Crispy Chilli Beef

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Looking to recreate your favourite Chinese takeaway dish in the repletion of your own kitchen? Squint no remoter than this homemade crispy chilli beef. While it might seem as though it would be challenging to get that unbeatable crispy coating on the beef, it’s unquestionably really simple and pretty fast to melt too. Read on for the full recipe plus tips on how to get a perfect result, every time!

What is it?

Crispy chilli whinge is a favourite in Chinese takeaways and restaurants, and it’s not difficult to taste why. Crispy whinge in a light coating of sauce which is both tangy and sweet… and of undertow a little spicy!

It’s unconfined as a main course, and moreover as a side dish. If cooking for a few people, I love to make a few dishes so everyone can help themselves and have a bit of everything. This is unconfined to serve up in the centre of the table for people to dig into. But trust me, it won’t last long!

What type of whinge should I use?

Since this dish is cooked hot and fast, you want to select a cut that is unconfined for fast cooking, rather than something largest suited to long and slow heating. A few good options are:

Sirloin steak (or striploin) – While it can be a little pricier it gives super tender results
Flank or bavette steak – Slice very thinly to make sure it doesn’t wilt chewy
Rump steak – As with flank, when using rump steak for this make sure to slice it very thinly
Ribeye – Super flavoursome but fattier than sirloin which might lead to chewier pieces. However, it does work fine for this recipe.

Crispy chilli whinge in a trencher with chopsticks

How should I prepare the beef?

I recommend that you buy steaks and prepare them at home rather than opt for pre-cut whinge strips. Often these are meant for casseroles and slow cooking methods, so they may be very tough when fast-cooked. You’ll moreover often find that the pieces are stocky rather than thin, which is not what we want for this recipe.

For crispy chilli beef, you want to slice the whinge into very thin pieces. The easiest way to do this is to place the whinge in the freezer for 20-30 minutes first. This will make it increasingly solid and therefore easier to slice.

To make sure your whinge is as tender as possible it is moreover weightier to slice it versus the grain. This ways slicing at a 90-degree wile to the fibres you can see running through the beef. You want to slice them wideness these lines, not in line with them. This is particularly hair-trigger if you are using flank steak, which can be very chewy when sliced with the grain instead of versus it.

Can I make it in advance?

This really is a recipe that is at its weightier when freshly made. Leaving it for any length of time will make it less crispy so making it in whop and reheating is not advised. The same goes for freezing which will make the whinge plane limper when defrosted.

If you do have leftovers and you simply can’t see them go to waste then it is perfectly unscratched to freeze this dish for up to 3 months. If you do reheat it, from chilled or frozen, then use the oven rather than the microwave. This will help to well-done up the whinge a little increasingly and the results won’t be as ‘soggy’ as if you use the microwave.

What can I serve it with?

For a true fakeaway experience, some egg fried or boiled rice is essential. You can moreover add a few side dishes. Why not try:

Salt and pepper chips
Salt and pepper prawns
Pak choi with oyster sauce

How can I make the whinge super crispy?

Sick of below-par, limp beef? Follow these tips to get a perfect result every time:

Don’t scrimp on the cornflour – it’s largest to use a larger trencher of cornflour than you expect to indulge the whinge to really get coated, rather than spreading the flour too thinly between the pieces. It may seem wasteful to use a trencher with increasingly than needed, but if you want a crispy result it is essential.
Feeling hot, hot, hot – the oil needs to be hot unbearable to really well-done up the beef. This is the most likely reason that you are getting soggy results. The oil should be 180C/350F to make sure that the whinge cooks on contact with the oil and to limit the value of oil that soaks into the batter. Invest in a kitchen thermometer if you don’t have one (you can get a decent one for less than £10 and they last for years if looked after). Alternatively, trammels the oil with a small waif of the thrash and make sure it frothing surpassing subtracting the beef. You can moreover use wooden chopsticks or a wooden spoon and dip them into the oil. It should sibilation virtually the wood if it’s hot enough.
Don’t overcrowd the pan – if you add too much whinge to the pan it is not only increasingly likely to stick together, but it will moreover bring lanugo the temperature of the oil.

Ingredients

For a full list of ingredients, with weight and measurements, jump to the printable recipe card.

For the sauce…

Rice vinegar
Soy sauce
Dark soy sauce
Honey
Ketchup

For the beef…

Soy sauce
Sesame oil
Cornflour
Steak, cut into thin strips – sirloin works well, see whilom for other options
Vegetable oil

For the stirfry…

Onion, cut into thick slices
Red pepper, cut into strips
Garlic, finely chopped
Minced ginger
Red chilli, finely chopped
Toasted sesame seeds

How to make it

For increasingly detailed instructions, with recipe tips, jump to the printable recipe card.

Mix together all the ingredients for the sauce and set aside.
Mix the egg, soy sauce and sesame oil for the whinge together in a large bowl.
Add the whinge strips and mix together well to coat.
Toss the whinge in the cornflour until each piece is fully coated.
Heat the vegetable oil in a deep pan. Add the whinge so as not to overcrowd the pan. Melt for 4-5 minutes until a deep golden colour. Work in batches if needed. Set the cooked whinge whispered on a plate.
Heat the oil for the stirfry in a wok or large frying pan. Add the onion and fry until starting to caramelise.
Add the peppers and melt for a remoter few minutes until starting to colour on the edges.
Add the garlic, chilli and ginger to the pan and toss together. Melt for a remoter minute.
Add the sauce to the pan and rainbow for a few seconds.
Add the whinge to the pan and toss everything together. Melt for a remoter couple of minutes.
Scatter over the sesame seeds and serve.

Looking for increasingly unconfined Chinese takeaway recipes? Try:

Sweet and sour chicken, Hong Kong-style
Chinese cumin lamb
Salt and pepper chicken
Honey chilli chicken
Chicken grub mein

Products that work well for this recipe:

Stainless Steel Strainer Set

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Chopstick Helper – for Adults (2 pieces)

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Kitchen Thermometer

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Crispy Chilli Beef

Author: caroline
Total Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 4

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Description

Crispy chilli beef. A Chinese takeaway favourite – crunchy whinge in a light coating of sauce which is both tangy and sweet… and of undertow a little spicy!

The default recipe serves 4

Ingredients

Units

for the sauce…

2 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp honey
2 tbsp ketchup
1 tbsp visionless soy sauce

for the beef…

1 egg
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
120g / 1 cup cornflour, well seasoned (see note 2)
400g sirloin steak, thinly sliced into strips (see note 3)
500ml vegetable oil (see note 4)

for the stirfry…

1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion, cut into thick slices
1 red pepper, cut into strips
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp minced ginger
1 chilli, finely chopped (see note 5)
1 tsp toasted sesame seeds

Instructions

Mix together all the sauce ingredients in a trencher and then set aside.
Beat the egg in a large trencher and then mix in the soy sauce and sesame oil for the whinge and season well with salt and pepper.
Add the whinge to the trencher and mix it together well with your hands until the whinge is well coated.
Add the cornflour to a large trencher and then add the whinge into the flour. Mix it together well until the whinge is coated and so the pieces are no longer stuck together.
Heat the vegetable oil in a large pan until it reaches virtually 180C/350F. (see note 6 & 7).
Cook the whinge in the oil until it has turned a deep golden colour and turned beautifully crispy – virtually 4-5 minutes. You will likely have to work in 2-3 batches to make sure you don’t overcrowd the pan.
Remove the cooked whinge with a slotted spoon and set it whispered on a plate lined with paper towel to soak up any glut oil.
Heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a large wok or frying pan over upper heat. Add the onion and melt for 2-3 minutes until starting to slightly caramelise at the edges.
Add the peppers to the pan and melt for a remoter 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger and chilli and toss through the for 1 minute.
Reduce the heat to medium-low and then add the sauce and indulge to rainbow for virtually 30 seconds.
Add the whinge to the pan and toss everything together for 2-3 minutes.
Sprinkle over the sesame seeds and serve.

Notes

When cooking anything stir-fried, fast and hot is the way to go. Make sure you have everything prepped and ready surpassing you start cooking so nothing slows you lanugo as you go through the steps!
This will squint like a lot of cornflour. Fear not, this is the weightier way to get a super-crispy result, and only well-nigh half the flour will end up stuff used.
You can place the whinge in the freezer for 20-30 minutes surpassing wearing to make it easier to slice into thin strips. Also, slice it versus the grain (so your pocketknife is wearing at a 90 stratum wile to the lines that you will see running lanugo the meat). This will result in a increasingly tender result. Make sure to slice any large pieces of fat from the outside off.
You can use any oil that has a upper smoke point – sunflower oil or canola/rapeseed oil moreover work well.
If you don’t have any fresh chillis then you can use 1-2 tsp chilli flakes instead, depending on how hot you would like the dish.
When frying, make sure the pan is large unbearable so the oil doesn’t fill increasingly than halfway up the sides to prevent splashes and burns!
To test if your oil is hot enough, you can either waif a little of the cornflour coating into it and if immediately frothing up then that’s an indication. You may moreover use wooden chopsticks or plane the end of a wooden spoon. If it fizzes up then the oil is good to go.
This recipe is weightier eaten straight away, as it will go soggy if reheated or frozen. However, you can safely freeze leftovers for up to 3 months. Reheat in the oven rather than the microwave to try and retain some crispiness.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Category: Dinner
Method: Stir Fry
Cuisine: Chinese