Easy Beef Stir Fry Recipe
Published September 20, 2019. This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
If you want a delicious weeknight meal for the family, then this amazing beef stir fry loaded with vegetables and a homemade sauce comes together in under 30 minutes.
This is such a great last-minute option during the week, just like an easy beef stroganoff recipe, Chicken Fried Rice, or a Sloppy Joe Recipe, since a lot of ingredients can already be found in your cupboards. In addition, it’s always a family favorite and comes together in no time, and it’s a great way to get your children to eat vegetables.
What Do You Put in It
Since it can use just about any ingredient you’d like, there is some autonomy. My suggestion is using ingredients you like, or are on sale, and are absolutely in peak season.
In addition to vegetables, you can choose a protein such as shrimp, pork, tofu, or chicken. The last thing you’ll need is a sauce to coat it in.
Since I made a beef version, here is what I used:
- Flank steak
- Red bell peppers
- Shiitake mushrooms
- Yellow onions
- Green onions
- Broccoli
- Carrots
These are all things I know my daughter will eat, but if you are looking to swap out or add to this list, I would suggest the following:
- Zucchini
- Squash (yellow, butternut or spaghetti)
- Bok choy
- Cabbage
- Snow Peas
- Sugar Snaps
- Green beans
- Bell peppers
- Bamboo shoots
- Sprouts
- Cornichons
- Mint, basil or cilantro
I can’t stress enough to use ingredients you like, just like in my Chinese Steamed Fish recipe, as the sauce will complement the just about anything.
Variations
In addition to the many vegetables you can use in it, there are also variations with proteins that can be used. You can also absolutely keep it completely vegetarian.
- Shrimp – Shrimp will add a delicious seafood flavor to you stir fry and you can simply swap out the beef in this recipe for 1 pound of shrimp.
- Chicken – If you are a huge chicken fan you can thinly slice it or cut into chunks and swap 1 pound of chicken for the beef in this recipe below.
- Pork – You can use a pork butt, picnic shoulder, tenderloin or pork loin in your recipe and can either be thinly sliced or cut into small cubes.
- Tofu – I recommend cutting extra firm tofu into small cubes before using it in your recipe.
To keep this recipe completely vegetarian, do not use the oyster sauce.
What Is the Best Cut of Beef to Use
The best meat to use is flank steak. It’s lean, it’s on the cheaper side coming it at around $6.92 a pound and it’s easy to cut. You can absolutely use one of the following cuts of beef as well.
- Filet mignon
- Strip steak
- Sirloin steak
- Top round
No matter what cut of meat you select; It should be thinly sliced against the grain for maximum tenderness.
The Sauce
Like the vegetable selection, there is some leeway with sauce. Here are the basic ingredients.
Oyster Sauce – This will add some exceptional flavors and while oysters are an ingredient, it is masked behind everything else in it, so don’t worry.
Sherry Wine – Sherry is incredibly traditional in Chinese cooking and will add another layer of complexity to it. Don’t skimp on this. Mirin or rice wine would be preferred over sherry wine if you can find it.
Sugar – Since there are so many savory and umami flavors in the sauce, help to balance it out with some sweetness. You can also use honey if you’d like!
Soy Sauce – This will add some amazing umami salty flavors to help season it up.
Other optional ingredients you can add in: Hoison sauce, Fish Sauce, Sriracha, Chili Garlic-Sauce, etc.
How Do You Stir Fry
This is an ancient technique where I large pan called a wok which is made of carbon steel or cast iron and is placed over an extremely hot open flame burner. Oil is used and then the addition of your ingredients.
- To stir fry, ensure your oil is rolling smoke before adding in any ingredients.
- Once the ingredients are added, hold the wok handle with one hand while holding a spoon or ladle in the other hand that is placed directly into the center of the wok touching the bottom of the work.
- Using your hand that is holding the handle move the wok backward and forwards vigorously while using your spoon hand to mix your ingredients around the work ensuring they do not stick to the pan.
- Finish by adding in your sauce, stir and serve.
How to Make Perfect Stir Fry
The key to perfecting it, is a very hot wok over high heat with rolling smoking oil, while constantly moving around the ingredients in the pan and cooking them for only a few minutes.
While any protein should be cooked through, vegetables should have a light sear and still hold their crispiness. I recommend using an oil with a high smoking point like canola or vegetable oil.
How to Make Beef Stir Fry
- 1. Slice your beef very thin and place in a bowl
- 2. Mix together the beef with the marinating ingredients.
- 3. Prepare all vegetables and set aside.
- 4. Add oil to a hot wok over high heat until it begins to roll smoke.
- 5. Add in the beef and immediately push it to the outside of the pan so that each piece cooks.
- 6. Stir fry for 2 to 3 minutes
- 7. Set the meat aside.
- 8. Add more oil to the pan and wait till it rolls smoke.
- 9. Add in vegetables and stir fry for 1 to 2 minutes.
- 10. Pour in sauce ingredients and cook for 1 to 2 minutes.
- 11. Add in the cooked meat and mix until combined.
What to Serve It With
It’s commonly served with cooked jasmine rice, chow mein noodles, rice noodles, lo mein noodles, soba noodles, or spaghetti or ramen noodles. You could also just serve it plain like in my General Tso’s Chicken.
This easy recipe is so good and so simple to make, especially if you want to get something you can be proud of on to your kitchen table in under 30 minutes.
Reheat and Storage
How to Reheat: to reheat it simply add it back to a hot wok with a little bit of oil and stir fry for 2 to 3 minutes or until hot. In addition, you can reheat in the microwave.
Storing and Freezing: to store it, cover it, and keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. It does not freeze well as it will turn your vegetables to mush.
More Amazing Beef Recipes
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Video
Easy Beef Stir Fry Recipe

Equipment
- wok
Ingredients
For the Beef:
- 1 pound thinly sliced flank steak
- 3 finely minced cloves of garlic
- 1 teaspoon peeled finely grated fresh ginger
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 large egg
- 3 tablespoons corn starch
- sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
- 3 tablespoons canola oil
For the Vegetables and Sauce:
- 2 seeded and thickly sliced red bell peppers
- 1 cup julienned shiitake mushrooms
- ½ peeled thinly sliced yellow onion
- 4 green onions cut into 2” long pieces
- 2 heads of trimmed broccoli
- ½ cup matchstick carrots
- 3 tablespoons canola oil
- 3 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 2 tablespoons dry sherry wine
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 4 cups cooked jasmine rice
Instructions
- Add the sliced beef, salt and pepper, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, egg, and corn starch to a bowl and mix until completely combined.
- Next, add 3 tablespoons of canola oil to a large wok over high heat.
- Once it begins to roll smoke add in the beef and immediately move it up the sides of the pan so that it doesn’t clump, and all of the pieces can get cooked.
- Stir-fry for 2 to 3 minutes and set aside.
- Add 3 tablespoons of canola oil to the wok and return it to the burner over high heat until it rolls smoke again.
- Add in the bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, and green onions and stir fry for 1 to 2 minutes or until a light sear has been created.
- Add the broccoli and carrots to a separate large pot of boiling water and cook for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Pour the oyster sauce, sherry, sugar and soy sauce to the wok with stir-fried vegetables and cook for 1 to 2 minutes stirring constantly.
- Add the boiled broccoli and carrots to the wok along with the cooked beef and mix until combined.
- 1Serve the beef stir fry with jasmine rice and add on optional garnishes of sliced green onions and sesame seeds.
Notes
- I can’t stress enough to use ingredients you like as the stir fry sauce will complement the just about anything.
- To keep this recipe completely vegetarian, do not use the oyster sauce.
- No matter what cut of beef you select; It should be thinly sliced against the grain for maximum tenderness.
- Mirin or rice wine would be preferred over sherry wine if you can find it.
I recommend using an oil with a high smoking point like canola or vegetable oil.
I’ve been making decent stir fry dishes for a long time but this recipe took it to another level. My husband said it was my best ever and it was! I used frozen green beans instead of broccoli and had to swap the Shaoxing wine for rice wine vinegar. Thank you Chef Billy:)
My pleasure!
Made this stir fry last night with addition of asparagus best stir fry I’ve made, increased servings to 8 which is a very handy feature on your recipes
thanks
delicious!
Made this last night. DELICIOUS. I had no idea my daughter had a beef stir fry at school lunch only days before. She said it was terrible so she’d rather eat something else than stir fry again. Once this dish started cooking she slowly came back to the kitchen. i caught her nibbling out of the pot on 3 occasions once the meal was complete! I’m guessing she liked it a little bit more than her school stir fry!
thanks for giving it a shot!!
Loved this recipe and to me it was very easy. I did use low sodium soy sauce. I will try next time with shrimp or chicken but the beef was fantastic! I did use a wok and I think before watching you, I was not getting the wok hot enough. Thanks for pointing that out.
Perfect!
Delicious
so good!!
Amazing 😊
Thanks for giving it a shot!!
Easy and great. Will be a repeat with shrimp or chicken.
Yes! thanks for giving it a shot!!
Made this beef stir fry for dinner tonight. My husband took the lid off the top and said “Ohhh Boy!!” Our son is a. Trained chef and he eats everything slowly and carefully, said “this is really good!” Chef Parisi, you are elevating our everyday meals! What I loved about this recipe is that it comes together fast and I had all the ingredients already in the cupboard for it! Excellent flavor!
Love it!
Love this Beef Stir Fry recipe. We had this for Dinner tonight…
This has become a weekly staple in our home. Easy and so delish!!!
Easy and delicious I’ve made twice
I use this as a base for my own broccoli beef, and omitted the added sugar, increasing the very dry sherry. It’s delicious, and anyone making any variation is going to be extremely pleased with the results!
I’m anxious to try this but with chicken. Would l add the egg to marinate when using chicken instead!
Correct
I am waiting for the rice to finish up. Made with left over pork tenderloin and added a great flavor. Used frozen broccoli instead of fresh, since it boils it turned out soft. I should have doubled the liquid to put overtop the rice. Delish Billy, you’ve done it again!
Delicious! A new keeper. Our kids—who can be fussy about veggies—couldn’t get enough. Substituted and added lots of veggies (included sprouts, tofu, baby corn, asparagus) and didn’t have any cooking wine so left that out. Will definitely be making this again!
This was so good. Even though I grabbed cube steaks instead of the flank steak it was still super yummy. Another keeper.
I see that the oyster sauce can be omitted for vegetarian, but is there anything that can be substituted if it is omitted due to allergies? Thanks!
Unfortunately no.
I always want to make stir fry but needed these tips. Delicious.
I love all the veggies in this Beef Stir Fry recipe. I always opt for the veggie options over just plain meat. And the sauce on this really makes it all taste so perfect! Sweet, salty, savory — yum!
My husband would love to see this beef stir fry on the table. I love that it doesn’t take forever to make.
There are so many good tips in this post, thank you! I feel more confident about the steps for a good stir fry, a dish I LOVE, but often have a hard time replicating the flavors of at home. Now I’m hungry for a shrimp zucchini stir fry using your technique!