In our family, I’m notoriously finicky when it comes to eating out. Maybe I’m a tiger mom when it comes to most restaurants out there, but I find that a lot of them just serve mediocre food! Dry Fried Sichuan Beef (干煸牛肉, gan bian niu rou) is a great example of that. Too often, it’s filled with soy sauce and too sweet. Or they use the same pre-made sauce in everything. The so-called Sichuan Dry Fried Beef that results doesn’t taste anything like the original dish! Hence, I don’t usually order it because it’s never executed correctly.
Not surprisingly, others have run into these issues, and a reader requested that we make our version of Dry-fried Sichuan Beef. We jumped at the chance to put our spin on it. I made a few modifications to the traditional recipe, and I’m pretty pleased with the result (which is saying something given the aforementioned tiger mom status). Here’s how this recipe is different:
This Sichuan beef dish usually asks for beef tenderloin. While beef tenderloin is tender, it lacks flavor. Instead, I use flank steak, our top choice for stir-fries. It’s tender and flavorful.
- The beef is usually thinly julienned and marinated, then quickly stir-fried to keep the beef tender, but it’s not the original intent for this dish. Instead, the beef should be browned on high heat to lock in its juices and flavor. Hence, the phrase “dry-fried.”
- I cut the beef slightly thicker to avoid drying it out during the browning process. And the un-marinated beef really helps to give this dish a strong beef flavor, similar to a really good steak!
- Lastly, most restaurants don’t even bother to add Sichuan peppercorns, but it’s a signature flavor of the dish! You can adjust the amount of peppercorns to your taste / tongue-numbing preferences.
BTW, if spicy food isn’t your thing, you can substitute the hot bean sauce/paste for regular sweet bean sauce/paste and omit the chili flakes.
You’ll need:
- 3 tablespoons oil
- 12 ounces flank steak, cut into ⅓ inch thick strips
- 5 slices ginger, julienned
- 1 heaping tablespoon spicy bean sauce
- 1-2 stalks celery, julienned
- 1 small carrot, julienned
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
- ¾ teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon ground Sichuan peppercorn
- A pinch of chili flakes (optional)
- 2 scallions, julienned
Heat the wok over high heat until it starts to smoke. Add 1 tablespoon oil, and coat the wok before adding the beef. Immediately spread the beef in a single layer. (This step will prevent the beef from sticking to your wok.) Brown the beef until the liquid cooks off and the meat is well-seared. This step should take about 2-3 minutes. Remove the beef from the wok, and set aside.
Turn the heat down to low, and add 2 tablespoons of oil to the wok. Crisp the ginger, and add the spicy bean sauce.
Cook for about a minute until the oil turns red, adjusting the heat as needed to avoid burning.
Next, add the celery, carrot, and cooked beef. Turn the heat up to high, and stir to mix well. Immediately add the Shaoxing wine, sugar, light soy sauce, sesame oil, ground Sichuan peppercorn, chili flakes (optional), and the scallions.
Stir quickly for about a minute and mix everything well.
Transfer to a dish and serve with plenty of rice! You’ll need it.
- 3 tablespoons oil
- 12 ounces flank steak, cut into ⅓ inch thick strips
- 5 slices ginger, julienned
- 1 heaping tablespoon spicy bean sauce
- 1-2 stalks celery, julienned
- 1 small carrot, julienned
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
- ¾ teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon ground Sichuan peppercorn
- A pinch of chili flakes (optional)
- 2 scallions, julienned
- Heat the wok over high heat until it starts to smoke. Add 1 tablespoon oil, and coat the wok before adding the beef. Immediately spread the beef in a single layer. (This step will prevent the beef from sticking to your wok.) Brown the beef until the liquid cooks off and the meat is well-seared. This step should take about 2-3 minutes. Remove the beef from the wok, and set aside.
- Turn the heat down to low, and add 2 tablespoons of oil to the wok. Crisp the ginger, and add the spicy bean sauce. Cook for about a minute until the oil turns red, adjusting the heat as needed to avoid burning. Next, add the celery, carrot, and cooked beef. Turn the heat up to high, and stir to mix well. Immediately add the Shaoxing wine, sugar, light soy sauce, sesame oil, ground Sichuan peppercorn, chili flakes (optional), and the scallions.
- Stir quickly for about a minute and mix everything well. Transfer to a dish and serve with plenty of rice! You’ll need it.
Slawecki Constance Harris says
We loved the recipe — wonderful flavors. I think I might have used the wrong kind of bean sauce — I thought I had several kinds but I didn’t and I used spicy black bean sauce. My sauce ended up needing a bit more salt — so I sprinkled some more soy on top, — bu I was missing a deep flavor and Im guessing it was the bean sauce.
Regardless, we demolished the 4 serving between the 2 of us, so it’s definitely awesome. The celery was an especially delicious surprise.
Judy says
Hi Slawecki, I agree with you on celery. It’s almost the star and not the beef.
Daniel Braham says
Really enjoyed this thanks. I wonder why my Sichuan peppers never really are noticeable despite me often putting a generous douse in (always more than in the recipe). I just cant get that tangy feeling I experienced in China. Im in the UK… the packet is dried red ones… but just almost unnoticeable in the dish. Is it that in real Sichuan they’d just use heaps more?
Judy says
Hi Daniel, time to buy from a spice trader/supplier for fresher Sichuan peppercorns.
Tom says
I used freshly ground green (not red) Szechuan peppercorn. I’m a big fan of the that mala ish so I added 3x more than recommended. It tasted hella dank but it made me feel kinda thizzed out for a minute and gave me a serious lisp for at least 2 hours after I was finished eating. 5/5 would recommend. Take it easy on the peppercorn though unless you’re a veteran like me. Thanks for the wonderful recipe! Free Joker305
Judy says
Hahaha…what a story! Thank you for sharing :-)
Christine Hall says
Excellent recipe! I added sliced garlic and chopped leeks to the stir fry.
Judy says
So glad you enjoyed it, Christine!
Andreas says
Hi Judy,
in the picture where you cut the beef it looks – at least partly – frozen. I sometimes do that when I want to cut it very thinly, but that seems not to be your intention for this recipe. Do you let it sit to thaw before putting it in the pan?
Judy says
Hi Andreas, in this case, there is no need to thaw the beef completely before cooking if you intentionally cut the beef when it’s partly frozen, since we are not marinating the beef.
Cy Jones says
I made this recipe for the first time and while I loved it, it seemed a little over-sauced and salty. In trying to figure out why, I discovered that what I had thought was Pixian Spicy Bean Sauce was in fact Pixian Spicy Bean Paste. The only ingredients are broad beans, chile, and salt. I probably used almost two tablespoons of it (my interpretation of “one “heaping tablespoon “. I’m guessing the paste is more concentrated that the sauce, which would account for the over-saucing and saltiness. Am I right? Since I have two big pouches to use up, can I substitute paste for sauce? If so, what should I add to convert the paste to sauce–chile oil?
Do Bill and Judy have a restaurant in Beijing? I spend about three months out of the year there and would like to visit their restaurant if they have one.
I love your website; it is the only site I use now for all my Chinese cooking. Keep up the great work!
Judy says
Hi Cy, I do notice words like “paste” and “sauce” are being used interchangeably in Chinese condiments. In general, a paste is thicker than a sauce. But as far as Pixian Spicy Bean Sauce, I’m pretty sure they only make one version. To help you to use up the two big pouches of this paste, search SPICY BEAN SAUCE in the search bar on our site, and you will find many recipes that ask for it :-)
Ian Shaw says
I am fond of all kinds of Chinese food and used this recipe with an unexpected difference: ostrich steaks instead of beef. Contrary to expectations, ostrich is dark meat even though ostrich is a bird. I experienced no difference when preparing this dish, it turned out to be absolutely delectable. next time I will also try it with venison, of which we in Africa have many different kinds.
Judy says
Can’t say I have ever had ostrich meat, sounds so fancy :-) BTW, so glad you enjoyed the recipe.
Katharina says
We made this last night and were so happy to find a recipe that reminds us of eating in China! We had something very similar to this several times while we were working there! Thank you! I can’t tell you how often I make your recipes, this site is awesome!
Judy says
Thank you so much for your wonderful comment, Katharina! Happy wokking.
Frenchy says
I got a pouch of the spicy bean sauce. Should it be refrigerated after opening?
Judy says
Hi Frenchy, yes, please refrigerate it after opening, and also use it within two weeks.
Frenchy says
Thanks for the reply, Pouch is HUGE! Can it be frozen or jarred for longer life?
Judy says
Yes, Frenchy, you should jar the leftovers and store it in the refrigerator, not the freezer.
Adriane says
when you julienne the celery, are you using a vegetable peeler? From the pictures, they look curly like they were peeled rather than sliced. What is best?
Judy says
Hi Adriane, I used Chinese celery and I julienned it lengthwise. The julienned celery curls naturally in cold water :-)