Quick & Easy Beef Stir Fry Recipe - The Girl on Bloor (2024)

FAQs

How do you make stir-fry beef so it's tender? ›

The key to stir-frying is to constantly stir. Your veggies must have enough room to move around in the wok. A -crowded wok will lead to veggies that are soggy instead of crunchy. If your wok is getting too full, cook your meat and then veggies in batches.

Aromatic ingredients like garlic, ginger, green onions, chilies and spices. These ingredients are typically added to the oil first to infuse it with flavor. You won't need much; a few teaspoons to a tablespoon of total aromatic ingredients per person adds a serious amount of flavor.

The first is to cook your protein and your vegetable separately, and combine them only after both are fully cooked. A second rule of thumb for stir-frying: Choose one vegetable per stir-fry. Finally, always remember to add liquid only after everything is more or less finished cooking.

In Chinese cooking, proteins like beef, pork or chicken are velveted first before stir-frying them. There are several ways to velvet, but at its most basic level, it involves marinating meat with at least one ingredient that will make it alkaline. This is what tenderizes the meat, especially cheaper, tougher cuts.

Whether hosting a holiday cookout, serving up some stir-fry or tackling game meats, baking soda is the go-to meat tenderizer to help make your steak, chicken or turkey silkier, juicier and yummier.

Using Ketchup In Stir Fry Recipes

It already has a sweet note to it, so you could simply combine it with soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, ginger, and garlic to do the trick. The sauce also usually includes pineapple juice; so you'll want to add the juice a bit at a time so that the sauce doesn't become overly sweet.

Stir-fry onions first, then add hard vegetables such as carrot and broccoli. Quick-cooking vegetables, such as snow peas, leafy greens and bean sprouts, should be added towards the end of cooking. If using vegies that have a combination of both textures, such as gai laan, add the stems first and the leaves later.

What is the best oil for stir-frying? ›

Peanut oil, canola oil, vegetable oil, sunflower oil, rice bran oil and extra light olive oil are all ideal for stir-frying, deep-frying and shallow-frying, as they have a high smoke point. This means you can heat the oil to high temperatures without burning it and spoiling your food.

Toss With Corn Starch

The corn starch helps keep the beef moist and tender while cooking.

In a stainless steel or glass bowl or other non-reactive container, add the ground meat. Sprinkle on ¼ teaspoon baking soda and gently stir to combine. Allow the meat to rest for 15 minutes.

For tender beef stir fry, choose a lean cut like skirt steak or flank steak and slice it thinly against the grain. Velvet the beef by marinating it in a mixture of oil, starch, baking soda, and soy sauce for 15 minutes, then quickly pan sear it in a hot pan with oil.