Ginger Beef Stir Fry

Ginger Beef Stir Fry is a recipe on regular rotation in my kitchen. I love the sweet sauciness and gentle spice of this dish, and as beef is relatively expensive here in Germany, it is a little luxurious too.

This beef stir fry is as good to look at as it is to eat, the bright red of the peppers and vibrant green beans providing a pop of colour.

Stir Fry = Super Speedy

While I’m often happy to spend hours in the kitchen carefully crafting a meal (it is my job, after all), I really love a quick recipe.

Whenever I am in a hurry to get food on the table, I always turn to stir-fries, those wonder dishes full of fresh vegetables, tender meat and masses of flavour.

Not only are they ready in minutes, but a stir fry is also a brilliant way of making a more expensive piece of meat go a lot further.

Ingredients

To make Ginger Beef Stir Fry, you need the following main ingredients:

• Beef Stock/Broth: This forms the base of the sauce. I use ½ a stock cube in 250ml (1 cup) water. No need for the fancy stuff.
• Hoisin Sauce and Soy Sauce: To absolutely max out the umami flavours in the stir fry.
• Beef steak: Minute steaks or similar are perfect for this recipe as they are lean, cook quickly and are good value for money.
• Red Pepper, Green Beans and Mushrooms: These vegetables bulk out the meal and add colour, flavour and texture. You don’t have to stick to these though, clear out your fridge and use what you have! (More on this below).
• Cornstarch: For a stir fry like this I like a lovely glossy sauce so I thicken it with cornstarch. If you’re not a fan, you can simply leave it out.
• Brown Sugar: To balance out the saltiness of the soy and Hoisin.
• Chilli, Ginger and Sesame: These classic flavourings round out the dish and give it that restaurant-quality flavour at home.

Stir fries are brilliant for clearing out the fridge!

Most of us (guiltily) have a few vegetables in the fridge that are starting to look a little droopy and sad. A stir fry is a brilliant way to use up all of these veg as the quick frying will completely reinvigorate them, so don’t stress if you don’t have the peppers or beans in this recipe.

You can replace them with other vegetables from your crisper drawer, just try to cut them to an even size so they cook at the same time.

Chop it all up before you start

On the subject of cutting, it’s important when making a stir fry to have all your ingredients prepared in advance – the actual cooking is so speedy, it’s easier to have your meat and vegetables chopped and ready beside the stove so you can throw them straight in the pan.

What is Hoisin Sauce?

Hoisin sauce is a lovely sticky dark sauce made from peanuts, soy sauce, vinegar and sugar or honey.

It is usually available at any well-stocked supermarket with the international foods. If you can’t locate any, it can be substituted with an extra tablespoon of soy sauce a tablespoon of peanut butter and a tablespoon of honey in this recipe.

MAke a double batch for weekday lunches

I love to make up a big batch of Ginger Beef Stir Fry when I know I’ll be working away from home, it makes a fantastic lunch to take into the office and it’s lean and healthy too.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Ginger Beef Stir Fry

Jay Wadams

Full of punchy, invigorating flavours and loads of fresh veg, Ginger Beef Stir Fry is made in minutes and tastes incredible. Get all your ingredients prepped before you start cooking and you’ll have dinner ready in a flash.

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4.96 from 21 votes

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Serves 2 (or 4 with starters)

Ingredients

 

MetricU.S. Customary

for the sauce:

• ▢ 250 ml beef stock or broth , made with ½ stock cube
• ▢ 3 Tbsp hoisin sauce
• ▢ 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• ▢ 2 tsp sesame oil
• ▢ 1 tsp cornflour/cornstarch

for the stir-fry:

• ▢ 400 g beef steak, sliced thinly
• ▢ 2 tsp brown sugar
• ▢ 1 tsp cornflour/cornstarch
• ▢ 3 Tbsp neutral oil
• ▢ 1 red pepper, sliced
• ▢ 2 spring onions, finely sliced
• ▢ 3 cm piece of ginger, peeled and diced
• ▢ ½ red chilli, sliced
• ▢ 200 g green beans, trimmed
• ▢ 100 g mushrooms, sliced
• ▢ 50 g peanuts, roughly crushed
• ▢ 2 tsp sesame seeds
• ▢ freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

 

• MAKE THE SAUCE: Whisk all sauce ingredients together and set aside. Toss the steak together with the sugar and cornflour and season well with salt and pepper.
  
• BROWN THE BEEF: Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large wok or frying pan. When the oil is hot, cook the beef for 2-3 minutes until browned. Transfer to a plate while you cook the vegetables.
  
• ADD THE PEPPERS: Add the remaining oil to the pan along with the red pepper, whites of the spring onions, ginger and chilli. Cook, stirring often for 2 minutes.
• ADD THE VEGETABLES: Add the beans and mushrooms and cook a further 2 minutes then give the sauce a stir and pour it into the pan. If the pan has a lid, cover and cook for 4-5 minutes until the vegetables have begun to soften. If you don’t have a lid, cook until the vegetables are tender, adding a splash of water if necessary.
  
• COMBINE THE INGREDIENTS: Add the beef and any resting juices back to the pan, cook for 2 minutes, tossing to combine, then transfer to a serving platter.
  
• SERVE: Scatter over the peanuts, sesame seeds and the greens of the spring onions and serve immediately with steamed rice.

Notes

In my household, we can easily eat this between the two of us. (I know!) With a few sides and some steamed vegetables this recipe can feed four.

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Nutrition

Serving: 1plate | Calories: 585kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 41g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g | Monounsaturated Fat: 26g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 1696mg | Potassium: 1548mg | Fiber: 11g | Sugar: 24g | Vitamin A: 4447IU | Vitamin C: 135mg | Calcium: 144mg | Iron: 5mg

Tried this recipe?I’d love to hear how it went! Please leave a review or a star rating and let me know how it was! Use the hashtag #daysofjay on Instagram so I can see your delicious creations.

Course | Main Event

Cuisine | Asian

Ⓒ | Jay Wadams