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Teriyaki Beef & Vegetable Stir-Fry
Bursting with delicious flavours, tender beef and crisp vegetables, this tasty stir-fry is sure to be a hit with friends and family.
The secret to making a Chinese restaurant-style stir-fry at home is velveting. Velveting is a technique used in Chinese cooking to tenderise meat. There are different variations. The method I’ve used in this recipe consists of tossing the beef in baking soda and letting it sit for 20 to 30 minutes. It makes the beef incredibly tender, just like it is in your favourite Chinese takeaways. It’s a game changer!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 3 1x
- Category: Meat
Ingredients
Scale
For the stir-fry:
- 300 g thin-cut sirloin steak, cut into thin strips
- vegetable oil
- 1 tsp baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)
- 1 heaped teaspoon garlic paste
- 1 heaped teaspoon ginger paste
- 1 red bell pepper, sliced
- 1 yellow bell pepper, sliced
- 150 g tenderstem broccoli, halved or quartered lengthwise
- 2 spring onions, chopped
- ½ tbsp corn starch (corn flour), optional
For the teriyaki sauce:
- 4 tbsps light soy sauce
- 4 tbsps mirin
- 2 tsps sugar
Instructions
- Add the beef strips and baking soda to a bowl and toss to coat. Let sit 20 to 30 minutes. This technique is called velveting – it tenderises the beef, giving it the soft, velvety texture you find in many Chinese restaurant stir-fry dishes.
- Meanwhile, whisk together the teriyaki sauce ingredients until the sugar dissolves. Set aside. Use the remaining velveting time to prep your ingredients. Once you get cooking, the dish comes together very quickly, so it helps to have all your ingredients prepped and ready to go.
- Rinse the beef and pat dry with kitchen towel. You’ll notice that it’s now a vibrant reddish colour – don’t be alarmed, this should happen.
- Heat a splash of vegetable oil in a large wok or frying pan over high heat. Add the beef and spread out. Leave it undisturbed for 1 minute, to get some browning, then stir-fry until no longer pink. Transfer the beef to a plate.
- Add another splash of vegetable oil. Add the ginger and garlic and stir-fry for 30 seconds.
- Add the bell peppers, broccoli and spring onions and stir fry for a further 2 minutes.
- Return the beef to the pan, add the teriyaki sauce and toss to combine. Stir-fry for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened.
- Optional: to thicken the sauce further, you can combine the corn starch with 2 to 3 tbsp of water. Stir to make a slurry, add it to the sauce and stir-fry for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Taste and adjust seasoning then serve with steamed rice – enjoy!
