Beef stir fry, loaded with tons of fresh vegetables and a tasty sauce, is a quick and easy dinner best cooked in a wok that your family will love.
Beef Stir Fry is one of my family’s favorite recipes. It has everything you want in a dinner – protein, loads of veggies, and great flavor! This is one of my favorite Asian inspired dinner recipes, along with Pork Fried Rice and Chicken Pad Thai.
BEEF STIR FRY
Beef Stir-Fry with broccoli and rice and everything nice is so. Darn. GOOD.
I recently purchased an electric wok. I love it. You have no idea how much I love it.
The beauty of a wok is that the heat goes all the way up the side walls. This is what creates that super fast and quick cooking.
Wok cooking is perfect for stir fry recipes because you want your meat and vegetables to be just cooked enough but also to get a really nice sear on them.
What kind of beef do you use for stir fry?
I prefer to use a sirloin steak. You can certainly use any kind of steak that is a higher quality cut than a sirloin, but since you’re going to slice it thin and cook it fast, you should save your money.
A sirloin steak will taste just as good as a premium cut when cooked this way at a fraction of the price.
How do I make stir fry meat tender?
There are many ways you can make meat tender. One method is to pound it flat with a meat tenderizer. You can also marinate it so that the tissue breaks down a bit during the cooking process.
In order to make this recipe quick and easy, the only thing I did to ensure really tender meat was to slice it very thin against the grain.
A simple trick to make your slicing easier is to have your meat partially frozen. It needs to be thawed enough to easily get the knife through, but cold enough to hold up against the knife, thus making it easy to slice.
Cutting against the grain will give you the most tender bites of steak.
What is the secret to a good stir fry sauce?
Fish sauce.
I know some people have been cooking with fish sauce their entire lives, but it’s newly adapted in our family.
Admittedly, the thought of using fish sauce is not super appealing to me, but it truly does enhance the flavor of Asian dishes. Give it a try!
Favorite Asian dinner recipes:
My entire family loves all of these tasty and easy dinner recipes, and I’m confident you will too!
- Teriyaki Chicken
- Asian Ramen Noodles
- Spicy Peanut Cole Slaw
- Baked Teriyaki Salmon
- Easy Teriyaki Shrimp Skewers
- Asian Roasted Broccoli
- Shrimp Stir Fry
- Easy Teriyaki Meatballs
- Perfect Cashew Chicken
- Shrimp Vermicelli Salad
- Summer Rolls with homemade Peanut Sauce
Watch my recipe video for Beef Stir Fry below!
Beef Stir Fry
RECIPE VIDEO
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil or other high heat oil
- 1 pound beef sirloin cut into thin strips, see note
- 2 cups broccoli fresh florets
- 1 red bell pepper cut into thin strips
- 2 large carrots peeled and cut into thin strips
- 1 small zucchini thinly sliced
- 2 green onions thinly sliced
- 1 tsp garlic minced
- 1/2 tsp ginger freshly grated
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds toasted
Instructions
- Throughout entire recipe, do not overcrowd your wok. You're better off cooking in small batches, setting aside, and combining everything at the end. You want everything to have a nice sear on it but not be soggy and overly cooked.
- Ensure meat and all vegetables are cut prior to cooking.
- Heat vegetable oil in a large wok or skillet over high heat. When oil is near it's smoking point, cook and stir beef until browned, 3 to 4 minutes. It will continue cooking later, so it doesn't need to be fully cooked at this point. You just want a nice sear on it.
- Transfer beef to a plate. Add broccoli, bell pepper, carrots, zucchini, and green onion to the center of the wok. Cook and stir vegetables for 2 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes and stir well.
- Add beef into vegetables and season with soy sauce, fish sauce, and sesame seeds. Continue to cook and stir until vegetables are tender, about 2 more minutes.
- Serve hot over rice or noodles.
What is fish sauce and where do you get it?
Hi Jean, Fish sauce can be found in the Asian food section of just about any major food store (near the soy sauce). I must warn you – it stinks! But it’s like it has magical powers or something because it really enhances the flavor and doesn’t make it taste fishy at all.
I made this recipe for the family tonight. It was perfect! Great recipe!
Made for my family last night. They couldn’t stop raving about how good it turned out!! (PS: I love it too).
Do you think oyster sauce be a good substitute for the fish sauce?
Hi Ashleigh, I use oyster sauce a lot but it is very different from fish sauce. That being said, I think you could use it, but I would use a very small amount and add more, if needed. Enjoy! Krissy
Can anchovie paste be used for fish sauce
No. They are super different. I wouldn’t. Thanks, Krissy
Should you cook your beef before the stir fry process?
I cook the beef first and transfer it to a plate before I cook the veggies.