Crispy chili beef is another quick 30 minute meal for a busy week right. It is quick, but not lacking in flavor. Strips of steak are lightly coated in cornstarch and fried in a little oil to give the beef a crisp coating. The coating perfectly absorbs the sweet, tangy, spicy sauce.
This recipe is originally from Kitchen Sanctuary I added a few extra things as I am prone to do. I added some red bell pepper and onion to the dish in order to up the veggie content and I also cut down on the sweet chili sauce to reduce the sugar a bit. Additionally I added a touch of soy vinegar along with the rice vinegar because I love the flavor.
This recipe uses a few key ingredients to make it taste so good. One is dark soy sauce. Dark soy is thicker than regular soy sauce and comes from the end of the soy making process so it is stronger in color and flavor. Another is Thai sweet chile sauce. This is a sweet and slightly spicy sauce that adds dimension to the dish.
I decided to serve this over rice with some Chinese broccoli on the side. If you’d like some other ideas for quick weeknight meals, check out my recipes for Thai chicken with chile jam, Italian pesto noodle soup, bean and bacon soup, or tortilla pizza.
Crispy Chili Beef
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs sirloin steaks cut into strips against the grain
- 4 tbsp cornstarch
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/8 tsp white pepper
- 4 tbsp oil
- 1 onion roughly chopped
- 2 red chiles thinly sliced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tbsp fresh ginger minced
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp soy vinegar optional
- 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tbsp ketchup
- 2 tbsp sweet chili sauce
Instructions
- Place the thinly sliced steak in a bowl. Add the cornstarch along with a little salt, pepper and the white pepper and toss until coated.
- Heat 3 tbsp of oil in a skillet until very hot and add 1/2 the stead. Allow to cook untouched until it is well browned on one side. Stir and cook a bit more but do not overcook it. Just cook until browned and crispy but steak does not need to be fully cooked. Repeat with second batch of steak. Drain on paper towels.
- Add the other tbsp of oil and heat over medium high. Add the ginger, garlic and onion and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally until the veggies have some brown spots.
- Add the chili pepper slices and the sauce ingredients. Let it bubble and cook together for 1 or 2 minutes then add the beef back in.
- Serve over rice.