Easy Chinese Beef Stir Fry

Recipe video above. This is my classic Chinese Beef Stir Fry. It's easy and fast, and really does taste just like your favourite Chinese restaurant thanks for the stir fry sauce (the secret is Chinese cooking wine).Great recipe to use up whatever leftover greens you have in the fridge! And you'll love the velveting beef technique - simple and highly effective Chinese restaurant method for succulent, soft beef in stir fries.Tip: Instead of making this Sauce, you can use Charlie, my All Purpose Stir Fry Sauce (see Note 3)

Recipe by Nagi | RecipeTin Eats on October 22, 2025

Prep time: PT15M

Cook time: PT8M

Total time: PT23M

Rating

4.93 stars (138 reviews)

Keywords

beef stir fry, chinese beef stir fry

Ingredients

7 oz / 200 g beef rump steak or flank (, or any other quick cooking steak cut (Note 1))
1/2 tsp baking soda / bi-carbonate soda (, for velveting (Note 2))
2 tbsp soy sauce, light or all-purpose (NOT dark soy (Note 4))
1 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp Chinese cooking wine ( OR Mirin (Note 5))
1 tsp white sugar
1/2 tsp sesame oil (, toasted (brown) not untoasted (yellow))
Pinch white pepper (, substitute with black pepper)
3 tsp cornstarch / corn flour
1/2 cup water (, separated)
1 1/2 tbsp peanut oil
1 garlic clove (, finely minced with a knife)
1/2 small onion (, sliced (yellow, brown or white))
1/2 red capsicum / bell pepper (, sliced into 7mm / 1/3" thick slices)
1 small carrot (, peeled, halved lengthwise and sliced thinly on the diagonal)
2 bok choy (, cut leaves from stems, cut thick stems lengthways to make them all roughly the same width)
2 green onion (, cut into 1.5"/3cm pieces, firm white end separated from soft green parts)
Steamed white rice
Sesame seeds ((optional))

Cuisine

Chinese

Steps

Abbreviated recipe
- Tenderise beef 20 minutes, rinse, toss with 1.5 tbsp sauce. Mix in cornflour then water into Sauce. Stir fry in this order: onion + garlic > beef > carrot + capsicum + bok choy stems + green onion stems > sauce > wilt bok choy leaves + green onion. Serve!
Velvet beef (tenderise)
- Velvet beef - Place the beef in a bowl. Sprinkle the baking soda over then use your fingers to toss the beef to coat as evenly as possible. Set aside for 20 minutes (no longer).
- Rinse the beef under tap water in a colander to remove baking soda. Shake and pat off excess water (doesn't need to dry fully, just don't want it soaking). Put in a bowl.
Cook stir fry
- Sauce - Mix ingredients together. Measure out 1 1/2 tablespoons and use it to coat the beef. To the remaining sauce, mix in the cornflour until lump-free, then add the water.
- Cook aromatics - Heat the oil in a large non-stick pan or wok over high heat. Add the onion and garlic, cook for 10 seconds.
- Add the beef and cook until it changes colour from red to light brown but not cooked through.
- Vegetables #1 - Add the capsicum, carrots, bok choy stems and white part of the green onions. Stir fry for 1 minute
- Add Sauce, then stir until it starts to bubble (it will thicken quickly)
- Leafy vegetables - Add the bok choy leaves and green part of the green onions. Toss for another 30 seconds to 1 minute until they are just wilted, the sauce thickens and becomes glossy, coating everything nicely.
- Serve immediately with rice - or for a low carb, low cal option, try Cauliflower Rice! Garnish with sesame seeds, if desired.

Nutitrion

Serving Size: 1 serving
Calories: 159 kcal
Carbohydrates: 7 g
Protein: 13 g
Fat: 8 g
Saturated Fat: 2 g
Cholesterol: 30 mg
Sodium: 683 mg
Sugar: 4 g
Unsaturated Fat: 6 g

Reviews

Susi M. on 2026-03-21 (5 stars):
Spot on as always Nagi. I cook for 12 and follow your recipes to the letter. This is my first attempt at velveting and "wow" a tough old rump transformed into delicious tenderness.. thanks again
Jessica Demichelis on 2026-03-16 (4 stars):
I liked the texture of the beef but the sauce was lacking flavour. Ended up pouring some soy sauce over it to make it more flavourful.
jack on 2026-03-03 (5 stars):
it tasted really good and it was easy to cook
Hingehead on 2026-02-26 (5 stars):
I've had a few goes at Charlie-based recipes. They've always been good but I've felt like I haven't nailed it. But this time I velveted kangaro, dropped the carrot and bok choy, added some bean sprouts and used Hokkien noodles instead of rice and I've never been happier with how it turned out. Thanks Nagi.
Patrizia on 2026-02-22 (5 stars):
Made this last night's dinner. Delicious and will be my go to recipe for beef stir fry.
Irene on 2026-02-13 (5 stars):
Only stir fry recipe I use , can vary it with lots and lots of vegetables as it has a good amount of sauce, I have used cauliflower and broccoli florets with chopped beans , capsicum , sliced carrot, courgettes, all served on a bed of rice. Thank you Nagi it is so quick and easy.
Andrea Lowery on 2026-02-03 (5 stars):
Just made this. I used slaw mix instead of bok choy. Everything else, I did exactly like the recipe. It was delicious! This is the second recipe I have done on this site and it is always spot on. I have learned a lot about technique (mis a mis) etc and feeling more confident with my cooking abilities. Ty
Julie on 2026-01-31 (5 stars):
Stirfry Beef. Absolutely delicious. The meat was tender, the green onions (with broccoli and carrot) added to the fkavour and the sauce was spot on.
Donna on 2026-01-19 (5 stars):
Absolutely loved every mouthful. My husband had two big bowls and my fussy daughter devoured hers. Thank you Nagi for such beautiful recipes. I use them constantly and are never disappointed.
Sharon on 2026-01-11 (5 stars):
Made this tonight, it was so good, the whole family loved it. Will so make is again 😍
Stephanie Souto on 2026-01-05 (4 stars):
It tasted okay but to me, it's lacking something, I didn't have the seasem oil but had everything else. Maybe that's it, mixed in some peppers, mushrooms and some zucchini into mine. I'll still bring Dozer home though.
MB on 2026-01-02 (5 stars):
I make this all the time and love it but what changes do I need to make if I want to have this with noodles vs served on rice (if anything at all)??
Dalel on 2026-01-02 (5 stars):
Nagi, my family loved this-even my toddler! I'll be adding this to my rotation.
Janine on 2025-12-29 (5 stars):
Hi Nagi, this stir-fry was delicious! Thanks so much for such a quick and tasty meal. My husband and I loved it.
sharon on 2025-12-06 (5 stars):
hi Lee-Anne, it can be found here https://www.recipetineats.com/how-to-tenderise-beef-velveting-beef/
Sharon on 2025-12-06 (5 stars):
Came together really easily and delicious dinner, made a lot so I'm all sorted for meal prep for the week. I used beef sirloin, and I used whatever vegetables in my fridge (broccoli, spinach, capsicum, onion, carrot) and it turned out great! Flavor was on point, and I served with jasmine rice. Will definitely be making this regularly!