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.
This is so delicious. I made it last night and we enjoyed it immensely. My husband likes very spicy and hyper-flavourful food. I thought it will be too bland for him, but he was delighted with the flavours and complimented more than usually…
I used about double the amount of most vegetables. Had no puck choy, so used a few leaves of kale. Added 2 big champignon mushrooms.
I substituted the oyster sauce with a mixture of molasses and marmite (finally found a use for it!) with a pinch of Chinese 5 spice. About a tbsp for a full batch of Charlie sauce
Used mirin wine + 1/3 tea spoon sugar.
Eager to try other recipes with the Homemade All Purpose Stir Fry Sauce (AKA Charlie).
Just one little question: are the sesame seeds supposed to be pre- roasted?
I have a feeling I’m going to spend a lot of time browsing your site. Thank you so much for your brilliant recipes!
We found this post on Pinterest and knew we had to make it. It came out really, really good!
I’m glad you enjoyed this Jack! Thank you for letting me know 🙂 N x
As I looked at this recipe I thought the sauce would be a little lacklustre and it was for me. I added some Chinese preserved vegetables to kick it up a notch.
But. you are right – that sauce is a fantastic base for lot’s of chinese style cooking, just add some extra ingredients to shape it to the dish you are making.
I think I might be a Charlie convert – but don’t tell my wife – she’s from Shanghai 🙂
Hello, Jonno & Christian here in the UK, live from Sherfield on Loddon!
We tried this recipe and it was delicious.
We ended up cooking all ingredients for a little bit longer than stated so that everything was cooked through.
We didn’t use chicken broth instead of chinese wine, we just skipped that part and sauce was still great 😉
I’m so glad you both enjoyed this Jonno & Christian! Thanks for letting me know – N x
Excellent! Last night I started making stir fry beef according to a different recipe, but partway in I realized that I had used up some of the ingredients for a dinner earlier in the week AND that the recipe reviews practically unanimously said the sauce was bland (!). So, like calling up a friend for help, I went to recipetineats and “fixed” the recipe using your sauce and instructions. It turned out great! (as usual). Will be adding this to my list of faves.
Thank you for sharing this recipe. The only thing I’m confused about is the part of the sauce ingredient list that specifies 2 tbsp + ½ cup water, separated. Later in Step 2 of the instructions it changes to ⅓ cup of water. So I’m wondering if this recipe uses a half or a third cup of water, plus the 2 tbsp of separate water. Can you please clarify? Thanks again.
Yikes sorry! It’s 1/3 cup water, fixing it now! 🙂 N xx
Absolutely delicious. Thank you
Hannah
I’m so pleased to hear you enjoyed this Hannah! Thanks for letting me know – N xx ❤️
What is Chinese cooking wine? What kind do you use?
Hi Becky! Chinese cooking wine is a wine made from rice used in Chinese cooking. It is a key ingredient in Chinese cooking 🙂 You can substitute with dry sherry.
Is there a specific kind that you use or recommend?
Oh, this was so good!!! I changed up the veggies to suit what I had and added some freshly minced ginger. It was a hit … with me 😀 My 13yo is wanting to try new foods and he kind of enjoyed it. We worked out that it was probably the ginger flavour he didn’t like. But, he’s willing to try it again without the ginger, so we are breaking through his food barriers.
My husband, who said he wasn’t going to have a bar of it, put a meat pie on for himself (house rule: if you’re not eating what the cook is cooking then you fend for yourself). Well, hubby picked at the leftovers while his pie was cooking, scoffed the lot and was too full for the pie! So with a bit of tweaking, we have a hit. Thank you for sharing your wonderful Real Chinese All Purpose Stif Fry Sauce.
BA HA HA!!! I had to laugh at your hubby preferring this over the meat pie. Now THAT is a compliment for your cooking, isn’t it? 🙂 I’m so glad you enjoyed it Jill! N xx
This sounds really nice recipe. Thanks for putting this up. Will be giving this a go.
Simon
I hope you enjoy it Simon!
Did this last night! Turned out quick and I had to wait for the rice to finish cooking. But delicious!
Yay! So glad you enjoyed it! N x
Hi Nagi,
I tried Charlie the past few days. My first try was not the best but that is due to my ignorance ( I use tsp instead of tbsp.) I knew there was something wrong so I corrected my Charlie. I used some vegetables with roasted chicken and my daughter finish it off. I tried it with shrip, mushroom and broccoli and it work like an angel…. Charlie is absolutely amazing. I will do a chowmein tonight and will bring it to a party… Thanks Nagi – I’m a new follower…
Supposing I don’t like Oyster sauce, will the recipe still turn out okay?
Hi Elizabeth! I would sub with Hoisin 🙂
I followed the recipe as written and it was excellent! Will definitely make again! Thanks for such an outstanding meal!
Haha love the Charlie concept and the photography in this post. But MOST of all I love to see a fellow Global Knives user — my favorite kitchen knives : )))
They are the BEST BEST BEST!!! 🙂
Wishing for a good Chinese stir fry right now – you always have the most mouthwatering images Nagi! Xx
Aww, thanks Thalia, you’re so sweet! N x
yum yum yum yum yum yum. I know, unoriginal as h***l comment, but that is what was going through my mind as I read this post. love the idea of having one sauce for many stir-fries… going to check out that old post of yours!
I’m thinking you might need an intervention for naming your food Nagi. Of course, we name our animals then we eat them…not sure I have a right to talk! I was walking through my grocery store yesterday thinking of how I wanted some stir fry. This is looking’ awesome. I’ll have to give it a go soon!
BA HA HA!!! See? We are more similar than you might think! N x
What’s not to love about a dish that is so beautiful to look at and so easy to make. Once all the veggies are prepped, cooking take next to no time at all. This is one of our favourite meals.
Thank you so much Maureen! I was glad to wake up to your text this morning. I am glad John is home! N x
Ha! You crack me up, Nagi! I’ve actually already had a rendezvous with Charlie and he’s everything you said he’d be – easy, delicious, and totally satisfying 😉
I’m totally shocked!!! I seriously did not think you would ever have a ready-to-go sauce on standby! (Totally honoured you tried him though! 🙂 )