Description
This Beef and Vegetable Stir Fry is one of my favorite home-cooked dishes. Its quickness, ease, & overall satisfying flavor put it on my mom’s regular dinnertime rotation throughout my childhood.
This is Mom’s recipe, made with tender steak, an extra generous portion of colorful veggies, & a homemade stir fry sauce made from simple pantry staples. Best served over rice for a quick & easy, well-balanced dinner with outrageous flavor that rivals any takeout!
Since stir fry is a naturally flexible dish, feel free to use your all-time favorite veggies or whatever you have on hand – check the Recipe Notes, below, for some suggested swaps.
Ingredients
- 12 ounces top sirloin, trimmed of excess fat & thinly sliced against the grain (see Recipe Notes)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine (see Recipe Notes)
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
- stir fry vegetables (see Recipe Notes)
- 1/2 small head broccoli, cut into small bite-sized florets (~3.5 oz or ~1 cup florets)
- 1 large carrot, peeled as desired & sliced into 1/8-inch thick strips (~3.5 oz or ~1 cup sliced)
- 1 small red onion, thinly sliced (~3.5 oz or ~1.5 cups sliced)
- 1/2 large red bell pepper, chopped into 1-inch pieces (~3.5 oz or ~1 cup sliced)
- 3–4 mushrooms (white button or cremini/baby bella), trimmed & thinly sliced (~4 oz or ~2 cups sliced)
- 1/2 small napa cabbage, chopped into 1-inch pieces (~4.5 oz or ~2 cups chopped)
- large handful snow peas, ends trimmed as desired (~2.5 oz or ~3/4 cup)
- 4 teaspoons grapeseed oil or high smoke point vegetable oil of choice
- kosher salt & white pepper, to season
- for serving, as desired: cooked white rice or grain of choice, thinly sliced green onions, toasted sesame seeds, etc.
for the stir fry sauce:
- 3/4 cup beef stock
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar (can sub regular brown sugar)
- 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil, divided
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
Instructions
- Marinate the beef: Add thinly sliced top sirloin, cornstarch, soy sauce, & rice wine to a medium bowl. Season with white pepper. Stir to combine, coating the beef thoroughly & evenly. Set aside to rest at room temperature while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. This is a great time to prepare all of the stir fry vegetables, chopping & slicing everything as indicated in the Ingredients List, above.
- Prepare the stir fry sauce: Add the beef stock cornstarch, dark brown sugar, oyster sauce, soy sauce, & 1 teaspoon of the sesame oil to a small bowl or jar. Whisk or shake to combine well. Set aside. Add the remaining 1 teaspoon sesame oil to a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the garlic & cook until fragrant & lightly browned, 30 seconds – 1 minute. Stir in the beef stock mixture & cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 4-5 minutes. Remove from the heat & set aside.
- Stir fry the vegetables: Meanwhile, as the stir fry sauce thickens, begin the stir fry. Add 1 teaspoon of the grapeseed oil to a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot & shimmering, add the carrots & broccoli. Lightly season with a small pinch of salt & cook, stirring often, until vibrantly colored & softened slightly, 3-4 minutes. Transfer to a large plate or bowl & set aside. Add another 1 teaspoon of oil to the wok or skillet & return to medium-high heat. Once hot & shimmering, add the sliced red onion, bell pepper, mushrooms, cabbage, & snow peas. Lightly season with a small pinch of salt & cook, stirring often, until softened slightly, about 3 minutes. Transfer to the same large plate or bowl as the broccoli & carrots & set aside. [gallery columns="2" size="full" ids="26406,26409"]
- Sear the beef & finish the stir fry: Add the remaining 2 teaspoon of oil to the wok or skillet & reduce the heat to medium. Once hot & shimmering, add the marinated beef from Step 1. Shake the pan to separate the slices of beef for even browning. Cook, tossing & stirring occasionally, just until browned. While stirring, pour the prepared stir fry sauce from Step 2 into the skillet. Add the stir fried vegetables back into the skillet. Cook 1-2 minutes longer, tossing & stirring frequently to bring the beef and vegetable stir fry together. Remove from the heat.
- Serve immediately, spooning the beef and vegetable stir fry over rice or grain of choice. Finish with thinly sliced green onions & toasted sesame seeds as desired. Enjoy!
Equipment
Zwilling Madura Plus Non-Stick Fry Pan
Buy Now →Notes
- Ingredient notes:
- Beef: Feel free to use your tender steak of choice for this beef stir fry recipe. Top sirloin offers a great balance of tenderness, flavor, & affordability – that’s what I like to use. Cold beef is easiest to thinly slice for stir fry, so it’s helpful to pop the steak into the freezer to chill for 5-10 minutes prior to slicing.
- Shaoxing wine is Chinese rice wine with a rich & uniquely savory-sweet flavor. It’s readily available at Asian grocery stores or online & it’s absolutely worth the purchase if you love cooking Chinese dishes at home. Imperfect-yet-quick substitutes for the shaoxing wine in this recipe include mirin, dry sherry, or dry vermouth.
- Stir fry vegetables: The beauty of stir fries is their flexibility – feel free to stick to the combination of veggies in the Ingredients List, which we love for its color, flavor, & texture, or freestyle with whatever you love most. If you opt to freestyle, aim for ~1.5 pounds vegetables (25 oz) for a veggie-heavy stir fry (e.g. bok choy, eggplant, zucchini, snap peas, etc.). Be sure to slice & chop everything into pieces that will cook at a uniform rate.
- Storage: This beef and vegetable stir fry is best enjoyed fresh, immediately after cooking. Leftovers will keep, stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave, just until warmed through.
- 20-Minute Meal Prep: As is the case with any stir fry, there’s a bit of measuring & chopping required with this beef and vegetable stir fry which is where all of this recipe’s active prep time comes from – the cooking process itself is very quick! If you’d like, you can do a little prep ahead of time to cut down on active work required at dinnertime. Pick & choose from the list below, or do it all & all you have to do at dinnertime is get cooking – easy!
- Chop the veggies: Prepare all of the stir fry vegetables, chopping & slicing everything as indicated in the Ingredients List, above. Group in separate airtight containers based on batches indicated in Step 3 of Recipe Directions, above, & store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. (15 minutes active time)
- Prep the stir fry sauce: Mix the stir fry sauce according to Step 2 of Recipe Directions, above. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. (5 minutes active time)