This Scallion Ginger Beef and Tofu recipe is dish you may find in Chinatown takeout or lunch places, usually for less than $10. At its best, it has lots of “wok hay,” or wok-seared flavor, from being cooked over very high heat in thin, superheated carbon steel woks.
While there isn’t a huge volume of sauce in this dish, it’s extremely flavorful and a perfect accompaniment for steamed rice.
This dish is also easy to make. Just make sure your wok is screaming hot when you’re cooking this, and it’ll taste just as authentic NYC Noodletown’s.
Note: This recipe was originally published in January 2014. We have since re-tested and re-photographed it, making very minor adjustments and adding clearer instructions. Enjoy!
How to Pan-fry Tofu Without It Sticking
This dish does require some preparation—slicing the beef and tofu, mixing up the sauce, and slicing aromatics. You also have to pre-cook the firm tofu, searing it in the wok to give it a light golden crust. This not only gives the tofu a better texture, it also makes it hardier and less prone to breakage while stir-frying with other ingredients.
But how do you pan-fry tofu without it sticking to the wok? The key is preheating your wok before adding oil. This non-stick wok cooking method applies to any high heat wok cooking.
You pre-heat the wok until it just begins to smoke around the edges. Then you add oil around the perimeter of the wok. If you follow that process, the tofu will slide around the wok easily, as if it were a nonstick surface!
Only do this with a carbon steel wok. Do not try it with a stainless steel wok, and especially not with a nonstick wok. Nonstick surfaces cannot be safely heated to high temperatures.
For more information on how this method works, visit our article on How to Prevent Food From Sticking to Your Wok.
Recipe Instructions
Thinly slice the flank steak against the grain into 2 ½ inch (6 cm) pieces, and add to a medium bowl along with 1 ½ tablespoons water, the cornstarch, oil, oyster sauce, and baking soda (if using). Set aside for 20-30 minutes while you prepare the other ingredients. For more information on selecting and preparing beef, see our post on How to Prepare Beef for Stir Fry
Slice the tofu into ½ inch to ¼ inch (about 1 cm) thick rectangles, and set aside.
In a small bowl, make the sauce mixture by combining the hot water, sugar, hoisin sauce, dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, sesame oil, and white pepper. Mix well until the sugar is dissolved.
Prepare the bell pepper, ginger, garlic and scallions. Slice any thicker pieces of scallion in half lengthwise.
Heat the wok over high heat until it just begins to smoke. Only when it’s begun to smoke, add 1 tablespoon of oil to coat. Carefully lay the slices of tofu in the wok in a single layer, and sear for about 2 minutes per side or until golden brown. Set aside on a plate.
Again, heat the wok over high heat until smoking and add another tablespoon of oil. Add the beef in a single layer, and sear for 30 seconds to 1 minute.
Stir-fry for another 15-30 seconds, until the beef is about 75-80% cooked. Remove from the wok, and set aside.
Add another ½ tablespoon of oil to the wok, along with the ginger slices. Caramelize and brown them for about 20 seconds. This infuses the oil and wok with all that ginger flavor.
Add the garlic, white portion of the scallions, and red pepper, making sure the heat is still on high. Stir-fry for about 10 seconds, and add the Shaoxing wine.
Continue to stir-fry for another 30 seconds, and add the pan-fried tofu, beef (along with any juices), and sauce mixture. Stir-fry for another 20 seconds, until the sauce coats all the ingredients.
Add the green parts of the scallions…
And stir-fry until the scallions are wilted.
Plate and serve your ginger scallion beef and tofu stir-fry immediately with steamed rice.
Scallion Ginger Beef and Tofu Stir Fry
Ingredients
For the beef & marinade:
- 8 oz. flank steak
- 1 1/2 tablespoons water
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 1/2 teaspoon oyster sauce
- 1/8 teaspoon baking soda (optional tenderizer)
For the rest of the dish:
- 8 ounces firm tofu
- 2 tablespoons hot water
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon hoisin sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon dark soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons light soy sauce
- ¼ teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper
- 1/2 cup red bell pepper (cut into 1-inch pieces)
- 7 slices ginger
- 1 clove garlic (chopped)
- 4 large scallions (sliced at an angle into 2 inch/5 cm pieces, white and green pieces separated)
- 2 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil (divided)
- 1 tablespoon shaoxing wine
Instructions
- Thinly slice the flank steak against the grain into 2 ½ inch (6 cm) pieces, and add to a medium bowl along with 1 ½ tablespoons water, the cornstarch, oil, oyster sauce, and baking soda (if using). Set aside for 20-30 minutes while you prepare the other ingredients.
- Slice the tofu into ½ inch to ¼ inch (about 1 cm) thick rectangles, and set aside.
- In a small bowl, make the sauce mixture by combining the hot water, sugar, hoisin sauce, dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, sesame oil, and white pepper. Mix well until the sugar is dissolved.
- Prepare the bell pepper, ginger, garlic and scallions. Slice any thicker pieces of scallion in half lengthwise.
- Heat the wok over high heat until it just begins to smoke. Only when it’s begun to smoke, add 1 tablespoon of oil to coat. Carefully lay the slices of tofu in the wok in a single layer, and sear for about 2 minutes per side or until golden brown. Set aside on a plate.
- Again, heat the wok over high heat until smoking and add another tablespoon of oil. Add the beef in a single layer, and sear for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Stir-fry for another 15-30 seconds, until the beef is about 75-80% cooked. Remove from the wok, and set aside.
- Add another ½ tablespoon of oil to the wok, along with the ginger slices. Caramelize and brown them for about 20 seconds. This infuses the oil and wok with all that ginger flavor. Add the garlic, white portion of the scallions, and red pepper, making sure the heat is still on high. Stir-fry for about 10 seconds, and add the Shaoxing wine.
- Continue to stir-fry for another 30 seconds, and add the pan-fried tofu, beef (along with any juices), and sauce mixture. Stir-fry for another 20 seconds, until the sauce coats all the ingredients.
- Add the green parts of the scallions, and stir-fry until the scallions are wilted. Plate and serve immediately with steamed rice.
Thanks Bill, We really love this recipe. The tofu is so satisfying and substantial cooked this way. I have also tried it adding fermented black beans, which gave it a slightly different end result. Many thanks!
You’re welcome Thomas – good idea adding fermented black beans for a change-up!
This recipe was perfect for my husband and I. I’m not so much of a fan of bell peppers and he’s not a fan of tofu. I got all the tofu and he got all the bell pepper. Win win! He was impressed with the beef too! He said he doesn’t normally like beef stir fries because the meat is rubbery. This recipe changed his mind.
Excellent Lana and it sounds like you and your husband are a good match!
Hi Bill!
The scallions we get here in the Philippines can often be as thin as chives. Would the recipe still work using leeks instead (which around here tend to be about the girth of a finger on average)?
Hi Helen, yes, the substitution should be fine. I always recommend using local ingredients whenever you can because they should be the freshest. Happy cooking!
Thanks, Bill! My hubby was the one who ended up making this – he used spring onions, basing it on an average weight. He made1.5 recipes and we still wiped the wok clean! Ooops… Hahaha! Thanks for the delicious recipe! :D
I made this last night. I’d bought a firm tofu and had to make my own five spice tofu and press all water out of it. My husband and I DO NOT LIKE TOFU, and this recipe didn’t change our minds. It’s tasteless and rubbery…..though not awful, there’s nothing that appeals to us.
The beef, scallions, red pepper stir fry is delicious over rice and a keeper. Thank you for posting these recipes! I’ve had great success with all I’ve tried.
Hi BBracy, sorry to hear about the tofu but glad you liked the rest of the dish and its flavors.
A very tasty weeknight-able stir-fry! Common ingredients that keep for a few days, no elaborate prep… anyone with a wok should give this a try.
If served Western-style as a main dish with rice (maybe plus salad) for four hungry eaters, I’d recommend doubling the recipe. Who’s going to argue with some leftovers anyway? If you sear the beef and tofu in batches first, the final assembly for a double recipe can be done in a 14″ wok on a typical stove. Plus tofu comes in 1 lb tubs and a whole flank steak is usually ~2 lbs, so that’s convenient.
If you want more veg, it seems like some snow peas, mushrooms, or broccoli would be easy adds here too.
Hi Todd, thank you for sharing some of your cooking details and ideas with us and our readers :)