One of my favorite dishes to eat is Szechuan beef. It’s so delicious and I could easily eat it twice a week. It wasn’t until recently that I learned how easy it is to make at home! Our recipe for this easy Szechuan beef only takes 30 minutes to make and results in a tender and flavor packed dish.
I used New Zealand grass-fed Wagyu flank steak which is probably the best quality flank steak I’ve ever used. Although flank steak is typically lean and a tough cut of beef, I noticed when I sliced the New Zealand grass-fed flank steak against the grain that it had really nice marbling. The freshness of the beef was also incredible. It resulted in the most melt in your mouth Szechuan beef dish I’ve ever tasted. I appreciate the time and care the New Zealand farmers put into humanely, sustainably and naturally raising their cattle on a grass-fed diet year-round, to produce the highest quality beef available. You can find New Zealand grass-fed Wagyu at Bristol Farms, Erewhon, Lassens and more.
This Szechuan beef is so easy to make that it can be pulled off for dinner on a busy weeknight. While this dish packs a little heat, it’s not overwhelming and the spice can be scaled up or down depending on personal preference. I love serving this dish over a bed of steamed white or brown rice, which soaks up all the tasty sauce. Throw a side of simple blistered green beans or snow peas for some added texture and you have a delicious home cooked meal that will satisfy your whole family!
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Szechuan Beef
INGREDIENTS
- 1½ pounds New Zealand grass-fed flank steak sliced 1/8” thick against the grain
- 1 egg beaten
- ½ tsp salt
sauce
- ½ cup water
- 2½ tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 2½ tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp Shaoxing wine
- 1½ tbsp spicy fermented bean paste
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- ¼ cup vegetable oil divided
- ¼ small yellow onion thinly sliced
- 1 red bell pepper seeded and thinly sliced
- 5 dried Chinese chile peppers
- 2 tsp minced ginger
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1½ tsp toasted sesame seeds for garnish
INSTRUCTIONS
- Place sliced steak, egg and salt into a mixing bowl and toss together until beef is fully coated. Allow mixture to sit for 10 minutes.
- Pour all sauce ingredients into a mixing bowl and whisk together. Set aside.
- Drain excess egg from bowl of beef, sprinkle cornstarch over beef and toss together until evenly coated.
- Place large skillet over medium-high heat and add 2 tablespoons oil.
- Add beef in a single layer and sear for 3 minutes. Flip and sear for an additional 2 minutes. Then transfer beef to a plate.
- Pour remaining oil into skillet, increase heat to high heat and sauté onion, bell pepper and chile peppers, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add ginger and garlic and stir together until evenly distributed.
- Lower heat to medium-high and stir in sauce. Allow sauce to thicken, about 1 minute.
- Add beef back to skillet and toss together until evenly coated.
- Remove skillet from heat, top with toasted sesame seeds and serve.
NOTES
Variations
- Adjust the spiciness by adding more chile peppers or less. We don’t recommend adding more of the spicy fermented bean paste since it’s salty and adding more will make your dish too salty. You can reduce the amount of the paste, but we recommend supplementing with a couple pinches of extra kosher salt.
- We keep our dish fairly simple with the beef, sliced bell pepper and onion, but you can add more vegetables to the dish to bulk it up. Some of our favorite additions are, broccoli florets, sliced mushrooms, spinach, and thinly sliced (julienne) carrots.
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Made this yesterday and it was a hit! Thank you!