Sesame Garlic Beef Stir Fry

This easy sesame beef stir fry is incredibly flavorful and easy! Serve with authentic ramen noodles, over rice, or in a lettuce cup for a lower carb version!

Chinese takeout is something we all love right? Sesame Beef Stir Fry is a guilty pleasure and takes so little time to arrive to your door!  But what if I told you that you could make something every bit as tasty, in just about the same amount of time… and YOU get to control the ingredients?  Sounds amazing right?

Besides being amazingly flavorful, this beef stir fry is actually fairly healthy as well, since it doesn’t use gobs of oil and a serving rings in at under 350 calories!

IS STIR FRY GOOD FOR YOU

In many ways, yes!  The tender crisp vegetables actually retain more nutrients by cooking quickly in a wok or skillet than they would if they were boiled.  This particular stir fry uses two different kids of oils, but in relatively small amounts, which is much healthier than cooking in a large amount of oil (like most takeout Chinese restaurants do – at least in my area).

WHAT DO YOU PUT IN A STIR FRY

Just about anything you want!  The basics of a stir fry are as follows:

• Protein – beef, pork, chicken, shrimp, tofu, etc.
• Vegetables – snow peas, mushrooms, carrots, bell peppers, onions, broccoli, water chestnuts, etc.
• Sauce – broth, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, and oil.  Play around with added flavor by adding garlic, ginger, green onions, etc.

WHAT FOOD GOES WITH A STIR FRY

Usually stir fries are served with rice or noodles.  But two great healthy options are lettuce cups and cauliflower rice!  For this particular beef stir fry recipe, I chose some authentic ramen noodles (not the ones from a packet, which is why they’re not curly).  I’ll link to the ones I buy at the end of the post, they taste great!

WHAT KIND OF BEEF DO YOU USE FOR A STIR FRY

Because stir frys cook so quickly, you want a cut of beef that’s already tender.  I nearly always use flank steak, but a thinly sliced ribeye, sirloin, tenderloin or tri-tip would work as well.

TIPS FOR MAKING THE PERFECT BEEF STIR FRY

• Slice the flank steak when it’s still partially frozen.  This lets you get the slices super thin, with minimal effort!
• Make sure to slice the steak against the grain.  When you look at the flank steak, you’ll see thin white lines running across it.  By slicing perpendicular to the lines, you make the steak super tender, instead of chewy and tough.  I have a few step by step photos here so you can see exactly how to do it.
• Prepping ahead is key for a stir fry.  Stir fry’s cook SO quickly, the best thing you can do to stay stress-free is to have all the veggies chopped and sauces whisked.

The next time you’re craving some amazing Chinese take-out, try whipping this stir fry up instead!  The tender strips of beef, crisp-tender vegetables, and authentic ramen all wrapped in a luscious stir fry sauce thats loaded with ginger, garlic and sesame make for a meal that’s WAY better than anything from a takeout restaurant!

HELPFUL TOOLS

• Cast Iron Skillet – I don’t own a wok yet, so I make this stir fry in my big cast iron skillet.  It gives the beef an amazing sear!
• Stainless Steel Tongs – Perfect for so many things in the kitchen, I use these daily.
• Ramen Noodles – I like these a lot, but if you’d rather, the packs of curly dried ramen (that are like 10 cents at the grocery store) work too.  Just use the noodles, NOT the seasoning.

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Recipe originally published on Cafe Delites

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Sesame Garlic Beef Stir Fry

5 from 12 votes

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 12 minutes

Total Time: 27 minutes

Calories: 345

Servings: 4 - 6 servings

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This easy sesame beef stir fry is incredibly flavorful and easy! serve with authentic ramen noodles, over rice, or in a lettuce cup for a lower carb version!

Ingredients

Beef Marinade

• ▢ 2 Tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
• ▢ 1 Tbsp rice vinegar
• ▢ 1 Tbsp sesame oil
• ▢ 1 Tbsp fresh ginger, grated
• ▢ 1 Tbsp sesame seeds
• ▢ 2 tsp minced garlic
• ▢ 1/2 tsp Chinese 5 spice powder
• ▢ 1/4 tsp black pepper

Stir Fry

• ▢ 1 lb. flank steak, thinly sliced across the grain
• ▢ 1 cup snow peas, sliced in half
• ▢ 1/2 cup shredded carrots
• ▢ 8 green onions, sliced
• ▢ 1/4 cup beef broth
• ▢ 2 Tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
• ▢ 2 Tbsp light brown sugar
• ▢ 1 Tbsp rice vinegar
• ▢ 1/2 Tbsp minced garlic
• ▢ 2 tsp sesame oil
• ▢ 1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
• ▢ 1 tsp cornstarch
• ▢ 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• ▢ 2 Tbsp vegetable oil (for cooking) , divided

Instructions

• Combine marinade ingredients in a bowl and add flank steak.  Turn to coat and set aside for 15 minutes.
• Heat 1 Tbsp vegetable oil in a large skillet over MED HIGH heat.  Remove excess marinade from steak and cook in a single layer for 2-3 minutes, stirring to cook both sides.  Depending on the size of your pan, you might need to cook the beef in batches.  Remove steak to plate.
• Heat remaining 1 Tbsp vegetable oil in skillet, then add peas, carrots and green onion and cook, stirring often, for 2-3 minutes.
• Whisk together broth, soy sauce, brown sugar, rice vinegar, garlic, sesame oil, fresh ginger, cornstarch and red pepper flakes.  Add steak and sauce to skillet, stirring to combine.  Sauce will thicken.
• Stir in cooked ramen noodles, if using, and serve!

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Nutrition Disclaimer

The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.

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