Chinese Style Satay Beef. Sweet, nutty, tender juicy beef marinated in an aromatic satay sauce with lemongrass, ginger, garlic, red chili, and peanuts. This homemade satay beef is made from scratch and ready in 30 minutes!
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What is Chinese-Style Satay Beef?
It’s slightly different from your Singapore beef satay recipe or Malaysian beef satay recipe where they usually come on skewers. Cantonese satay beef uses flank steak and is sliced into very thin pieces. Then marinated to make the beef ultra-tender and stir fried in a delicious nutty satay sauce.
This Chinese restaurant style satay beef is commonly served at many Chinese restaurants and Hong Kong style cafe's or 'cha-cha-tengs'. It's commonly served with steamed rice and veggies. At the HK style cafes, the beef is usually served with soup noodles or between two fluffy pieces of milk bread.
I still remember my first-time having Cantonese satay beef. The flavour was so incredible thanks to the nutty taste from the peanuts. Not to mention the unique refreshing flavour from the lemongrass. And the beef was so juicy and tender! Every bite was pure heaven in my mouth. So today, I am thrilled to share my satay beef recipe that encompasses everything I’ve described above! I am positive you will enjoy this homemade satay beef stir fry as much as I did. The best part, it's quick and easy to make!
Ingredients
Please scroll down to below recipe card for exact measurements.
Note: Most Asian grocers will carry these ingredients. You may find some at your select grocery store or online, like on Amazon.
- Flank Steak: or substitute with sirloin tip steak, tri-tip steak, hanger steak, top round steak
- Red bell pepper (optional)
- Yellow bell pepper (optional)
- Neutral oil: like avocado oil, sunflower oil, grapeseed oil, peanut oil, vegetable oil or canola oil. Avoid olive oil, coconut oil or any heavy scented oils.
Beef marinade
- Regular soy sauce: or substitute with low sodium soy sauce or light soy sauce. If you’re gluten-free, substitute with tamari sauce, coconut aminos or a gluten-free soy sauce of your choice.
- Baking Soda
- Cornstarch
- Garlic
- Neutral oil
Satay Sauce
- Peanut butter
- Ginger powder
- Lemongrass
- Sesame oil
- Brown sugar
- Shallot
- Regular soy sauce
- Garlic
- Red chili: for spice
How to make Chinese Satay Beef
- First thinly slice flank steak on an angle against the grain into ¼-inch thick pieces. Transfer beef to a large bowl. Tip: if you freeze the steak for 45-60 minutes exposed to the cold air, this will allow you to slice the steak very thinly.
- Then marinate beef slices with marinade ingredients as listed and mix well. Let this marinate for at least 15 minutes as you work on the other ingredients.
- In a blender or food processor, place satay sauce ingredients and blend until smooth. Set aside.
- Then heat vegetable oil in a large pan on medium heat, fry marinated beef. Fry until the edges are brown and the meat is 50-60% cooked, about 5 minutes.
- Optional: Toss in your chopped bell peppers here and fry for 2 minutes.
- When the beef is 75% cooked, pour in your satay sauce and mix. Cook for 1-2 minutes until beef is cooked through and not red. Finally serve and enjoy!
Expert Tips
- I recommend using flank steak or any of the above mentioned substitutes for the best cut.
- Source fresh lemongrass for the best flavour.
- Brown the beef on the edges for more flavor!
- Do not overcook the beef and add in the satay sauce when the beef is still a bit rare.
Other beef recipes you may like!
- Satay Beef Noodle Soup
- Satay Beef Sandwich
- Chinese Beef Noodle Stir Fry
- Mongolian Beef
- Black Pepper Beef
- Beef Onion Stir Fry
- Chinese Beef and Broccoli
📖 Recipe
Easy & Quick Chinese Style Satay Beef
Ingredients
- 1 lb flank steak
- 1 red bell pepper diced, optional
- 1 yellow bell pepper diced, optional
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil or any neutral oil
Beef marinade:
- 1 tablespoon regular soy sauce
- 1 ½ tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil or any neutral oil
Satay Sauce:
- 3 tablespoon peanut butter smooth kind
- 3 tablespoon regular soy sauce
- 3 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 tablespoon lemongrass finely minced
- 1 shallot minced
- 1 clove garlic minced
- ½ teaspoon ginger powder
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon red chili pepper finely minced
Instructions
- First thinly slice flank steak on an angle against the grain into ¼-inch thick pieces. Transfer beef to a large bowl. Tip: if you freeze the steak for 45-60 minutes exposed to the cold air, this will allow you to slice the steak very thinly.
- Then marinate beef slices with marinade ingredients as listed and mix well. Let this marinate for at least 15 minutes as you work on the other ingredients.
- In a blender or food processor, place satay sauce ingredients and blend until smooth. Set aside.
- Then heat vegetable oil in a large pan on medium heat, fry marinated beef. Fry until the edges are brown and the meat is 50-60% cooked, about 5 minutes.
- Optional: Toss in your chopped bell peppers here and fry for 2 minutes.
- When the beef is 75% cooked, pour in your satay sauce and mix. Cook for 1-2 minutes until beef
Rita Seaman
So easy to make yummy
Christie Lai
Thank you so much for making my recipe, Rita! I am so happy you enjoyed my satay beef recipe 🙂 Have a lovely day!
Heidi | The Frugal Girls
That was a really smart tip to help avoid overcooking the beef and I am absolutely loving your homemade satay sauce. YUM!