Crispy Sesame Beef
Restaurant-quality, amazingly crispy beef made in just 30 min with less oil – you won’t even be able to tell the difference!
I don’t always eat beef but when I do, it definitely has to be crispy.
Am I right or am I right?
And you know what? You can skip the takeout and make this right at home.
I promise. It’s better than restaurant-quality by a mile, hands down.
And you get to use less oil.
Even with the less oil, that crispiness is out of this world! The secret ingredient is the cornstarch.
Crispy Sesame Beef
Restaurant-quality, amazingly crispy beef made in just 30 min with less oil – you won’t even be able to tell the difference!
Ingredients
- 1 cup peanut oil
- 1 pound sirloin steak, sliced into thin strips
- 4 tablespoons cornstarch, divided
For the sauce
- ¼ cup reduced sodium soy sauce
- ¼ cup brown sugar, packed
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- 1 tablespoon Sriracha, optional
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
- 1 green onion, thinly sliced
Instructions
- Heat peanut oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat.
- In a large bowl, combine steak and 2 tablespoons cornstarch, tossing to coat and letting the steak absorb the cornstarch. Add remaining 2 tablespoons cornstarch before adding to the stockpot.
- Working in batches, cook steak until golden and crisp, about 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
- In a medium saucepan over medium high heat, combine soy sauce, brown sugar, orange juice, vinegar, garlic, ginger, Sriracha and sesame oil until slightly thickened, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in steak and gently toss to combine.
- Serve immediately, garnished with sesame seeds and green onion, if desired.
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Mmm this dish looks delicious. Can’t wait to try it.
Ohhhh where did I go wrong??? I did everything to plan and mine turned out yucky. Now in hind sight, I guess it was my choice of pan. I used a stainless steel pan instead of a non-stick one….I guess that’s why my meat didn’t even get close to crispy 🙁 boo hoo….but no matter…I will correct and if anyone has any suggestions, I would appreciate them…the taste of this dish is great but mine just wasn’t crispy after frying it twice.
Oh no – what a bummer! Do you have a non-stick skillet that can be used instead?
Maybe the oil wasn’t hot enough. If the oil isn’t the right temp for frying, the food doesn’t cook fast enough and comes out mushy.
I use corn flour(starch) but I wash off the excess in a colander otherwise it comes out a bit to silky for crispy beef,… A really hot pan helps to, woks a really cheap and easy to season them so they become non stick.
Ooh this looks delicious! Your recipes always give me so many great ideas for dinner!
This is a great twist for a spicy version of a delicious, comforting dish. I love that you used Sriracha as it’s one of my favorite condiments. For the sauce, I recommend making it with sweet chili sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, and honey too. Thanks for sharing!
Made this tonight for dinner. It was super easy to make and a big hit! Thanks for sharing!
I totally agree that beef should be crispy :)This looks delicious!
Oh my gosh!!! This is it, Chungah!! This is like the dried fried beef I loved so much in Hawaii, you just have to drop it in the oil a second time to get that dried, jerky-like texture. Thank you so much! I’ve been watching for this recipe on your site, and the sauce looked right, so I tried it. It was the cornstarch!! Thank you. Gonna try it with sliced chicken thigh, and maybe even dilute the soy, as mine wasn’t reduced salt, and it got strong at the end, but hurray!! Excellent recipe. My husband tried it and said, “you found it, finally, didn’t you?” Thanks, Chungah. I love your site, and your new picture is beautiful.
Hi. Thanks for posting this recipe. I love sesame chicken. I use a recipe now that uses a batter for the chicken. Do you think the corn starch would work with the chicken like it does for the beef?
PS – My son and I love your Olive Garden Alfredo recipe. He even likes it leftover which is really unusual. 🙂
Yes, absolutely.
Hi,
This looks delicious!
Do you have a recommendation for the rice wine vinegar? I see that my local store offers a rice vinegar and a seasoned rice vinegar. Howver, neither have wine in the title.
Thanks!
Rice vinegar will work just fine.
Do you think Arrowroot would work as well as cornstarch?
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment.
Can you recommend a substitution for the peanut oil. Peanut allergies in the family. Thanks! Love all your recipes
Vegetable or canola oil will also work.
Yum-yum! Can’t wait to taste some…
Can you use a difference type of oil such?
Yes, absolutely.
I am planning to do an asian night this week, so I’m so glad you shared this recipe! Bonus points since I have almost everything in the house. I’m going to try this!
Hi there, I had made a chicken taco salad and used your, greek yogurt with cilantro and lime dressing.
Awesome Thanks. I think you are spot on. Thanks for sharing!
Could you substitute another kind of oil? We have a peanut allergy in the house.
Vegetable or canola oil will also work.
Hi,
How well does this freeze? Obviously the crispness will be lost but does it still work well as leftovers? Thanks
Unfortunately, I cannot answer this with certainty as I have never tried freezing this myself – there were no leftovers left to freeze! Please use your best judgment for freezing and reheating.
You can freeze it. I’ve seen frozen ginger beef at the grocery store. When you cook it again bake it in the oven and it will turn out crispy. Add the sauce separately and in the end to retain the crispness.