Ginger Beef features thinly sliced strips of beef that are lightly battered, deep fried until crispy, and then smothered in a sticky sweet and spicy sauce that you just can’t stop thinking about. This is an iconic Chinese-Canadian dish developed in Calgary Alberta in the 1970’s and is now served at almost all Chinese restaurants, throughout Canada. Its popularity is starting to find its way into America as it is now also found in many American-Chinese restaurants.
When my family goes out for Chinese food, ginger beef is always at the top of our order. In fact, we often end up having to put in two orders of ginger beef to make sure there’s enough for everyone to enjoy! I do make this dish at home too, because I know my family loves it. If you have tried ginger beef, you will find this one stays true to most restaurant versions. If you haven’t tried ginger beef before, you are in for a treat! You may need to double this recipe as I suspect your family will be coming back for seconds.
I’ve added a “Staying Safe While Deep Frying“ section in my Mochi Donut recipe post to offer tips for anyone new to deep frying. While it can feel intimidating at first, with a few simple guidelines, you’ll gain the confidence to deep fry safely and successfully at home.
Equipment Needed
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- Large mixing bowl
- Dutch oven for deep frying, (can also use a large saucepan)
- Fry Pan for the stir frying
- Slotted spoon or Spider skimmer is useful for removing the deep fried beef out of the fryer.
- Instant read thermometer for keeping track of the oil temperature
Ingredients
- 2 lbs flank steak or sirloin sliced thinly against the grain (about 1/8″ thick)
- 1 cup cornstarch (145g)
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour (35g)
- 1 teaspoon white pepper (can substitute ¾ teaspoon black pepper)
- ½ cup water + more if necessary
- 1 large egg
- 1 large carrot or 2 medium/small (julienned and cut to 1-2” long)
- 1 onion (cut finely and 1-2” long)
- 1 green pepper cut into 1-2” long slices
- 1 red pepper cut into 1-2” long slices
- 6 cloves garlic minced (26g)
- 2 slightly heaping tablespoons minced fresh ginger (30g)
Sauce
- ½ cup soy sauce
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup water
- 2 ½ tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 ½ tablespoons Chinese cooking wine or dry sherry
- 1-2 teaspoons crushed chili peppers
Canola oil for frying (about 3” deep in pot)
Garnish if you like with sesame seeds and or green onions
Instructions For Making Ginger Beef
Prepare the batter by combining the cornstarch, flour, white pepper, water, and egg into a large mixing bowl.
Place the sliced beef into the batter mixture and fully coat all the meat. Allow it to marinate for 1 hour. If you have a lot of beef and you are having trouble getting the batter between all the pieces of meat you can add a little more water to discourage the meat from clumping together, you can add another ¼ cup or so if necessary.
While beef is marinating, prepare the sauce by combining soy sauce, sugar, water, rice vinegar, cooking wine, and crushed chili pepper flakes into a large bowl. Set aside.
Place the cut-up vegetables (carrot, onion, green pepper and red pepper) in a bowl and set aside.
Mince the garlic and ginger and set aside.
Once the meat has finished marinating, pour oil into a large saucepan, wok, or Dutch oven to be at least 2-3” deep. Heat the oil to 350 F. It’s best to use an instant read thermometer to know when the oil is hot enough, and to monitor the oil temperature periodically during cooking. The oil temperature drops dramatically once you begin deep frying. Try to keep the temperature at 350F during the whole cooking process.
When the oil has reached 350F, gently add a small batch of marinated beef to the oil. Cook for 5-6 minutes or until the batter is a nice golden-dark brown. Remove the meat to drain on a paper towel. Continue until all the beef has been cooked.
Heat a tablespoon or two of vegetable oil in a frypan on medium heat. Add, garlic and ginger and all the vegetables. Fry until tender, about 4-5 minutes.
Add the sauce to the fry pan and bring to a simmer. Continue cooking for 3 minutes to reduce a little bit. Add in the cooked beef and stir through so everything has been warmed up and coated in the sauce.
Serve over rice and enjoy. Garnish with sesame seeds and/or green onions if you like.
Notes
- White pepper is the traditional spice used, but if you can’t find it at your grocery store you can substitute ¾ teaspoon of finely ground black pepper.
- Keep the marinating batter as thick as possible while still being able to separate the pieces of sliced beef. Start with ½ cup of water and add more as necessary.
- If you don’t have rice vinegar you can substitute with apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar.
- Chinese cooking wine can be substituted with dry sherry, or left out completely if you prefer
- Two teaspoons of chili pepper flakes make a fairly spicey dish. One teaspoon is more of a hint of spiciness.
FAQs
What should I serve with ginger beef? This dish goes so well with rice, but you could also use noodles if you prefer. Serve it alongside some Asian veggies like gai lan or my Shanghai bok choy or gai lan.
Can I prepare part of this dish in advance? Yes, you can cut down on the total cooking time if you do a lot of the prep work in advance. All the veggies can be cut up in advance (this will save you a lot of time). You can also make the sauce in advance. Just keep everything covered in the fridge until ready to use. I haven’t tried marinating the beef for longer than an hour, but I don’t see why you couldn’t.
Can you freeze leftovers? Yes, ginger beef freezes well in an airtight container or ziploc bag for up to three months. Just let it thaw in the fridge overnight, and then you can reheat in the microwave for a minute to so. Of course it won’t be quite as crispy as when first served, but it still tastes delicious.
Ginger Beef
Ingredients
- 2 lbs flank steak (or top sirloin) cut into 1/8" slices against the grain
- 1 cup cornstarch (145g)
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (35g)
- 1 teaspoon white pepper can be subbed with 3/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 cup water + more if necessary
- 1 large egg
- 1 large carrot julienned and cut to 1-2" long
- 1 medium onion cut finely into 1-2" slices
- 1 medium green pepper cut finely into 1-2" slices
- 1 medium red pepper cut finely into 1-2" slices
- 6 cloves garlic, minced (26g)
- 2 heaping tbsp minced fresh ginger (30g)
Sauce
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup water
- 2 1/2 tablespoons rice vinegar (sub with apple cider vinegar)
- 2 1/2 tablespoons chinese cooking wine (sub with dry sherry, or leave out)
- 1-2 teaspoons crushed red chillis optional
- canola oil for deep frying about 2-3" in your pot
- sesame seeds and/or green onions garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Slice the beef against the grain into very thin slices (about 1/8” thick). It can help to put the beef in the freezer for an hour before cutting. This will not completely freeze the meat but will make it much easier to achieve a thin slice. Set meat aside.
- Prepare the batter by combining the cornstarch, flour, white pepper, water, and egg into a large mixing bowl. Whisk the ingredients until there are no lumps.
- Place the sliced beef into the batter mixture and allow it to marinate for 1 hour. If you have a lot of beef and you are having trouble getting the batter between all the pieces of meat you can add a little more water to discourage the meat from clumping together, you can add another ¼ cup or so if necessary.
- While beef is marinating, prepare the sauce by combining soy sauce, sugar, water, rice vinegar, cooking wine, and crushed chili pepper flakes into a large bowl. Mix until well combined and sugar is dissolved. Set bowl aside.
- Finely julienne the large carrot into 1-2” lengths. Cut up onion into 1-2” long, thin slices. Cut up bell peppers into 1-2” long, thin slices. Place the cut-up vegetables in a bowl and set aside.
- Mince the garlic and ginger – set aside
- Once the meat has finished marinating, pour oil into a large saucepan, wok, or Dutch oven to be at least 2-3” deep. Heat the oil to 350 F. It’s best to use a meat thermometer to know when the oil is hot enough, and to monitor the oil temperature periodically during cooking. The oil temperature drops dramatically once you begin deep frying. Try to keep the temperature at 350F during the whole cooking process.
- When the oil has reached 350F, remove some of the beef slices from the marinating batter bowl and gently place in the hot oil. Work in batches so that the meat is not too crowded. Cook for 5-6 minutes or until the batter is a nice golden-dark brown. Use a slotted spoon to remove the meat to drain on a paper towel. Continue until all the beef has been cooked.
- Heat a frypan on medium high heat. Add a tablespoon of vegetable oil and all the vegetables, garlic and ginger. Fry until tender, about 4-5 minutes.
- Add the sauce to the fry pan and bring to a simmer. Continue cooking for 3 minutes to reduce a little bit. Add in the cooked beef and stir through so everything has been warmed up and coated in the sauce.
- Serve over rice and enjoy. Garnish with sesame seeds and or green onions if you like.
Notes
- White pepper is the traditional spice used, but if you can’t find it at your grocery store you can substitute ¾ teaspoon of finely ground black pepper.
- Keep the marinating batter as thick as possible while still being able to separate the pieces of sliced beef. Start with ½ cup of water and add more as necessary.
- If you don’t have rice vinegar you can substitute with apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar.
- Chinese cooking wine can be substituted with dry sherry
- Two teaspoons of chili pepper flakes make a fairly spicey dish. One teaspoon is more of a hint of spiciness.
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