Name: Chinese Sizzling Beef
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 1 pound flank steak (or sirloin steak, thinly sliced across the grain); 1 tablespoon soy sauce (low sodium); ½ teaspoon baking soda; 1 tablespoon cornstarch; 2 tablespoons oyster sauce; 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine (Chinese cooking wine); 2 tablespoons soy sauce; 3 tablespoons honey; 2 tablespoons water; 1 teaspoon black pepper (crushed); 2 tablespoons vegetable oil; 3 cloves garlic (roughly chopped); 2 inch piece ginger (peeled and julienned); 3 green onions (cut into 3 inch pieces)

With tender marinated beef stir-fried together with lots of garlic, ginger, and a super yummy sauce, this Chinese Sizzling Beef is a tasty take-out classic that you can make at home! The recipe comes together in just about 20 minutes and makes the most delicious quick and easy meal with some hot steamed rice!

chinese sizzling beef on a bed of rice in a plate.

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Easy Chinese Sizzling Beef Recipe

When you are craving Chinese take-out but feel like cooking, this Chinese Sizzling Beef recipe has got your back! Just like my delicious Sesame Chicken, this dish is actually quicker to make than waiting to have food delivered and is just as good! And you don’t even need a wok!

But how can it be just as good as take-out?!? I know right! Chinese take-out is one of those iconic things that we all assume we could never make at home. I get it! But I’m telling you that you totally can and I’m going to show you how.

Aside from using lots of fresh garlic and ginger to make this dish pop, I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve. First off, I use a few of my favorite easy to find Asian ingredients that create the most authentic flavor. This makes the stir fry sauce addictively good. I also add a bit of baking soda to the beef marinade to tenderize it as well as a touch of cornstarch to lock in the juices. These simple tricks make all the difference!

freshly made chinese sizzling beef in a cast iron skillet.

Why You’ll Love This Chinese Sizzling Beef

Quick and Easy! This simple beef stir fry comes together in just 20 minutes! And there is very little prep involved and just one pan to clean. Perfect for weeknights!
Take Out Tasty! Put down the phone! Layered in flavors like garlic, ginger, and soy sauce, this Chinese sizzling beef dish is just as delicious as take-out.
Family Favorite! Between the tender beef and the incredible stir fry sauce your family will love this dish and be begging for you to make it all the time.

Ingredients You’ll Need

ingredients needed to make chinese sizzling beef.

Beef marinade

Beef – I like to use flank steak or sirloin steak to make this dish. They both cook up nice and tender.
Soy Sauce (Low Sodium) – If you don’t have any low sodium soy sauce on hand, regular soy sauce or tamari will work just as well.
Baking Soda – Added to the marinade to work as a meat tenderizer.
Cornstarch – Provides a coating that protects the beef from the high temperature and seals in the juices.

Stir Fry Sauce

Oyster Sauce – Yes, there is oyster in oyster sauce! So avoid using it if you have any allergies to shellfish or use a plant-based version, which is now sold in most markets.
Shaoxing Wine – A type of Chinese rice wine very similar in taste to dry sherry, which can be used as a substitution.
Soy Sauce (Low Sodium) – I always use the low sodium variety to control the amount of added salt.
Honey – Adds a touch of sweetness and texture to the dish.
Water – Just a little bit helps to thin out the sauce.
Black Pepper – You need crushed black pepper, which will add a nice dash of spice in combination with the fresh ginger and garlic.

Stir Fry

Vegetable Oil – Used for sautéing the dish. Make sure to use a flavorless vegetable oil.
Garlic – Use fresh garlic cloves for the best flavor. Store-bought minced garlic in the jar is just not the same and can even be bitter sometimes.
Ginger – As one of the most important ingredients, you’ll need a nice knob of fresh ginger to do this dish justice.
Green Onions – Also called spring onions, they are used to garnish and add another layer of flavor.

How To Make Chinese Sizzling Beef

This simple 20-minute succulent recipe is going to blow your mind! Just follow these few easy steps and you’ll have a delicious beef stir-fry dinner in no time!

Marinate The Beef

process shots showing how to make chinese sizzling beef.

To begin, you want to get the beef soaking up flavor in the marinade. Combine the soy sauce, baking soda, and cornstarch in a medium bowl. Then add the sliced beef and set it aside for 5 minutes while you continue on with the recipe.

Make The Sauce

Next, you need to have the sauce made before you begin cooking because the steps of the recipe go quickly. So whisk all the sauce ingredients together well in a small bowl. Then set it aside for now.

Cook The Beef

Let’s get this sizzling beef going! First, heat the vegetable oil over high heat in a large skillet. Then add the garlic and ginger to the pan and stir fry for just 10 seconds. Now, evenly spread the sliced flank steak over the entire surface of the skillet and sear it for 1 minute without touching it at all. Then toss the beef around and sear it for another 1 to 2 minutes or until cooked. You can discard the reserved marinade.

Add The Sauce

Once you are done stir-frying the beef, add the stir-fry sauce along with the green onions. Now, toss everything together to fully coat and cook for another 10 seconds. Then immediately remove the beef from the heat.

Serve And Enjoy

To finish, transfer the Chinese sizzling beef to your favorite serving platter and garnish with more green onions and sesame seeds. Then serve over steamed rice along with some Spring Rolls or Asian Lettuce Wraps if you like!

What Is Slicing Against The Grain?

Slicing meat against the grain basically means cutting through the muscle fibers to make them shorter, which makes the meat more tender and easier to chew. For example, in flank steak, the grain is easy to see because the fibers are long and very apparent.

What Else Can I Add To This Dish?

Anything you like! Traditionally, Chinese sizzling beef doesn’t have a bunch of veggies in it, but that doesn’t mean you can’t toss in some broccoli, carrots, bell peppers, mushrooms, or any other veggie you like.

My only suggestion is to cook them separately and then add them to the dish at the end along with the sauce because vegetables have a different cooking time than meat. And if you want to make the beef a little spicy, adding some red pepper flakes to the sauce will do the trick.

Expert Tips

No wok needed. A wok is not required to make Chinese sizzling beef. You can use a large nonstick skillet with a surface big enough to stir fry all the ingredients properly.
Cook the beef in batches. If you have a small pan you will need to cook the beef in batches for it to properly saute. It really needs to sear well for the best flavor.
Remove from the heat. Once the dish is done, remove it from the heat right away so it doesn’t keep cooking. You don’t want to overcook your beef.

Storage

Leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to 4 days. To reheat, simply put them in the microwave for a few minutes on medium power or in a skillet on the stove. You can also freeze them for up to 3 months in an airtight container or sealed freezer bag.

Chinese Sizzling Beef