What is Ginger Beef?
Ginger beef is made up of breaded and fried crispy strips of beef, tossed in a sticky, ginger sauce with julienne vegetables. It is generally known as “Chinese Food” but was invented by a Chinese Restaurant Chef in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Ginger beef is not worldly known, but if you come to Alberta you will see it on every Chinese restaurant menu.
For a more detailed procedure there is step by step instructions with photos after recipe card.
Crispy & Sweet Ginger Beef
Yield:
4 servings
Prep Time:
15 minutes
Cook Time:
20 minutes
Additional Time:
1 hour
Total Time:
1 hour 35 minutes
Ingredients
- 1/2lb round steak, or tougher beef cut
- 1/3 cup cornstarch
- 1 cup vegetable/canola/peanut oil (high temp oil)
Beef Marinade
- 2 Tbsp soy
- 1 tsp fish sauce
- 1 Tbsp Ginger
- 1 tsp Sambal
- 3 Tbsp Cornstarch
Vegetables For Stir-fry
- 1/2 carrot, halved and sliced on the bias
- 1/2 green pepper, sliced thin
- 1/2 red pepper, sliced thin
- 1 stalk celery, sliced on the bias
- 1/2 onion, sliced
Ginger Beef Sauce
- 1 Tbsp Ginger, grated or chopped finely
- 3 Garlic cloves, chopped
- 3 Tbsp Soy Sauce
- 2 Tbsp Rice Vinegar
- 1/2 Tbsp Sesame oil
- 1/4 cup White Sugar
- 2 tsp Sambal
- 1 Tbsp Hoisin
Slurry for Sauce
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 Tbsp cornstarch
To Serve
- Green Onions, sliced on the bias
- Cooked rice
Instructions
Marinating Beef
- Thinly slice steaks into small strips.
- Mix together the beef marinade ingredients and add the steak strips. Add the 3 Tbsp of cornstarch and rub into the meat.
- Marinate for about one hour, or while you get the rest of the ingredients ready.
Frying Process
- In a deep wok, or pot heat 1 cup of oil on medium-low for about 5 to 7 minutes. Test the oil by dropping a little cornstarch into the wok/pot. If it sizzles, it should be ready.
- Thoroughly mix 1/3 cup of cornstarch into the beef.
- Drop small batches of meat into the hot oil, breaking it up so that you don’t get a clump of beef. When the beef looks a light brown, remove it with a slotted metal spoon onto a metal strainer/colander.
- Wait a minute between batches for the oil to reheat, then add another handful.
- When all the meat has finished the first round of frying, turn the heat to medium-high, let the oil heat up, and fry a second time. Remove the meat when it is a nice golden crispy brown.
Finishing
- Dump most of the oil into a can or jar, saving about 2 Tbsp in the bottom of the wok/pot. Turn the heat down to medium low.
- Add the ginger and garlic , cook for 1 minute, then add the soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, sugar, Sambal and Hoison.
- Mix your slurry together in a separate bowl, and when the sauce starts to boil add in the slurry. Let the sauce boil for a couple minutes to cook out the starch and thicken.
- Turn the heat to low, add chopped veggies and toss.
- When ready to serve, mix the beef into the sauce and toss quickly.
- Pour on top of rice, sprinkle with green onion. Serve immediately.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 454Total Fat: 15gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 70mgSodium: 984mgCarbohydrates: 53gFiber: 3gSugar: 17gProtein: 27g
We are not certified nutritionists and make no claims to be so. The nutritional information given here is intended for informational purposes only. These nutritional calculations are rounded numbers dependant on the certain ingredients and amounts in the recipe and are by no means perfect.
How to make Crispy Ginger Beef:
- Slice the beef into strips. A great way to make sure your beef stays tender is to slice it against the grain which will help tenderize the meat.
- The first step to making your ginger beef taste amazing is to marinate the beef. If you don’t have time to do this, you can skip it but make sure to at least season your beef with salt when mixing it with the cornstarch.If you do have time to marinate the beef, mix together soy sauce, fish sauce, Sambal and some chopped ginger, then add cornstarch to the mix along with your beef. Mix thoroughly and let sit for about 1 hour.
- Heat up the oil in a wok on medium low. You want the temperature to be hot enough to fry but not hot enough to brown. Test the oil by dropping in a little cornstarch and if it sizzles it is ready.
- Remove the beef from the marinade and mix it into the rest of the cornstarch. Make sure each piece is coated well.
- Drop the beef into the oil in small batches, you don’t want the oil to cool much by adding too much beef to it. Let it cook for about 45 seconds to a minute then remove it with a slotted spoon. Add the next batch and repeat until all the beef is fried.
- Turn the heat up to medium-high and get ready to fry a second time. This will make the beef very crispy, which in turn will help it handle the sticky sauce and stay crisp. Fry in the same small batches as before for about 30 to 45 seconds, or until it becomes a golden dark brown. Remove and let sit in a metal colander until ready to use.
How to Finish your Ginger Beef properly:
- Dump the oil into another pot carefully, leaving about 2 tablespoons in the bottom of the wok, turning the heat down to medium low.
- Add the ginger and garlic, cooking for about 1 minute or until they smell amazing. Then add the soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, sugar, Sambal and Hoison. Mix thoroughly.
- Get your slurry ready by adding a little (1 tsp) cold water to the last bit of cornstarch, making sure it is all dissolved in the water, then mix it into the sauce. Let boil for a couple minutes to thicken up, and cook out the starch.
- Add in your chopped vegetables and toss well. Turn down to low/min.
- When ready to serve add the beef and mix thoroughly. Serve over rice or noodles and enjoy!
Make sure to eat it right away at this point.
Once the beef mixes with the sauce the crispiness goes away.
It is best enjoyed crispy and saucy!
