, yet impressive one on the fly. Especially if I’ve got my all-purpose stir fry sauce on hand.
- This chicken and broccoli stir fry and pepper steak are old favorites.
- We never get tired of this easy cashew chicken.
- When we’re in the mood for noodles, instead of rice, this ramen stir fry hits the spot every time.
Each one has a perfect balance of savory, salty, tangy, and sweet, but still with its own unique flavor. I adore that about stir-fries.
This beef stir fry is another standard, making an appearance on our dinner table at least once a month. It’s incredibly quick and easy, but loaded with flavor.
Beef Stir Fry Recipe Ingredients
Beef Stir Fry Sauce
- Soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, and Brown Sugar: The combination of these three ingredients is dynamite. A salty, tangy, and sweet flavor explosion. (Dry sherry is a good substitute, if you can’t find Shaoxing wine.)
- Fresh ginger: For wonderful aromatics and flavor. Use fresh for optimal results.
- Cornstarch: To thicken the sauce.
For the Stir Fry
- Beef sirloin: Cut thin, it’s like a sponge to a wonderful marinade.
- Snow Peas or Snap Peas: We love the fresh crispness, slight sweetness, and bright green color of snow peas!
- Scallions: A subtle peppery flavor and my favorite way to finish off a stir fry.
- Red pepper flakes: Adds flavor and a tiny bit of heat.
- Vegetable oil: To sauté the beef and vegetables. For even more flavor, use sesame oil.
- White rice: For serving, to absorb that tasty sauce.
Best Beef for Stir Fry
Beef sirloin is my first choice and go-to when choosing beef for stir fries. It’s lean, cooks quickly, and remains tender. However, you can also use flank steak or chuck steak.
How to Make Stir Fry Beef Tender
- Slice Across the Grain. Slice thinly across (not with) the grain of your beef. This helps break down the fibers and make it tender.
- Marinade It. Tossing the beef with the sauce before you start cooking, even if it’s just for a couple minutes, helps tenderize it and also makes a big difference in flavor.
- Don’t Overcook. Overcooking the beef will make it tough and hard to chew. In this recipe, the beef is cut into thin strips and seared for only a minute, then transferred to a plate, and added back in with the sauce to finish cooking.
How to Make Beef Stir Fry
This dish comes together fast. Here’s a summary.
*Scroll below for the detailed printable recipe card.
- In a bowl, combine all the ingredients for the sauce, then add the sliced beef and toss to coat.
- Warm oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add snow peas and stir for 45 seconds to char slightly. Transfer to a plate.
- Allow pan to get very hot again. Add half the meat (leaving most of the marinade still in the bowl), along with half the scallions. Let the meat sear, without stirring for one minute. Turn meat over and cook for another 30 seconds. Transfer to a clean plate. Repeat with other half of meat, allowing pan to get very hot again first (adding additional oil, if needed.)
- After turning the meat, add the first plateful of meat, the rest of the marinade, the snow peas, red pepper flakes, and other half of the scallions.
- Stir over high heat for 1 minute to thicken, then remove from heat. Serve immediately over cooked hot rice.
Proper Storage
To Make Ahead. The beef can be sliced and stored in a tightly covered container up to 1 day in advance. You can also combine your sauce ingredients in a bowl or jar up to 1 day in advance. Both should be stored in the refrigerator, separately.
To Store Leftovers. Allow to cool completely, then place leftover stir fry in an airtight container. It will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
To Freeze. Allow to cool completely, then store in an airtight freezer-safe container. It will keep up to 2 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating, keeping in mind that cooked frozen and thawed vegetables tend to have a mushy texture.
Beef Stir Fry Video
I hope you love this delicious and simple recipe – be sure to give it a review below! Also don’t forget to follow Belly Full on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube!
Beef Stir Fry
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons dry sherry
- 2 tablespoons corn starch
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
- 1 1/2 pounds beef sirloin, , fat trimmed and sliced very thin into 1 1/2-inch long pieces
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 8 ounces fresh snow peas, (or snap peas)
- 4 scallions, , chopped and divided
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- white rice, , for serving
Instructions
- In a bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, dry sherry, and cornstarch until dissolved. Then whisk in the brown sugar and ginger. Add sliced meat to bowl and toss to coat. Set aside.
- Warm oil in a heavy skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add snow peas and stir for 45 seconds to char slightly. With a slotted spoon, remove them to a separate plate. Set aside.
- Allow pan to get very hot again. With tongs, add half the meat by spreading it out in the skillet (leaving most of the marinade still in the bowl), along with half the scallions.
- Let the meat sear, without stirring for one minute. Turn meat over and cook for another 30 seconds. Transfer to a clean plate.
- Repeat with other half of meat, allowing pan to get very hot again first (adding additional oil, if needed.)
- After turning the meat, add the first plateful of meat, the rest of the marinade, the snow peas, red pepper flakes, and other half of the scallions.
- Stir over high heat for 1 minute to thicken, then turn off heat. Check seasonings and add salt only if it needs it. Mixture will thicken as it sits.
- Serve immediately over cooked hot rice and enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
Nutritional information given is an automatic calculation and can vary based on the exact products you use and any changes you make to the recipe. If these numbers are very important to you, I would recommend calculating them yourself.
Did you make this? Leave a rating below!
Substituted broccoli and red and yellow peppers. Didn’t have low sodium soy sauce so I used regular. I also substituted red wine for the sherry. It’s a good recipe. Good flavor. Make sure to use low salt soy sauce. I’ll make it again. Thanks.
This was very good! Great reviews from husband and son who are both excellent cooks. Made the recipe as instructed. Might add mushrooms the next time.
Whole family loved it, thank you!
I substituted venison for the beef and water for the Sherry (which I don’t keep on hand). It was wonderful! Thank you for sharing.
It’s quick and easy to make and sooo scrumptious. I’m saving this recipe.
Made this over the weekend. My husband loves your recipes!!! This stir fry came out really good , i used shaved steak (think steak subs) so I did have to double the marinade because the meat soaked it up like a sponge (which was a good thing). So then I used the second batch of marinade during the cooking process.
This was amazing. The seasoning just right! Make again and again
Made this last night and it was delicious! I’ll definitely be keeping this recipe around. Thanks!
This was awesome! I used my own garden snap peas, which made it that much better. Great recipe, thanks for sharing!
I literally said ‘”ooooooo maaaaaaaiii gawwwwww yummmm” out loud with every bite. We loved it!
I wanted to make this immediately when I saw it yesterday. Shocking, I know. Instead I made something else beefy and added this to next week’s menu instead. Oh yeah.
This is totally in your wheel-house. Duh. I love these tasty/quick weekday meals.
Are snap peas difficult to grow? I love them.
This is my first year…they seem super easy, but I’ve already learned a valuable mistake – you need to stake them or use cages, like tomato plants, because they grow up and the beans hang. I will start this process much earlier next season!
Amy, I love all your stir fry recipes so much! This one was no exception. DELICIOUS!
Snow peas are one of my favourite vegetables and I’m not kidding. I seriously buy them pounds at a time when I go grocery shopping. I wash them all, dry them and eat them for snacks constantly! All that to say I want this BADLY.
I started buying them for my daughter when she mentioned snacking on them at a friend’s house. It was all over from there. Love.
I made this with green beans and we all loved it so much. Quick delicious weeknight stir-fry.