Beef Tofu Stir Fry is one of those things on a Cantonese restaurant menu that is always calling out to me—usually when I’m stopping in a Chinatown takeout place for a quick lunch.
Beef Tofu Stir Fry always seems to make it to the lunch table or car whenever the four of us are together and passing through Manhattan. And for good reason. This dish is beefy, saucy (Sarah is the family gravy addict), and just plain delicious!
Chinese Comfort Food
Even at home, Beef Tofu Stir Fry is one of those dishes that we make over and over again. People think food bloggers never eat the same thing, because they always experiment and cook huge volumes of food, and, yes, that is true some of the time.
But we usually get together just a couple days a month to cook for the blog, and that’s when we cook a large volume of dishes with much discussion and planning! It’s also when some of our neighbors get unsolicited care packages of freshly photographed food. We also pack things up for weekday lunches and dinners.
But when we’re not blogging, what are we eating?
Well, this Beef Tofu Stir Fry is definitely on the list, along with other easy, homey recipes like Oyster Sauce Chicken and Yu Choy. Food bloggers need lazy weeknight meals, too! But as usual (and as the women of the family are always quick to remind me of), I digress.
Tender beef, soft tofu, some scallions, and just the right amount of sauce over a bed of white or brown rice is a quick, and totally satisfying meal for any day of the week!
Beef Tofu Stir-fry: Recipe Instructions
For velveting beef, combine the beef, water, vegetable oil, cornstarch, baking soda, and soy sauce in a medium bowl. Let the beef marinate for 20 minutes.
Heat the wok until smoking and spread 2 tablespoons of oil around the perimeter. Sear the beef for 20 seconds on each side. You want the beef seared on the outside and about 80% done.
Transfer back to the marinade bowl, and set aside. You may have noticed that our instructions often include adding partially-cooked meat back to the marinade bowl, because in Chinese cooking, foods are often cooked twice in the wok before the dish is finished, and why wash yet another bowl?!
Add the ginger, and let caramelize for 20 seconds. There should be oil in the wok from searing the beef, but add another tablespoon of oil if needed. Next, add the minced garlic and the white portion of the scallions. Stir fry for 10 seconds, and add the Shaoxing wine.
Stir again for 10 seconds, and add the chicken stock, oyster sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, white pepper, and sugar. Stir-fry until combined, and then gently slide the soft tofu into the wok. Be careful—the pieces are delicate and will break up easily without proper handling!
Let the tofu and the sauce come up to a boil, and drop in the green portions of the scallions and the seared beef, including any juices from the marinade bowl.
While everything is coming up to a boil, use your marinade bowl to mix your cornstarch slurry. (Another dish saved from washing duty!)
Check the seasoning of the sauce, and add more salt or soy sauce if desired, but remember it will get saltier after it thickens!
Carefully stir in the cornstarch slurry, and lower the heat to medium as the sauce thickens. Be as gentle as possible when stirring so as to minimize tofu breakage. A pushing/stirring motion to rotate the mixture around the wok usually works best for me.
Adjust the thickness of the sauce by adding more cornstarch slurry or chicken stock until it is to your liking.
Serve this beef tofu stir fry over steamed rice!
Beef Tofu Stir-Fry
Ingredients
For the beef & marinade:
- 10 ounces flank steak (285g, sliced ¼-inch thick)
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- ½ teaspoon cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon soy sauce
For the rest of the dish:
- 2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
- 3 thin slices ginger
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 2 scallions (cut at an angle into 1-inch pieces, white and green portions separated)
- 2 teaspoons Shaoxing wine
- ¾ cup beef or chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- ¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
- ¼ teaspoon sugar
- 1 pound regular or soft tofu (450g, cut into 2-inch squares, 1/2-inch thick)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch (mixed with 1 tablespoon of water)
Instructions
- For the beef & marinade, combine the beef, water, vegetable oil, cornstarch, baking soda, and soy sauce in a medium bowl. Let the beef marinate for 20 minutes.
- Heat the wok until smoking and spread 2 tablespoons of oil around the perimeter. Sear the beef for 20 seconds on each side. You want the beef seared on the outside and about 80% done. Remove from the wok and set aside.
- Add the ginger, and caramelize for 20 seconds. There should be oil in the wok from searing the beef, but add another tablespoon of oil if needed. Next, add the minced garlic and the white portion of the scallions. Stir fry for 10 seconds, and add the Shaoxing wine.
- Stir again for 10 seconds, and add the chicken stock, oyster sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, white pepper, and sugar. Stir-fry until combined, and then gently slide the tofu into the wok. Be careful––the pieces are delicate and will break up easily without proper handling!
- Let the tofu and the sauce come up to a boil, and drop in the green portions of the scallions and the seared beef, including any juices.
- While everything is coming up to a boil, mix your cornstarch slurry. Check the seasoning of the sauce, and add more salt or soy sauce if desired, but remember it will get saltier after it thickens!
- Carefully stir in the cornstarch slurry, and lower the heat to medium as the sauce thickens. Be as gentle as possible when stirring so as to minimize tofu breakage. A pushing/stirring motion to rotate the mixture around the wok usually works best. Adjust the thickness of the sauce by adding more cornstarch slurry or chicken stock until it is to your liking. Serve over steamed rice!
This recipe was so good and easy we made it two nights in a row! If you double the recipe, I would suggest not doubling the amount of white pepper since it was a bit strong. I only had extra firm tofu on hand the first time I made this, which I would not recommend since it crumbled into the sauce at the end. I will definitely be making this again.
Hi Julia, thanks for sharing your cooking tips with us and our readers!
this recipe sounds really good! what additional veggies would you suggest serving in this dish or alongside? thanks!
Hi Alyssa, you can serve just about anything you like as a vegetable side like garlicky broccoli, stir fried lettuce (a fav of mine) or a simple blanched yu choy sum. Happy cooking!
Just so good. I make this often.
Hi Jane, keep up the great cooking – this is also one of my favorite tofu recipes!
how do you feel about adding black bean sauce to this recipe?
Hi Steve, black bean sauce would work as an addition to this dish. It could be a good change-up if you are cooking it often.
wouldn’t firm tofu work better so as not to break up in the wok so easily?
Hi Steve, it all depends what texture you like for the tofu. You just need to be more gentle with the soft tofu when moving it around in the wok.
I’ve used firm tofu and it works well.
Spot on!!! Wow!!! Even both my kids who are pretty picky licked their bowls clean. I had left over beef from making your tomato beef and didn’t want the tender beef go to waste so I made this tonight. It tasted exactly like what you would order in a Chinese restaurant. Instead of 3/4 stock, I used 1 cup and it was perfect. Thanks for another great meal. I never learned how to cook Chinese from my mom or grandma so I’m learning from you guys.
Hi Vanessa, sounds like you did a great job with this dish. Keep up the great cooking!
I made the beef with tofu, problem was my wife will not eat red meats, so I substituted diced chicken, actually it came out to her liking. Personally, I like more heat with spices. But we are “older”, I am 80 going on 25….We retired 15 years ago and changed positions in the house, I cook and she watches TV. Never tried cooking with tofu before, but it was a much healthier way to cook. I just needed more heat.
Hi Carl, add some Kaitlin’s homemade chili oil next time or if you want convenience, some crushed red pepper should solve the itch for more heat ;-)