Description
This Beef Stir Fry with Honey and Black Pepper Sauce is a quick and flavorful dish, perfect for a weeknight dinner. Tender slices of steak are stir-fried with garlic and onion, then coated in a sweet and peppery sauce that combines soy sauce, honey, oyster sauce, and a hint of Chinese cooking wine. Served best with steamed rice or cauliflower rice for a low-carb option, this recipe balances savory and sweet with a punch of black pepper heat.
Ingredients
Scale
Sauce:
- 2 1/2 tbsp soy sauce (ordinary all purpose or light soy sauce)
- 3 tbsp honey
- 1 1/2 tbsp oyster sauce (substitute hoisin sauce if unavailable)
- 1 1/2 tbsp Chinese cooking wine, mirin, or dry sherry
- 2 tbsp water
- 1 tsp coarsely crushed black pepper (or 1/2 tsp ground black pepper)
Stir Fry:
- 2 tbsp peanut oil (or vegetable or canola oil)
- 1 garlic clove, finely minced
- 1/2 onion, peeled and sliced
- 500g (1 lb) thinly sliced tenderloin, flank, sirloin, Porterhouse, strip steak, or any steak cut suitable for stir frying
Instructions
- Prepare the Sauce: In a bowl, mix together the soy sauce, honey, oyster sauce, Chinese cooking wine, water, and crushed black pepper until well combined.
- Heat the Oil: Place a wok or large heavy-based skillet over high heat and add the peanut oil. Heat until the oil is smoking hot to ensure a good sear on the beef.
- Sauté Aromatics: Add the sliced onion and minced garlic to the hot oil. Stir-fry for about 1 minute until the onion turns translucent, keeping the mixture moving constantly to prevent the garlic from burning.
- Cook the Beef: Add the thinly sliced beef to the wok and stir-fry for 1 minute until just cooked to your liking. Then, remove the beef and onion mixture to a bowl to prevent overcooking.
- Simmer the Sauce: Lower the heat to medium-high and pour the prepared sauce into the wok. Allow it to simmer for about 1 minute until it thickens and becomes syrupy, indicated by larger caramel-colored bubbles.
- Combine Beef and Sauce: Return the cooked beef and onion to the wok, including any juices from the bowl. Toss everything in the sauce just until warmed through, for about 1 minute. Avoid overcooking the beef to keep it tender.
- Serve: Serve immediately over steamed rice or for a low-carb alternative, try cauliflower rice for a healthy twist.
Notes
- Soy Sauce: Use ordinary all-purpose or light soy sauce for balanced flavor. Avoid dark soy sauce as it is too intense for this dish.
- Chinese Cooking Wine: Essential for authentic Chinese stir fry flavor. Substitute with mirin, cooking sake, or dry sherry if unavailable. For a non-alcoholic version, replace the cooking wine and water with low sodium chicken broth or stock, and reduce soy sauce to 2 tablespoons.
- Beef Selection: Use tender cuts suitable for quick stir-frying such as rump, flank, sirloin, Porterhouse, T-bone, or boneless rib eye. Avoid slow-cooking cuts like chuck unless properly tenderized. Slice beef thinly against the grain (perpendicular to the muscle fibers) to ensure tenderness.
- Other Proteins: This recipe also works well with thinly sliced pork, chicken, or turkey as alternatives to beef.
- Nutrition Note: Nutrition information excludes rice or other sides.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving (excluding rice)
- Calories: 320
- Sugar: 12g
- Sodium: 850mg
- Fat: 16g
- Saturated Fat: 3.5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 10g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 18g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 30g
- Cholesterol: 75mg
