Tender beef stir fried with aromatic onions in a light savory sauce. This quick and easy beef onion stir fry is perfect as a main and made with simple ingredients! This rivals takeout and is a crowd pleaser for the family!
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Beef Onion Stir Fry is a popular Chinese dish featuring beef steak stir-fried with lots of white and green onions in tasty soy based sauce.
The beef is ultra-tender thanks to the velveting process that Chinese restaurants use, where the baking soda prevents any protein bonding!
This is one of my favourite ways to enjoy beef and I love serving it with white rice and veggies for a satiating meal!
Ingredients & Substitutions
Please scroll down to below recipe card for exact measurements.
- Flank steak: or substitute with top sirloin, hanger steak, skirt steak, or flat iron steak.
- White or yellow onions
- Green onions or scallions
- Garlic cloves
- Neutral oil: like vegetable oil, avocado oil or any scentless oil with a high smoke point.
Beef Marinade
- Regular soy sauce: or substitute with low sodium soy sauce or light soy sauce.
- Cornstarch, or potato starch: The starch absorbs any surrounding moisture into the meat making it more tender.
- Shaoxing wine or rice vinegar: or substitute with Dry Sherry or any broth
- Sesame oil: please omit if you're allergic
- Baking soda: the key ingredient in Chinese cuisine to tenderize meat by raising the pH to prevent protein bonding! Do not skip!
- Neutral oil
Sauce
- Shaoxing wine or rice vinegar: or substitute with Dry Sherry or any broth
- Oyster sauce: Or substitute with vegetarian stir fry sauce. Do not confuse this with Hoisin sauce.
- Dark soy sauce: not the same as regular soy sauce as it's darker and thicker
- Cornstarch, or potato starch
- Black pepper or white pepper
- Cold water
- White granulated sugar or brown sugar (missing in the image above)
Variations
- If you’re gluten-free, substitute both soy sauce with tamari sauce, coconut aminos or a gluten-free soy sauce of your choice. Substitute the oyster sauce with a gluten-free version.
Note: Most Asian grocery stores will carry most of the Asian specific ingredients or check Amazon.
Expert Tips
- Slice the beef on a bias for a more tender bite.
- Prep your ingredients in advance as the cooking process is quick!
- Velvet the beef in the marinade and don't skip the baking soda! Don't worry you can't taste it since we're using such a small amount.
- Brown the beef as this brings out more flavor.
Instructions
Below are step-by-step instructions on how to make beef onion stir fry:
Prepare Beef
Slice flank steak against the grain, on an angle into ¼-inch thin slices. Transfer to a medium bowl. Tip: to easily slice beef thinly, freeze the exposed beef for 40 minutes until the exterior is hard to touch and slice with a sharp knife.
Marinate beef with Marinade ingredients as listed above at room temperature for 15-20 minutes.
Create Sauce & Cook Onions
In a small bowl, combine Sauce ingredients as listed above. Set aside.
In a large pan on low heat, heat vegetable oil. Stir fry white onions and scallion whites for 30 seconds. Remove and set aside.
Brown Beef and Add Sauce
Increase to medium-high heat, add marinated beef in a single layer and spread apart. Brown beef on each side for 2-3 minutes per side.
Reduce to medium heat, pour prepared sauce in a circular motion, and stir fry for another 30-60 seconds until sauce thickens.
Finish with Onions
Toss back in garlic, scallion greens, and cooked onions from before. Stir fry for another 30-60 seconds. Remove off heat and enjoy!
Storage
- Leftovers will last up to 4 days stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. To reheat: microwave for 2-3 minutes until hot or reheat in a pan on medium heat.
- Freezer friendly? This can be stored in a freezer friendly bag and frozen up to 3 months or until you see freezer burn. To reheat, defrost it and reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop in a pan.
Pairing Suggestions
This Chinese dish serves well with crab rangoons, hot and sour soup, white or brown rice, cauliflower rice, fried rice, chow mein, lo mein, plain noodles, cooked vegetables like spicy garlic bok choy, or garlic green beans.
FAQ
Yes, feel free to add any vegetables that you enjoy ideally veggies with a low water content like bell peppers, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, snap or snow peas, and any Asian greens.
Yes, you can substitute with chicken or pork.
This can be made in advance and stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. When ready to enjoy, reheat it in the microwave or in a pan on the stovetop on medium heat.
Other recipes you may enjoy
📖 Recipe
Quick Easy Chinese Beef Onion Stir Fry
Ingredients
- 1 lb flank steak
- 1 medium white onion sliced and separated in layers
- 4 scallions cut into 2-inch segments with whites and greens separated
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil or any neutral oil
Beef Marinade:
- 1 tablespoon regular soy sauce
- 1.5 tablespoon cornstarch or potato starch
- 2 teaspoon Shaoxing wine or rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoon sesame oil
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil or any neutral oil
Sauce:
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine or rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce or vegetarian stir fry sauce
- ½ tablespoon dark soy sauce or sub with regular soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch or potato starch
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper or white pepper
- 4 tablespoon cold water
- 1 teaspoon white granulated sugar or brown sugar
Instructions
- Slice flank steak against the grain, on an angle into ¼-inch thin slices. Transfer to a medium bowl. Tip: to easily slice beef thinly, freeze the exposed beef for 40 minutes until the exterior is hard to touch and slice with a sharp knife.
- Marinate beef with Marinade ingredients as listed above. Marinate at room temperature for 15-20 minutes.
- In a small bowl, combine Sauce ingredients as listed above. Set aside.
- In a large skillet on low heat, heat vegetable oil. Stir fry white onions and scallion whites for 30 seconds. Remove and set aside.
- Increase to medium high heat, add marinated beef in a single layer and spread apart. Brown beef on each side for 2-3 minutes per side.
- Reduce to medium heat, pour prepared sauce in a circular motion, and stir fry for another 30-60 seconds until sauce thickens.
- Toss back in garlic, scallion greens, and cooked onions from before. Stir fry for another 30-60 seconds. Remove off heat and enjoy with a bowl of plain rice and your favourite vegetables!
Valerie
Fantastic recipe, so delicious. Going to make with chicken next. Thank you!
Christie Lai
So happy to read this! Thank you so much for making it, Valerie!
Nana
Supper yummy. Excellent recipe. My husbands favorite! Thank you!
Christie Lai
Thank you so much for the positive feedback and for making my recipe! Glad you and your husband enjoyed it!
Tutu
This was So good, I used venison n no one knew😜 so flavorful!
Thank u
Christie Lai
Thanks so much for making my recipe and glad you enjoyed it with venison!
Tamara Mowes
Delicious. Easy to make. I’ll make again.
Christie Lai
Thank you so much for making my recipe and for the positive review! So glad you enjoyed it!
Christine van Aardt
Great, excellent...is all I can say! Do not overcook your veggies or beef.
Christie Lai
Thank you so much for making my recipe and for sharing your positive review! I couldn't agree more with your statement on overcooking.
Jd
Yes I did enjoy your bulgogi recipe it's so delicious
Gunnhildur
This is absolutely delicious.
I prepped everything and let the beef marinade for about 45 minutes. The flank steak was partially frozen when I mixed in the marinade and I wanted it fully thawed before frying it. I used a wok. The marinade and sauce are amazing.
I'll be making this stir fry again.
Highly recommend.
Christie Lai
Thank you so much for making my recipe! I'm very happy it worked out well for you and glad you'll be making it again. Have a great day!
El harrak
Ik heb zeker genoten van het pragtige recepet heerlijk danku en een dike prifisiat
Christie Lai
Thank you so much for sharing your kind words! Glad you enjoyed it, El!
Dorothy
Will Mirin, sweet cooking rice wine work as the rice wine vinegar? If so, would I skip added sugar?
Christie Lai
Yes that will work too and you can skip the sugar 🙂 Enjoy!
Jenica Distor
This was pretty good. I think next time I make this. I'll leave out the sugar.
Christie Lai
Thanks so much for making my recipe, Jenica! Glad you enjoyed it!
Christine
Amazing - I love an easy, healthy, delicious recipe and this ticks ALL the boxes. Officially part of our regular meal rotation now. 🙂
Christie Lai
I'm so happy to read this comment, Christine! Thanks so much for making my recipe and for the positive review 🙂
Katherine Dalton
Made this with ground pork and ramen noodles. The sauce is phenomenal! I love all of your recipes.
christieathome
Aww thank YOU so much Katherine! This means so much to me and your comment brought a smile to my face 🙂 I am so glad you enjoy all my recipes and I appreciate the support! Have a lovely day!
Dana
Can you do this with chicken? If so, what would you change to cook the chicken in?
christieathome
Yes, this works for chicken breast or thighs. For chicken, I would just recommend frying the chicken until it's cooked and no longer pink and avoid browning it. You can also skip the tip on freezing the chicken to slice it thinly. Aside from that, everything else can remain the same.
Sergio M
Absolutely delicious and as easy to make as she explains!!! 10 out of 10. It has been my fiest recipe here but it won’t be the last!! I will try many more. Thanks Christie!
christieathome
Thanks so much for making my recipe, Sergio! So glad you enjoyed this one as your first and I hope my other recipes also hit the spot as well 🙂 Have a great day!
Yara
This recipe is amazing!!!!!
christieathome
Thank you so much Yara, I appreciate your kind review!! So glad you enjoyed my recipe 🙂