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We’ve been working on perfecting a beef stir fry for the past two years. I think we’ve found the one. This stir-fry feels healthy and light with it’s fresh orange sauce.
The flavor is extremely satisfying. It’s also super quick to make with just 30 minutes of prep and 10 min on the skillet. It cooks on high heat so there’s very little fat required for this recipe and you’ll feel great after devouring a bowl of this goodness. My son loved it too; that’s saying something!
Ingredients for Beef and Vegetable Stir Fry:
1 1/2 Tbsp cooking oil
1 1/2 lbs flank steak (thinly sliced chuck steak works well also)
1 small onion, finely diced
1 1/2 cups sugar snap peas or sliced asparagus
1 large carrot, sliced into matchsticks
1 bell pepper, sliced
For the Marinade:
3 tsp grated orange zest (zest from 1 orange)
1/2 cup fresh squeezed Orange juice (from your grated orange)
4 Tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil, or cooking oil if you don’t have sesame (but I’ll tell you sesame is amazing)
1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
3 garlic cloves, finely minced
2 Tbsp brown sugar
Sesame seeds or diced green onion for garnish
Serve over hot, cooked white rice
How to Make the Best Beef Stir Fry:
1. Combine marinade ingredients in a large bowl: 3 tsp grated orange zest, 1/2 cup fresh squeezed OJ, 4 Tbsp soy sauce, 2 tsp sesame oil, 1 tsp fresh ginger, 3 minced garlic cloves, 2 Tbsp brown sugar. Mix well
P.S. the easiest way to peel ginger is to use the back of a teaspoon.
2. Slice flank steak into very thin strips slicing against the grain. Add sliced steak to your marinade, mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes while you prep your veggies.
3. Finely dice your onion, rinse and remove caps from snap peas, slice carrot into matchsticks and slice bell pepper.
4. Preheat a heavy-bottomed skillet or good wok over high heat. Once the skillet is HOT, swirl in 1 1/2 Tbsp cooking oil. Immediately Add onion (1 min stirring constantly).
5. Drain the beef and reserve the marinade. Add drained beef 1/3 at a time and stir constantly for 2-3 min. (note: you don’t want to dump in all of the beef at once or your will cool down the pan too quickly; you really want to sear the beef so it doesn’t juice out). Add the extra marinade to the pan.
6. Add veggies and continue cooking on high heat 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently or vegetables soften and sauce starts to thicken.
Serve over a bed of hot white rice (or brown rice if you want to be really healthy). 🙂 Enjoy.
Do you stir fry? What’s your favorite??
Beef and Vegetable Stir Fry
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 Tbsp cooking oil
- 1 1/2 lbs flank steak, thinly sliced chuck steak works well also
- 1 small onion, finely diced
- 1 1/2 cups sugar snap peas
- 1 large carrot, sliced into matchsticks
- 1 bell pepper, sliced
Marinade Ingredients:
- 3 tsp grated orange zest, zest from 1 orange
- 1/2 cup fresh squeezed Orange juice, from your grated orange
- 4 Tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
- 3 garlic cloves, finely minced
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar
To Garnish:
- Sesame seeds or diced green onion, optional
Instructions
- Combine marinade ingredients in a large bowl and stir to combine.
- Slice flank steak into very thin strips slicing against the grain. Add sliced steak to your marinade, mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes while you prep your veggies.
- Finely dice your onion, rinse and remove caps from snap peas, slice carrot into matchsticks and slice bell pepper.
- Preheat a heavy-bottomed skillet or good wok over high heat. Once the skillet is HOT, swirl in 1 1/2 Tbsp cooking oil. Immediately Add onion (1 min stirring constantly).
- Drain the beef and reserve the marinade. Add drained beef and stir constantly for 2-3 min. (note: you don't want to dump in all of the beef at once or your will cool down the pan too quickly; you really want to sear the beef so it doesn't juice out). Add the extra marinade to the pan.
- Add veggies and continue cooking on high heat 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently or vegetables soften and sauce starts to thicken. Serve over a bed of hot white rice,
Here’s one I created with asparagus that I shared on Instagram:
U should try using a bit of sesame oil I absolutely love it in Asian inspired dishes
I do; it’s in the marinade. I love it too. It makes everything taste more authentic 🙂
I had to control myself from eating the raw meat because the marinade smelled amazing. This is a great stir fry recipe. Definetly a keeper! Thank you Natasha!
You are making me crave some of it right now 🙂
yeAh my meat turned out super chewy too:(((
What is the reason
Thanks
If you overcrowd the pan, the meat juices out too quickly and becomes chewy. Were you using a large skillet? It helps to add your meat into the skillet in 1/3rd’s waiting just 15 seconds in between additions, that way you don’t cool down your pan too fast. Also, you want to cook it over the highest heat setting on your stove so the meat sears rather than juices out. What kind of meat did you use?
Can I use sirloin tip instead flank? didn’t find flank steak at the supermarket!:(
I used top sirloin before and it worked pretty well as long as you cut it thinly against the grain and follow cooking instructions. 🙂
yum! It was delicious. I did have to add salt and pepper for my taste buds though 🙂 thanks again for another awesome recipe! 🙂
At least it wasn’t oversalted right? 😉
yeah, that would be much harder to fix 🙂 Just realized that my soy sauce is low sodium so that is where I’m missing the salt, lol
That will do it! 🙂 Just sprinkle in some salt to taste and give it a good stir 🙂
You are welcome Natalie, I’m glad you liked it :).
Wonderful flavors, it tastes even better the next day. I used some orange and some pineapple juices, and next time I will marinade over night.
Thank you Angelina, you just made me crave some :).
Yes I used the sesame oil too, followed ur recipe except I think I over cooked the meat, it was a little chewy. But still delicious 🙂
Oh wow. Made it for dinner and it was delicious, me and hubby both loved it. Never cooked anything with ginger before, such an amazing flavor thank you :). This recipe is sure a keeper
That’s what I thought the first time I used it! Did you make it with sesame oil too?? It’s just as amazing! The ginger is so healthy too! I’m so glad you both enjoyed the recipe!
May I substitute the orange for a lemon? And do I really need the grated ginger? Thanks
The ginger is really wonderful in this stir fry and I wouldn’t leave it out or it won’t have the same Asian flavor to it. I think the lemon might be a little strong for this. You can use store-bought orange juice and omit the grated orange if you don’t have it on hand.
Simple ingredients, creating an excellent food. Thank you!
Did you mean snow peas? Those look like snow peas? The sugar snap peas are much thicker with bigger peas inside? I’m just wondering… Can’t wait to try this stir fry! Yummy!
I’m not really sure if they are snow peas, I pick them from mom’s garden while they are still growing.
Loved it!!!
I also sprinkled toasted sesame seeds on top.
So good!
Oh that sounds perfect. I was actually out of them this time!!
Oh my goodness, this looks absolutely delicious. I want to try it!! One of my favorite things to stir fry is tofu! Tofu, rice, veggies, garlic, soy sauce… an easy weeknight meal. 🙂
I’ve never really done much with tofu. Do kids enjoy it?
Like always your recipes impress!! Do you get your Sesame oil from trader joes?
Yes 🙂 but they all taste pretty much the same. It’s a wonderful little product and gives stirfry an authentic taste.
Yes 🙂 but they all taste pretty much the same. It’s a wonderful little product and gives stir-fry an authentic taste. I also use it in my shrimp stir fry. Mmmmm.
Natasha, I have a question and it may sound silly. What is a good method for making rice (without a rice cooker)? It seems like every time I try to make plain white rice it turns out too sticky/ mushy or kinda chewy. LOL. I need help. Your rice looks perfect! Thanks, Lindsey
The secret to non sticky rice is to rinse it until the water runs almost clear. The starch on the rice will make it sticky.
Yes, rinsing it for a few minutes definitely helps, but I have also found that adding a bit of oil (I use olive) & some salt to the water really helps. I have done Basmati this way for years and every grain is separate once cooked! 😀
Thanks Julia! Great advice!! 🙂
Thank you so much for the tips!
Hey. For non sticky rice, the best experience i have is to use a metallic spoon in the rice when ever you want to stir it. . Don’t use a wooden or a plastic one. And the best is to stirr the least. You wont need to even add oil in the rice post it.
Thank you for the tip Seema :).
Here is how to make not sticky rice.. Rince rice (2cups) pour 3 cyps of water (water should be about 2 fingers above the rice). Put temperature to high until it boils, then for 2 min cook on med-hi, then change temperature to med low cool for 7 min, finally set temp to lowest and cook for additional 3 min, set aside and let it chill for 12 min.. Mix in a bit of salt and butter – perfect non sticky rice this is basically what the rice cooker does.
Thank you so much for sharing your method!
The secret to make rice not sticky is to buy the right kind of rice. White long grain is one of the most common “not sticky” kind of rice. Jasmine and basmati as well are not sticky. Rinsing them will not make any rice not sticky. Sushi grade rice need to be rinse well to clean the rice and also make the rice absorb a little water before cooking. Yes I am Asian.
This is amazing!I love it:)
What is the calories content on this recipe?
I don’t think I’d have time to put calorie counts for now since I’m still working full time in addition to this blog. I wonder if there is an easy way to calculate all of that??
Looks super good! 🙂 I was wondering is the meat going to be soft or is it going to be chewy?
It won’t be chewy unless you overcook it. Although this meat would still be very easy to chew if it’s sliced thinly against the grain. 🙂
Yum!!! Looks amazing! I love the mix you made and marinade ingredients sounds so delicious 🙂 Can’t wait to try it!
Thank you Lea, it is a keeper :).
My husband loves stir fry! This would be such a treat for him. I bet this sauce rocks.
It’s nice to make a meal that entire family can enjoy :).