Stir fry has ALWAYS on my weekly meal rotation. When I lived at home and my Mum cooked for me, when I first moved out and occasionally ate between drinking and dancing, and it’s still there now that I’m slightly more grown up! Stir fry is such an easy and quick meal to make in the week and my marinated beef version is no different.
How to Make Marinated Beef
Beef is a great meat to marinate, as it can handle some really punchy flavours, and this Marinated Beef Stir Fry is no exception. Lashings of soy and oyster sauce make this dish as good as any takeaway you’ll order. It’s best to go for a cheaper, tougher cut of meat to marinade, I used sirloin, but you could also use flank or skirt. You can leave the steak to marinade for up to 24 hours, but with this dish, because you also cook with the sauce, just 10 or 20 minutes will still yield super tasty results.
Why Stir Fry?
There are several reasons that stir fry has been one of my go to meals for….well, ever! It’s such a quick and easy meal to put together, from the moment the vegetables hit the pan to serving it up is less than 5 minutes. It’s a great way of getting a bucket load of veggies in to your diet as well as being packed full of flavour, and it’s a great way to use up any fresh ingredients you haven’t managed to use up!
If you are looking for more quick and easy meals to add into your repertoire, then check out my Stuffed Chicken One Sheet Meal or my Lemon Sole Tin Foil Meal
Now, you don’t necessarily need a wok to stir fry, you can use a large frying pan, but I promise you it will be the best kitchen investment you have made – I think my Mum had hers for about 20 years! They make it much easier to toss the contents of the pan, meaning that you get a much more even cook and you don’t use as much oil. It’s totally multi purpose and also great for deep frying! I’ve popped some (affiliate) links below for some great wok options if you are in the market!
- 75 ml dark soy sauce
- 75 ml rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp tomato puree
- 40 g caster sugar
- 1 red chilli finely diced
- 2 garlic cloves finely diced
- 2 cm fresh ginger finely diced
- 1 pinch black pepper
- 2 medium sirloin steaks
- 1 white onion
- 1 red pepper
- 1 yellow pepper
- 1 carrot
- 100g tenderstem brocolli
- 100g black cabbage
- handful spring onions
- few slices of red pepper
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Combine all of the marinade ingredients in a bowl. Slice the steak into strips and add to the bowl ensuring that it is all coated. Cover and pop in the fridge while you prep the vegetables.
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Cut all of the vegetables into even strips (julienne) ready for stir frying.
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Heat a small glug of oil in the wok (or large frying pan if you don't have one) on the highest heat. Let the oil get super hot.
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Add the onions to the wok for a minute or two to soften, keep moving them around in the wok as they cook. Add in the beef along with all of the marinade and cook for a couple of minutes, again, keep stirring.
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Once the beef has coloured, stir in the vegetables and cook for 3 minutes until they have softened, but still crunchy
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Garnish with spring onions and some chilli slices. Serve immediately with rice or noodles
Stir fry's are a great dish for experimenting with. Try adding in some baby sweetcorn or mange tout!
Keep stirring the ingredients in the wok during cooking to ensure an even crunch.
