This beef stir-fry has a ridiculously simple sauce and is loaded with mushrooms, zucchini and bell pepper.
How to Make Beef Stir-Fry
The most time-consuming part of making stir-fry is all the chopping. Slicing your meat and veggies into smaller bite-sized pieces can take a little bit of time and effort, but it’s worth it for the end result.
After you’ve chopped all your ingredients, you’ll cook the beef on one side of the wok, or another large frying pan, and the veggies on the other side of the wok. Once they’re all cooked, you can mix the two sides together and add the soy sauce and sesame seeds.
Some stir-fry recipes use a specific stir-fry sauce, which can be as basic as broth, soy sauce, sugar, and rice wine vinegar. This quick stir-fry calls for only soy sauce. But you can feel free to add a stir-fry sauce or marinate your beef in one if you prefer.
How to Cook Beef Stir-Fry
If possible, you should use a wok to make beef stir-fry. Woks are large and have sloping sides that let you cook the entire stir-fry in one pan, so you can easily stir and flip the food without fear of it flying out. They also are designed to cook foods quicker than skillets and with less oil.
If you can’t use a wok (or another carbon steel pan) then any skillet will work. You may just need to cook the meat and veggies in separate batches.
When cooking, make sure you heat the pan and oil up first before adding your ingredients — they should sizzle as soon as they hit the heat. And always use an oil with a high smoke point, like canola or peanut oil, for the best stir-fry results.
The Best Beef Stir-Fry Sauce:
The ingredients for this beef stir fry sauce will surprise you and you probably already have them in the refrigerator. The combination is sweet, savory and smoky. It caramelizes on the beef for tantalizing Asian BBQ flavor.
Keep in mind if you use a sweet BBQ sauce, the sauce will be considerably sweeter which is why we opted to use an original BBQ sauce.
Which Vegetables are Best for Stir Fry?
You can change up the vegetables for variety or to use up what you have on hand. The best vegetables for stir fry cook fast when thinly sliced. You can substitute with any of these:
- Bell Peppers
- Mushrooms
- Zucchini (green or yellow squash)
- Snap peas
- Carrots (sliced into matchsticks)
- Onion
- Asparagus
- Broccoli cut into florets
FAQS & TIPS
What Kind of Beef is Used for Stir Fry?
Good news: you don’t need the most expensive cut of beef for tender beef stir fry. Top sirloin is our favorite beef for stir fry because it is relatively inexpensive and produces juicy results). These are generally the best beef cuts for stir fry:
- Top Sirloin Steak
- Chuck Steak
- Ribeye
- Tri-tip
- Flank Steak
How do you Make Stir Fry Beef Tender?
The right cut (see recommendations above) is critical. Also, be sure to:
- Thinly Slice your beef
- Cut steak against the grain
- Sear over high heat (sealing in the juices)
- Don’t crowd the pan which cools the pan quickly and results in chewy beef
Which Oil is Best for Stir Fry?
Since you are cooking over high heat, use an oil with a high smoke point. Our favorite is extra light olive oil (we use it for everything from baking to stir fries because it is neutral in flavor and has a high smoke point). Other good options include: canola oil, grape-seed oil, avocado oil or peanut oil.
Oil sprayer
If we missed any questions that you may have, feel free to leave your questions in the comment section below.
Beef Stir-Fry
Ingredients
FOR ASIAN BBQ SAUCE:
- 3 Tbsp BBQ Sauce
- 3 Tbsp Maple Syrup
- 2 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce.
FOR BEEF STIR-FRY:
- 1 lb Top sirloin steak thinly sliced
- Sea Salt
- Ground Black Pepper
- 1 medium yellow zucchini sliced on the diagonal
- 1 medium onion sliced
- 1 red bell pepper sliced
- 1 large carrot sliced thin into matchsticks
- 1/2 lb mushrooms thin sliced
- 1 Tsp minced garlic
- 3 Tbsp Oil to Saute
- Snap peas
- Asparagus
- Broccoli cut into florets
Instructions
- Stir together 3 sauce ingredients in small bowl and set aside.
- Heat a large heavy pan over high heat and add 1 Tbsp oil. When oil is hot, add beef in a single layer and sautee undisturbed 2-3 mins. Stir and sautee another 2 min or until nearly cooked through. Season lightly with salt and pepper, add garlic and sautee 1 min.
- Drizzle beef with sauce to taste (I added 5 Tbsp) and stir-fry another 1 min or until beef is fully cooked through. Remove beef to a plate and cover to keep warm. Wipe pan clean with a paper towel.
- Place clean pan over high heat and add 1 Tbsp oil. Once oil is hot, add mushrooms, onions, season lightly with salt & pepper and stir fry until golden (5 min). Transfer mushrooms and onions to the plate with beef.
- Add 1 Tbsp oil along with sliced onion and veggies and stir fry about 8 min or until soft and golden.
- Combine vegetables with beef and mushrooms, drizzle in more sauce to taste (I used another 2 Tbsp) and stir fry just until hot.
