Heavy-on-the-Veggies Beef and Vegetable Stir Fry | PWWB (2024)

This Beef and Vegetable Stir Fry is one of my favorite home-cooked dishes. Its quickness, ease, & overall satisfying flavor put it on my mom’s regular dinnertime rotation throughout my childhood.

This is Mom’s recipe, made with tender steak, an extra generous portion of colorful veggies, & a homemade stir fry sauce made from simple pantry staples. Best served over rice for a quick & easy, well-balanced dinner with outrageous flavor that rivals any takeout!

Since stir fry is a naturally flexible dish, feel free to use your all-time favorite veggies or whatever you have on hand – check the Recipe Notes, below, for some suggested swaps.

Ingredients

Scale

• 12 ounces top sirloin, trimmed of excess fat & thinly sliced against the grain (see Recipe Notes)
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine (see Recipe Notes)
  • 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
• stir fry vegetables(see Recipe Notes)
  • 1/2 small head broccoli, cut into small bite-sized florets (~3.5 oz or ~1 cup florets)
  • 1 large carrot, peeled as desired & sliced into 1/8-inch thick strips (~3.5 oz or ~1 cup sliced)
  • 1 small red onion, thinly sliced (~3.5 oz or ~1.5 cups sliced)
  • 1/2 large red bell pepper, chopped into 1-inch pieces (~3.5 oz or ~1 cup sliced)
  • 3–4 mushrooms (white button or cremini/baby bella), trimmed & thinly sliced (~4 oz or ~2 cups sliced)
  • 1/2 smallnapa cabbage, chopped into 1-inch pieces (~4.5 oz or ~2 cups chopped)
  • large handfulsnow peas, ends trimmed as desired (~2.5 oz or ~3/4 cup)
• 4 teaspoons grapeseed oil or high smoke point vegetable oil of choice
• kosher salt & white pepper, to season
• for serving, as desired:cooked white rice or grain of choice, thinly sliced green onions, toasted sesame seeds, etc.

for the stir fry sauce:

• 3/4 cup beef stock
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar (can sub regular brown sugar)
• 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil, divided
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

1. Marinate the beef: Add thinly sliced top sirloin, cornstarch, soy sauce, & rice wine to a medium bowl. Season with white pepper. Stir to combine, coating the beef thoroughly & evenly. Set aside to rest at room temperature while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. This is a great time to prepare all of the stir fry vegetables, chopping & slicing everything as indicated in the Ingredients List, above.
2. Prepare the stir fry sauce:Add the beef stock cornstarch, dark brown sugar, oyster sauce, soy sauce, & 1 teaspoon of the sesame oil to a small bowl or jar. Whisk or shake to combine well. Set aside. Add the remaining 1 teaspoon sesame oil to a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the garlic & cook until fragrant & lightly browned, 30 seconds – 1 minute. Stir in the beef stock mixture & cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 4-5 minutes. Remove from the heat & set aside.
3. Stir fry the vegetables:Meanwhile, as the stir fry sauce thickens, begin the stir fry. Add 1 teaspoon of the grapeseed oil to a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot & shimmering, add the carrots & broccoli. Lightly season with a small pinch of salt & cook, stirring often, until vibrantly colored & softened slightly, 3-4 minutes. Transfer to a large plate or bowl & set aside. Add another 1 teaspoon of oil to the wok or skillet & return to medium-high heat. Once hot & shimmering, add the sliced red onion, bell pepper, mushrooms, cabbage, & snow peas. Lightly season with a small pinch of salt & cook, stirring often, until softened slightly, about 3 minutes. Transfer to the same large plate or bowl as the broccoli & carrots & set aside.

4. Sear the beef & finish the stir fry: Add the remaining 2 teaspoon of oil to the wok or skillet & reduce the heat to medium. Once hot & shimmering, add the marinated beef from Step 1. Shake the pan to separate the slices of beef for even browning. Cook, tossing & stirring occasionally, just until browned. While stirring, pour the prepared stir fry sauce from Step 2 into the skillet. Add the stir fried vegetables back into the skillet. Cook 1-2 minutes longer, tossing & stirring frequently to bring the beef and vegetable stir fry together. Remove from the heat.
5. Serveimmediately, spooning the beef and vegetable stir fry over rice or grain of choice. Finish with thinly sliced green onions & toasted sesame seeds as desired. Enjoy!

• Ingredient notes:
  • Beef:Feel free to use your tender steak of choice for this beef stir fry recipe. Top sirloin offers a great balance of tenderness, flavor, & affordability – that’s what I like to use. Cold beef is easiest to thinly slice for stir fry, so it’s helpful to pop the steak into the freezer to chill for 5-10 minutes prior to slicing.
  • Shaoxing wine is Chinese rice wine with a rich & uniquely savory-sweet flavor. It’s readily available at Asian grocery stores or online & it’s absolutely worth the purchase if you love cooking Chinese dishes at home. Imperfect-yet-quick substitutes for the shaoxing wine in this recipe include mirin, dry sherry, or dry vermouth.
  • Stir fry vegetables:The beauty of stir fries is their flexibility – feel free to stick to the combination of veggies in the Ingredients List, which we love for its color, flavor, & texture, or freestyle with whatever you love most. If you opt to freestyle, aim for ~1.5 pounds vegetables (25 oz) for a veggie-heavy stir fry (e.g. bok choy, eggplant, zucchini, snap peas, etc.). Be sure to slice & chop everything into pieces that will cook at a uniform rate.
• Storage: This beef and vegetable stir fry is best enjoyed fresh, immediately after cooking. Leftovers will keep, stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave, just until warmed through.
• 20-Minute Meal Prep:As is the case with any stir fry, there’s a bit of measuring & chopping required with this beef and vegetable stir fry which is where all of this recipe’s active prep time comes from – the cooking process itself is very quick! If you’d like, you can do a little prep ahead of time to cut down on active work required at dinnertime. Pick & choose from the list below, or do it all & all you have to do at dinnertime is get cooking – easy!
  • Chop the veggies: Prepare all of the stir fry vegetables, chopping & slicing everything as indicated in the Ingredients List, above. Group in separate airtight containers based on batches indicated in Step 3 of Recipe Directions, above, & store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. (15 minutes active time)
  • Prep the stir fry sauce: Mix the stir fry sauce according to Step 2 of Recipe Directions, above. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. (5 minutes active time)