Step away from the food delivery app because tonight we’re not settling for soggy limp takeout! This easy Beijing Beef is sweet, tangy, and stays crispy for HOURS! You could even freeze the beef for your next craving – your future self is already thanking you!
This Beijing Beef, also known as Peking Beef, stays crispy for hourssss! It’s tender on the inside and tossed in a sweet tangy sauce that has you devouring it straight from the pan! Enjoy this Panda Express Beijing Beef with a side of Vegetable Lo Mein or Chicken Fried Rice whenever you’re craving Chinese takeout at home!
🎥 Watch How to Make the Recipe
🥩 Beef Tips
Cheap cuts like flank steak or skirt steak work well for this Beijing Beef recipe! If they’re not available, you could also use top sirloin or top round too.
For extra tender strips of steak, thinly slice the beef into ¼-inch slices AGAINST the grain. If you aren’t sure if you’re cutting against the grain, look for the lines in the meat. These are the muscle fibers & should be going in one direction. Slice across it.
For tender slices of beef, keep the muscle fibers short (aka cutting across the grain/lines of the meat). If you cut in the same direction of the grain, you’ll have beef strips with long muscle fibers that result in tough chewy beef.
🥘 Ingredient Tips
- Beef: The best cuts for this Beijing Beef recipe are skirt steak, flank steak, or top sirloin. More tips below on how to slice them into super tender pieces!
- Baking Soda & Cornstarch: A common practice used in Chinese restaurants to tenderize meat is called velveting! This is how they have succulently tender meat in their dishes – marinating it baking soda and/or cornstarch. For this recipe, use a little of both!
- Potato Starch: A 1:1 ratio of cornstarch & potato starch creates an extra crispy beef batter that STAYS crispy – even in the sauce! Cornstarch alone is nowhere as crispy as with potato starch – so grab it online or from your local Asian market!
- Oyster Sauce: This is the base of the Beijing beef sauce & the triple threat of flavor – salty, sweet, and oooomami!
- Rice Vinegar: This adds mellow tanginess compared to white vinegar & perfectly balances the saltiness from the oyster sauce & sweetness from the brown sugar.
- Sambal: This is optional if you’d like a subtle kick of spice!
🔪 How to Make Beijing Beef
Step 1: Marinate Beef: In a large bowl, massage together thinly sliced beef with the marinade ingredients until it’s completely absorbed. Marinate & keep it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, up to overnight.
Step 2: Make Sauce: In a mixing bowl, whisk the sauce ingredients for a sweet and tangy glaze until the brown sugar has dissolved, then set aside.
Step 3: Dredge Beef: In a large bowl, combine cornstarch and potato starch. Add a few pieces of beef at a time, scrunch it well onto the dredge, then shake off any excess.
Let it rest for 5-10 minutes & heat the oil for deep frying in the meantime!
Step 4: Fry Beef. Heat a wok or large skillet on medium-high heat with enough oil for a shallow fry. Once the oil is hot, you’ll know it’s ready by sticking a chopstick or wooden spoon in the oil and it should immediately sizzle.
Carefully drop a few slices of beef into the oil, working in batches if needed so the pan isn’t overcrowded. A good rule of thumb is you should be able to still see the bottom of the pan. If the pan is overcrowded, your beef won’t turn out crispy!
Gently separate the beef while frying because they like to stick to each other. Cook for 1-2 minutes, or until the beef is golden brown and crispy & the oil goes from making large bubbles to small bubbles. Remove & drain over a wire rack or plate lined with paper towels. Repeat for remaining beef.
Step 5: Double Fry.
Skim any floating starch using an oil sieve, then do a second fry to make the beef EXTRA crispy! Again, work in batches to avoid overcrowding. Fry for another 1-2 minutes, or until the beef looks golden brown and crispy. Remove & drain over a wire rack or paper-towel-lined plate. Set aside.
Step 6: Saute Vegetables & Aromatics. Drain oil from the wok, leaving about 2 tablespoons of oil. Reheat to medium-high heat, then add in the onions and bell peppers. Cook for about 1 minute, or until slightly tender but still crunchy.
Toss in garlic and ginger, then sauté for another 30 seconds.
Step 7: Cook Sauce & Toss . Pour in the sweet and sour sauce and combine with the veggies. Cook for 30 seconds to a minute to allow it to bubble and slightly thicken.
We’re going for a glaze that’ll lightly coat and season the beef without turning the beef soggy! Toss in the crispy beef and continue to toss the beef in the sauce until it’s evenly coated. Turn off the heat, garnish with toasted sesame seeds if you’re feeling fancy, then enjoy!
👩🏽🍳 Key Tips
- Rest Beef After Dredging: This lets the beef absorb the starches so it really sticks to the beef, instead of falling off & burning to the bottom of the pan. Your beef will be crispier too since the dredge is actually staying on too!
- Double Fry for Maximum Crispiness: After the first fry, the beef is crispy but will eventually turn soggy, especially after tossing it in the sauce. BUT with the double fry, your beef will be incredibly crispy for hours – and it only takes another minute!
- Sauce is a Glaze: To maintain crunchy beef, we’re not drenching our Peking beef in tons of sauce – but don’t worry! We’re not sacrificing any flavor! The beijing beef sauce is a delicious sweet & tangy sticky glaze packed with tons of flavor!
- Save & Reuse Frying Oil: Yep, don’t let it go to waste after one fry! Let the oil come to room temperature, then strain it & use it again for Honey Walnut Shrimp or Orange Chicken!Rest Beef After Dredging: This lets the beef absorb the starches so it really sticks to the beef, instead of falling off & burning to the bottom of the pan. Your beef will be crispier too since the dredge is actually staying on too!
- Double Fry for Maximum Crispiness: After the first fry, the beef is crispy but will eventually turn soggy, especially after tossing it in the sauce. BUT with the double fry, your beef will be incredibly crispy for hours – and it only takes another minute!
- Sauce is a Glaze: To maintain crunchy beef, we’re not drenching our Peking beef in tons of sauce – but don’t worry! We’re not sacrificing any flavor! The beijing beef sauce is a delicious sweet & tangy sticky glaze packed with tons of flavor!
- Save & Reuse Frying Oil: Yep, don’t let it go to waste after one fry! Let the oil come to room temperature, then strain it & use it again for Honey Walnut Shrimp or Orange Chicken!
💭 Recipe FAQs
🍚 What to Serve with Beijing Beef
- Noodles & Rice:
- Have leftover beef? Fill up with a quick Steak Fried Rice or Beef Lo Mein because who doesn’t love that??
- If you want to shake things up, swap out the beef for Chicken Fried Rice or Shrimp Fried Rice! Feeling extra fancy? Serve House Special Lo Mein with all the meats when you can’t choose!
- Protein:
- Did you really have Panda Express if you didn’t have Honey walnut shrimp or Orange Chicken?? And don’t forget the Beef & Broccoli or Crispy Shredded Chili Beef!
- Vegetables
- Just because we’re responsible healthy adults lol – add in a quick Bok Choy with Garlic Sauce, Chinese Green Bean Stir-Fry, or Eggplant Tofu Stir-Fry!
- Eggplant tofu
- Dessert:
- This easy Sesame Balls recipe is deliciously chewy and crunchy at the same time – what is this sorcery?
Let’s get cooking!
Get into my secret stash of Goody-Packed Newsletters with meals planned for you & time-saving tips! Want step-by-step videos of how to make my recipes too? I gotchu over at my youtube channel. Aight, enough chatting, more eating!
Beijing Beef Recipe
Ingredients
MARINADE:
- 1 pound beef flank steak* thinly sliced against the grain
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
SAUCE:
- 3 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 3 tablespoons ketchup
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon shaoxing wine
- 1 tablespoon sambal optional
BREADING:
- 1/3 cup cornstarch
- 1/3 cup potato starch
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 medium onion diced
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 7 garlic cloves minced
- 1 teaspoon ginger grated
Instructions
- In a large bowl or airtight container, combine the beef and marinade – beef, cornstarch, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, baking soda, and white pepper. Cover and marinate in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, up to overnight.
- In a small bowl, make the sauce by whisking together oyster sauce, rice vinegar, ketchup, brown sugar, and Shaoxing wine. If you want a little spice, add sambal (this is optional).
- Prep the dredge by pouring cornstarch & potato starch onto a large plate. Add a few pieces of marinated beef to the dredge at a time, pressing or scrunching the dredge onto the beef so it really sticks. Repeat for remaining beef & let beef rest for 10-15 minutes – this will help the starch better stick to the meat instead of falling off when cooking!
- In a wok or large skillet, heat enough oil to deep fry on medium-high heat. You’ll know it’s hot enough if you stick a wooden chopstick or spoon in the oil & it starts to sizzle. Add beef in the oil, working in batches to avoid overcrowding, otherwise, your beef won’t be crispy. Best practice is you should be able to see the bottom of the pot. Gently stir the beef so they don’t get stuck together while cooking. Cook for about 1-2 minutes, or until beef is golden brown and oil is producing small bubbles instead of large violent bubbles lol. Remove and drain on a wire rack or paper towel-lined plate.
- Double-fry the beef for maximum crispiness for hours! Use an oil skimmer to remove any excess food in the oil, then bring oil high heat. Once hot, add beef back in batches. Fry for about another minute, or until golden crispy & oil has small bubbles again. Remove and drain on a wire rack or paper towel-lined plate. Drain oil from the wok (don’t throw away the oil – you can use it again to fry again! Tips in blog post above). Leave about 2 tablespoons of oil in the pan.
- Heat wok to medium-high heat, then carefully add onions and bell peppers. Saute for about 1 minute, or until they start to become slightly tender, then toss in garlic and ginger. Cook for another 30 seconds.
- Pour in sauce, combine with vegetables, a cook for a couple seconds or until it starts to bubble and slightly thicken.
- Add the beef & quickly toss together in the sauce until it’s well coated. It may not look like there’s enough, but keep tossing. We’re going for a glaze over the beef so the meat stays crispy, instead of drenched in a sauce that’ll turn the beef soggy! Remove from wok, sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds, & enjoy with hot steamed rice!
Notes
- Beef: Flank steak, skirt steak, sirloin, or top round all work well! Just make sure to slice thinly against the grain for extra tender meat (photos in blog post above). Cut your beef while it’s still a little frozen and you’ll get super thin cuts of beef easily!
- Sauce: The sauce recipe is just enough for a glaze. If you like your Beijing Beef extra saucy, you can double the sauce recipe, however, just keep in mind that it’ll also make your beef soggier faster.
- Oil for Frying: Use oils with high smoke points, such as grapeseed, vegetable, canola, or avocado. Avoid using low smoke point oils, such as olive oil.
Nutrition
Exact calculations may vary. For the most accurate nutritional information, use your preferred nutrition calculator, actual ingredients, and quantities used for the recipe. Please consult with your physician or registered dietitian if more precise nutrition calculations are needed for health reasons.
