This is made with a simple but super flavourful, classic Chinese stir fry sauce. It’s a real sauce, one that tastes just like you get at proper Chinese restaurants!
Chinese Beef Stir Fry
Stir fries are my go-to for those nights when I can’t deal with more than the bare minimum effort for dinner. I know I can always knock up a stir fry using whatever greens I have left in my fridge. Even if I only have green beans and an onion (and some protein!). As long as I have a tasty sauce, I’m one happy gal!
So I have a secret weapon for super fast midweek meals – a homemade all purpose stir fry sauce. I call him Charlie. As in – Charlie Brown, because it’s a brown sauce. Ha ha ha. Don’t kill yourself laughing at my lack of originality!
Charlie is my secret weapon because he takes minutes to make and lasts in the fridge for weeks and weeks. He is similar to the sauce of many Chinese stir fries, but not an exact replica of any. Which means he is a great base to use for a seemingly endless array of Chinese dishes with the addition of a few extra flavourings.
And he’s real. He tastes like a real Chinese stir fry sauce, with proper depth of flavour.
Say hi to Charlie! That’s him on the bottom right photo. Looks unimpressive, doesn’t he? No hint of the power within! 🙂
The beauty of Charlie is that he will reside in your fridge for weeks, then when you need him, he’s always ready to go. Just give him a good shake, pour him in your stir fry and add water. He’s already got cornstarch/cornflour in him so he turns into a glorious thick sauce that coats your stir fry beautifully.
It’s been over a year since I last shared a recipe using Charlie. The reason I thought of this is because Super Food Ideas (Australia’s #1 food magazine!) asked me to do a feature with a series of recipes using Charlie. You will be amazed what you can make with him! Not just stir fries – soups, sauces, noodle stir fries and even using him as a marinade.
So I spent last week developing recipes for the Super Food Ideas feature (which comes out in early February – I’ll share more about that when the issue is released!). And I had a handful of ingredients leftover which is why I decided to share this stir fry recipe today.
If you want more ideas for how to use Charlie, you can have a look at this post – 10 Classic Chinese Dishes, 1 Amazing Sauce, where I share 10 more Chinese dishes (all on one page!) that you can make using Charlie.
For now, I present to you this classic Beef Stir Fry made using Charlie. 🙂 BUT I’ve also provided the ingredients to make the sauce from scratch too. Enjoy! – Nagi x
Option: Tenderising beef for stir fries
Ever notice how the meat in Chinese dishes is so incredibly tender, and how your stir fries at home are just never the same? The secret is tenderising the meat – a method called velveting.
That’s right. Your cheerful local Chinese restaurant is using economical stewing beef to make stir fries with ultra tender strips of beef by tenderising it!
Find out how to use this simple, highly effective method: How to Tenderise Beef (the Chinese way).
This is optional only, when wanting to make stir fries with economical beef or you simply want extra tender beef, Chinese restaurant style!
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Easy Classic Chinese Beef Stir Fry
Ingredients
Sauce (Note 1)
- 3 tsp cornstarch / corn flour*
- 2 tbsp + 1/3 cup water , separated
- 2 tbsp soy sauce (Note 2)*
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce*
- 2 tbsp Chinese cooking wine OR Mirin (Note 3)*
- 1 tsp white sugar*
- 1/2 tsp sesame oil (optional)*
- Dash of black pepper*
Stir Fry
- 2 tbsp peanut oil
- 1 garlic clove , crushed
- 7 oz / 200 g beef , good quality, thinly sliced (Note 4)
- 1/2 small onion , sliced (yellow, brown or white)
- 1/2 red bell pepper / capsicum , sliced
- 1 small carrot , halved lengthwise and sliced thinly on the diagonal
- 3 baby pak choy / bok choy , quartered lengthwise
- 2 stems scallion / shallots , cut into 1.5″/3cm pieces
To Serve
- Steamed white rice
- Sesame seeds (optional)
- Fresh cilantro / coriander (optional)
Instructions
- Combine the cornstarch and 2 tbsp of water in a small bowl, mix until smooth.
- Mix in remaining Sauce ingredients EXCEPT the 1/3 cup water.
- Place the beef and 2 tbsp of Sauce in a bowl and mix gently. Set aside for 15 minutes.
- Add 1/3 cup water into the remaining Sauce. Set aside.
- Heat oil in wok over high heat. Add garlic and cook for 15 seconds.
- Add onion and cook for 1 minute.
- Add the beef and cook until it changes colour from red to light brown but not cooked through.
- Add bell pepper and carrots and stir fry for 30 seconds.
- Add Sauce and cook for 30 seconds.
- Add pak choy and scallions/shallots and cook for a further 1 minute until the Sauce is thickened.
- Remove from heat immediately.
- Serve immediately with rice – or for a low carb, low cal option, try Cauliflower Rice! Garnish with sesame seeds and cilantro, if using.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition per serving, excluding rice. You can reduce the calories by 80 calories by using a non stick skillet and halving the oil.
Hello Nagi, I am one of your faithful followers. I have so many of your brilliant recipes marked to make again. I made this tonight for the first time and wasn’t happy with the beef – it was more steamed than seared. So I took all the beef out of the pan, got a new hot pan in the go and quickly tried to sear. It was better but still a bit limp. What did I do wrong
It was tenderised (Chinese restaurant style) by leaving it in the cornstarch marinade. You could skip that part if you prefer it seared and just add all the sauce later but I love the tenderness personally.
Hi, Navi, I bought your cookbook & cooked pork belly
Roast. The outcome was so ver
good with crackling skin. My family was so happy , that I cooked again. I will never change to another way. First time of my life that I was successful. We love pork belly roast. I can recommend to get your recipe. I rate this 10/10.Thank you.
Delicious!! All of your recipes are always a hit in our house! Thank you.
Quick and easy. Had a few wilting veges in the fridge and half a bag of spinach leaves so used this recipe as a side dish minus the beef. Did have to add a wee bit more water to the sauce, but all in all it was delish.
Hi Nagi: really enjoying your recipes and Dozer is a love. I’m going to try your Charlie Brown sauce- sounds delightful, just like my DOG, CHARLEY BROWN (a chocolate lab) He’s a sweetie..
Super quick & super tasty 🙂
Thanks again Nagi. My meal turned out so yum! I had it in combination with your “Saucy Vegetable Stir Fry” recipe. Both meals were better than my local Chinese takeaway! 🙏😀
The best tip was how to tenderize the sliced beef! I love how this tastes. I used a bunch scallions, half onion, 2 cloves chopped garlic, half a cabbage, and fresh jalapeno for heat. I used sherry instead of wine in the sauce.
This is the best beef stir fry I ever made!
Hi Nagi
Just made this recipe for 4, it was lovely but a little salty, should I use light soy next time or reduce the amount of soy sauce to maybe 3 tblsp?
I made this tonight. Big hit! The hubby said ‘oh tasted just like a Chinese takeaway stir fry!’ I’m like yes that’s the recipe I used lol.
I not only made it, I tweaked it. I put two green chillies and half a large zucchini in it. Mmm mmm 😋 delicious. Thanks for the recipe 😊.
Your website is the to go for dinner recipes. I love your cooking. I just made the Easy Classic Chinese beef and it’s really good. though I agree with Rosanna I add a little more water. But I found it a little salty or it’s maybe just me.. In all it’s good.
Hi Nagi, The flavor here was great however the sauce came out very thick…not flowing. So I did add some water, was that the right thing to do…It did help. Any suggestions for next time?
This is no fail delicious ! I make it often for my husband and I . We love it .
Very tasty! However don’t make same mistake I made when I had not planned properly with no rice wine or chicken stock I crumbled a bit of beef stock cube into the sauce. The sauce was good but the beef stock was too powerful and dominated the flavours a little bit. We loved it anyway and it was very easy and good but will get some proper rice wine next time!
Wow, what the? Amazing soft tender melt in the mouth beef with plenty of gravy. Next time I’ll get more adventurous and add some of my favourite spices
This recipe worked perfectly first time and tasted fabulous. I used stock instead of mirin. I doubled the sauce quantities as I added a lot more vegetables. Nicer than any stir fry I’ve cooked before. It was well received by the family
I’m eating it now as I type I’m using it with Mr Chen’s frozen chow mien noodles\ It gives it a citrus y flavor, which is quite delicious.
Very tasty! Authentic mouth feel! Excellent and quick recipe!!
Woo hoo!! Thanks Colin – so happy you liked it! N x
I have been using this recipe for several times already and have experimented with it quite a bit. It is a very solid recipe with excellent preparation and cooking advice, and it holds quite well with many variations! I find that in addition to garlic, minced ginger root adds a very pleasant touch to the overall flavour. Sesame oil is essential in binding the different flavours, I find. For vegetables, I use pointy red pepper, scallions, carrots, a few slices of mushrooms and red onion (sliced pole-to-pole). Even cheaper cuts of beef can be used, providing that you cut across the muscle fibres as suggested. I use fondue beef and it comes out absolutely tender. A seeded, thinly sliced red hot pepper can add a hint of heat to the sauce, and cashew or fried onions as garnish can add a little more crunch and sweetness. You can vary immensely wih this recipe as a starting point! I tried adding a little more oyster sauce, and even adding some leftover teriyaki sauce to the mix, to great results. This recipe is a magnificent canvas to learn and improve upon according to your own tastes and available ingredients, though it works magnificently as written. I keep coming back to this! Thank you so much!