This beef onion stir-fry is one of those recipes that doesn’t require much more than the ingredients in the name—beef…and onions!
If you’ve been cooking with us for a while, you likely have all the other ingredients already. Kitchen basics like baking soda, cornstarch, and ketchup (yup, ketchup!) combine with a few of our Essential Chinese Pantry ingredients to create an incredibly delicious dish.
Inspired by a Chinatown Menu
If you live in or near Chinatown, try finding this beef onion stir-fry at a restaurant! It’s savory, a little tangy, and so tasty over rice.
Some of my favorite Chinatown joints are those that specialize in lunch specials and late night fare. Such places serve quick, delicious stir-fries, usually served over a big pile of rice.
I was perusing one such restaurant’s menu the other day, and saw “Beef and Onions” in a long list of no-nonsense yet mouthwatering dishes.
I set to experimenting with my own version, and came up with this recipe, which got resounding approval from the family peanut gallery (not always an easy task!)
These quick stir-fries are some of my favorite recipes to record, and this one is no exception.
A Super Quick Cooking Recipe
You won’t stand at the stove longer than 5 minutes to make this recipe. Seriously.
Marinate the beef, and premix the sauce ingredients. Then simply sear the beef and onions separately, simmer and thicken the sauce, and mix everything together!
It really is as simple as that.
What Cut of Beef to Use for Stir-fry
In our opinion, flank steak is the most ideal cut of beef for a stir-fry. That’s what we call for in this recipe. However, you could also use sirloin or even inexpensive beef chuck.
Whatever cut of beef you use, just make sure to thinly slice it against the grain. In other words, look at the muscle fibers in the beef, and make your slices perpendicular to those fibers.
It helps to use a sharp knife, and to angle that knife 45° so you can create wider, thinner slices.
We’re using baking soda in the marinade here to make the beef extra tender. Check out our post on how to prepare beef for stir-fries for more information!
Beef & Onion Stir-fry: Recipe Instructions
In a medium bowl, add the flank steak, baking soda, cornstarch, oil, oyster sauce, and water. Mix until the liquid has been absorbed, and set aside to marinate for at least 15 minutes, or up to 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, ketchup, oyster sauce, sugar, sesame oil, and water. Set aside.
Heat a wok over high heat until smoking. Add 1 tablespoon of oil, and spread the beef in the wok in a single layer. Sear the meat, undisturbed, for 30 seconds to 1 minute, until browned.
Stir-fry for an additional 15-30 seconds, until about 75% cooked. Remove from the wok and set aside.
Add another tablespoon of oil to the wok, along with the onions.
Stir-fry until the onions are seared and slightly blistered, 60-90 seconds. Remove from the wok.
Add the prepared sauce to the wok, and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 15 seconds, and then stir in the beef and onions for another 30 seconds.
Serve over rice.
Beef Onion Stir-fry
Ingredients
For the beef & marinade:
- 1 pound flank steak (thinly sliced against the grain)
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon oil (any neutral oil, such as vegetable or canola)
- 1 teaspoon oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon water
For the rest of the dish:
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons ketchup
- 2 teaspoons oyster sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 10 ounces small onions (sliced into wedges; about 3 small onions)
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, add the flank steak, baking soda, cornstarch, oil, oyster sauce, and water. Mix until the liquid has been absorbed, and set aside to marinate for at least 15 minutes, or up to 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, ketchup, oyster sauce, sugar, sesame oil, and water. Set aside.
- Heat a wok over high heat until smoking. Add 1 tablespoon of oil, and spread the beef in the wok in a single layer. Sear the meat, undisturbed, for 30 seconds to 1 minute, until browned. Stir-fry for an additional 15-30 seconds, until about 75% cooked. Remove from the wok and set aside.
- Add another tablespoon of oil to the wok, along with the onions. Stir-fry until the onions are seared and slightly blistered, 60-90 seconds. Remove from the wok.
- Add the prepared sauce to the wok, and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 15 seconds, and then stir in the beef and onions for another 30 seconds. Serve over rice.
Fast easy nice
Thanks Jeremie!
Another wonderful dish from the Woks of Life. I generally will follow the recipe first time making it, then the next time make any adjustments to taste. For this dish those were adding some diced ginger and garlic along with the onions, and a dash of white pepper powder to the sauce. Excellent dish all around, very easy to make.
Thank you so much!
Just made this for dinner and it was so good! Not an ounce of food left on the plate! I like how the ingredients are all accessible and the actual recipe is very straightforward to make. Just have to make sure everything is chopped and ready before putting the wok on as it comes together quickly, which is a big plus.
Thank you for sharing your experience, Debbie! So happy you enjoyed it!
Yet another winner from Woks o’ Life!
Added in freshly picked Shisihto peppers [fried separately before the beef].
Fabulous :)
Hi Barb, I love the addition of Shishito peppers. Since you’re growing them, you have to try our Blistered Shishito pepper recipe. I’ve taken a liking to using a good balsamic vinegar and some lemon zest (suggested by one of our readers)
I have made this a couple of times, it is soooo good and quick Our family is coming this weekend and I thought, why not add sliced brown mushrooms!
Nice, Barbara!
This was great! It did take a few more minutes to get the onions where they needed to be, but it was no big deal. Definitelt one we will be making again. Thanks for the great recipe!
You’re welcome, Alex! I do like my onions a little bit on the crunchy side in this dish. :)
Fabulous! Easy and wonderfully yummy. With the onions, I threw in a sliced red pepper I wanted to use up but otherwise, I made it exactly as written. A new favorite in our rotation.
Love it, Kathryn!
Yet another absolutely fantastic, easy and family-pleasing recipe from The Woks of Life!
I bought center cut beef chuck, a third the price of flank steak which fit our family of 5 budget.
Because of the marinade, this otherwise tough cut of beef was so tender you could cut it with the side of your fork. (It’s amazing the wonders of that marinade!)
The prep was fast, 3 minutes in the wok and dinner was on the table. Despite more than doubling the recipe, there were ZERO leftovers.
This recipe’s definitely going into rotation, especially for busy nights when you’re tired and tempted to pick up the phone & order takeout, and you want something healthy and tasty on the table FAST!
Thank you so much, Jenny! Glad you were able to do this with beef chuck. You’re right that as long as you slice it thinly against the grain, and use a little baking soda in the marinade, it will come out super tender!
Hi Sarah, when you say we can use beef chuck for this recipe, do you mean the beef chuck that we cube for beef stew? Thank you!
Yep!
Can I use flat iron steak or ribeye as well? I have both.
Yeah, they say it works well with any
Yes!