A beef stir-fry made with flank steak, onions and bell peppers in a spicy garlic-lime infused sauce served with a side of rice.
My family loves a good stir-fry and this healthy Asian Beef & Pepper meal is a favourite. It’s colourful, full of flavour, and easy to prepare on a weeknight.
Flank steak is the star of this stir-fry. If you’ve never tried cooking with flank steak in a stir-fry before, you’re in for a real treat. Thinly sliced flank steak takes a quick dip in a bold garlicky lime infused sauce before being browned in a skillet or wok where it turns meltingly soft. Vibrant red and green bell peppers, sweet onions and the remaining garlicky lime sauce are added and tossed with the tender beef. It all cooks up in a flash! Served on a bed of basmati rice it will surely satisfy everyone’s craving for an Asian inspired dish.
Ingredients
- Flank steak
- Soy sauce
- Sherry cooking wine
- Chili garlic sauce
- Brown sugar
- Garlic & ginger
- Limes
- Cornstarch
- Sweet onion
- Red and green bell peppers
- Green Onions
- Basmati rice for serving
About some of the ingredients
Flank steak is quick cooking, guaranteed to stay tender and provides a lot of beefy flavour. It has a wide-textured grain that’s perfect for absorbing flavours. The key to tender beef in this stir-fry is to cut the flank steak as thinly as possible against the grain. Pop the flank steak into the freezer for 20 – 30 minutes before you slice it as a really cold steak is easier to slice.
Sherry cooking wine is a full-bodied low alcoholic wine (not intended for drinking) which mimics true Sherry which is a fortified drinking wine from Spain. It can easily be found in the vinegar aisle of your grocery store. It has a long shelf life and doesn’t require refrigeration.
Chili garlic sauce is a condiment that comes in small jars. It’s full of tangy goodness and spice made with chopped chilies, lots of garlic and vinegar. It adds a subtle heat and a nice punch to the stir-fry sauce. It can easily be found in the Asian section at your grocery store.
Follow these step-by-step instructions to make Asian beef stir-fry:
- Prepare all the ingredients needed
- Whisk up the stir-fry sauce and pour some over the sliced flank steak to flavour it
- Cook the rice in a saucepan and keep it warm
- Cook the sliced flank steak in a skillet or wok until browned
- Add the onions and peppers and cook until tender while tossing frequently
- Add the remaining stir-fry sauce, toss to combine and cook until the sauce thickens
Tips and adaptations
- Switch up the vegetables to suit your family’s taste; use broccoli florets, snow peas or cauliflower
- I recommend basmati rice for serving, but if you prefer, jasmine rice, long grain rice, brown rice or noodles are great too
- Using just 1 tablespoon of chili garlic sauce will give the stir-fry a little bite; for an extra spicy stir-fry use 2 tablespoons; and for no spice at all replace the chili garlic sauce with ketchup
- Make sure and have all the ingredients prepped before you start the cooking process as once the ingredients hit the hot skillet, the stir-fry cooks up fast
- You don’t necessarily need a wok to create this dish, a large flat bottomed skillet will work too
- You can make the stir-fry ahead and reheat when needed; the tender-crisp vegetables will soften but you can still expect the same great taste
Set aside the takeout menu and cook up this quick and easy beef stir-fry instead!
Asian Beef and Pepper Stir-Fry
Beef stir-fry made with flank steak, onions and peppers in a spicy garlic-lime infused sauce served with a side of rice makes a takeout style meal.
Ingredients
- 600 g flank steak (about 1 ¼ pounds)
- ¼ cup reduced sodium soy sauce
- ¼ cup water
- ¼ cup sherry cooking wine
- 2 tablespoons chili garlic sauce (as desired)
- 2 tablespoons lightly packed brown sugar
- 2 large garlic cloves lightly minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger grated
- 1 lime zested and juiced (yield about 2 tablespoons juice)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 ½ cups basmati rice
- 1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil
- 1 medium sweet onion sliced
- 1 red bell pepper cut into strips
- 1 green bell pepper cut into strips
- 2 sprigs fresh green onions sliced, for garnish
- Lime slices for garnish
Instructions
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Slice the flank steak into very thin strips, cutting across the grain. Place the slices in a medium bowl.
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In a small bowl make the sauce by whisking together soy sauce, water, sherry, chili garlic sauce, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, lime zest, lime juice and cornstarch.
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Spoon about 2 tablespoons of the sauce over the sliced steak and toss to coat. Let the steak sit at room temperature to marinate for 10 – 15 minutes. Set aside the rest of the sauce.
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Meanwhile, bring 3 cups of lightly salted water to a boil. Add rice, reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook for 15 to 18 minutes until all liquid is absorbed. Keep warm.
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In a large 12” skillet or a wok, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the steak evenly distributing it. Cook steak while stirring just until browned and no pink remains.
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Add the onions and peppers. Cook for 3 - 4 minutes while stirring constantly until the vegetables are just tender.
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Whisk the sauce again and pour it into the skillet while stirring to combine all the ingredients. Cook for about 2 minutes, or until the sauce thickens.
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Fluff rice with a fork just before serving. To serve pile the rice in individual bowls and top with a portion of the stir-fry. Garnish with fresh green onions and sliced limes.
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