This is my version of a pretty classic and popular Beijing Beef dish. It can also be used with chicken or pork. In this version, I’ve added some heat in the form of chili flakes, peppers and gojujang sauce. The heat level would be about a 3 out of 5 stars. Feel free to leave the peppers out for a mellower dish or heat it up a bit with more, if you like.
I’ve also added some orange zest which I think adds another layer of flavor and a little more complexity to the dish. The most tedious part of this dish is coating all the meat in the cornstarch. Also, if you don’t have a wok, an large skillet will work fine. Enjoy!
- Ingredients:
- 24 oz flank steak, ribeye or sirloin, cut against the grain into ¼ inch slices
- ½ cup peanut or cooking oil.
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 medium-sized yellow onion, sliced
- 1 medium-sized red bell pepper, cut into pieces
- ½" of fresh ginger, grated
- Cornstarch, to coat beef
- Salt and sugar to taste
- 1 tbsp cornstarch and 3 tbsp water to thicken sauce
- Marinade:
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon of ground white pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- Beijing Sauce:
- 8 tablespoons water
- 4 tablespoons sugar
- 3 tablespoons ketchup
- 6 tablespoons Hoisin sauce
- 4 teaspoons light soy sauce
- 2 teaspoon oyster sauce
- 4 teaspoons sweet chili sauce
- 3 teaspoons crushed chili peppers (or to taste)
- 6-10 whole dried chili peppers (optional)
- 4 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp gojujang
- Zest of ¼ orange (optional)
- In a separate bowl, mix all the Beijing Sauce ingredients. Set aside. This sauce can be made several days in advance and stored in the refrigerator, if desired. Make it at least an hour in advance to allow the flavors to blend together.
- Prepare the Marinade in a bowl and mix well. Marinate the beef for 30 minutes.
- Place cornstarch in a bag/bowl. Toss marinated beef in cornstarch, coat well, but shake off any excess.
- In a wok or large skillet oil over medium-high heat. Coat beef slices with cornstarch again, making sure the beef slices are well coated. Drop in the beef slices and deep-fry for 2 minutes or until light golden brown. Dish out, drained on paper towel and set aside.
- Drain excess oil, leaving a couple of tablespoons in the wok. Stir-fry and sweat the ginger, onions and bell pepper on medium high heat until translucent, about 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic and continue to stir-fry for 10-20 seconds. Remove from wok.
- Heat the wok to medium-high heat and pour in the Beijing Sauce seasoning. Bring it to a simmer and add in the cornstarch mix to thicken, stirring continuously. Adjust salt, sugar, pepper, soy sauce, water, etc., to taste.
- Toss in the deep-fried beef and stir-fried onion, bell pepper, and garlic. Stir well for 1 minute or until the beef and vegetables are completely cooked and absorbed the sauce. Serve with steamed rice.
- Enjoy and Cheers, my friends!

Spicy Beijing Beef
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