I love stir fry, and this Thai Style Beef Stir Fry is a very regular meal in our rotation. Whenever my six-year old hears that it’s on the week’s menu, she often replies with an emphatic “YES!”
I like to say that it’s a Thai “style” stir fry, because it’s not actually a Thai dish. It has the flavor profile of a dish that you’d normally associate with Thai food – savory, salty, tart, sweet, and acidic, but it’s not a truly authentic Thai dish. It is made with quintessential Thai ingredients like shallots, fish sauce,lime, and Sriracha sauce. But it has it’s fare share of Americanized substitutions like brown sugar instead of palm sugar. So while it tastes like something that is Thai influenced, the ingredients are all familiar and easily found at your local market.
I love cooking stir fries for a few reasons. One, they’re quick if (and it’s a big if) you prepare the ingredients before hand. I will often cut all the vegetables and meat and measure out the sauce ingredients the night before. That way, I can cook the meal in a matter of minutes.
Another reason I love stir fry is that you can add whatever vegetables you like (or have on hand). All you need to remember is to chop them to a similar size (so they cook evenly) and to add them to your pan or wok from ones with the longest cooking time (like broccoli) to ones with the shortest cooking time (like snow peas). In my Thai Style Beef Stir Fry, I add a ton of red bell peppers. My girls love them, and they’re an excellent source of Vitamin C. Plus, they look beautiful.
As for the meat, again there’s a great deal of flexibility. You can leave it out all together, but we love adding thinly sliced blade steak or flank steak. While I love vegetables and could do without any meat, my husband prefers meat – especially lamb and beef. So this dish is really perfect for the both of us. I go heavy on the vegetables and sauce, while my husband really enjoys the beef 🙂
The one drawback of a stir fry is that it’s really tough to reheat it without losing the crisp texture of the vegetables and the tenderness of the seared beef. My goal whenever I cook is to have at least 2 dinners worth of food because honestly, there are days when I just don’t have time to cook. I have an easy solution to this little conundrum when I make stir fry. Here’s what I do: I prep two days worth of Thai Style Beef Stir Fry (everything from cutting the meat and vegetables to making the marinade, and making the dry spice mixture). I divide the prepared ingredients .On night one I use up those ingredients. Then on night two, I have zero prep. All I have to do is heat up the pan and cook. Dinner is on the table in less than 15 minutes, and nobody is forced to eat soggy vegetables and rubbery meat!
Do you have any tips for stir frying? Let me know in the comment below because I love learning new tricks!
- For the Beef and Marinade:
- 3/4 tsp ground coriander
- 1/8 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp light brown sugar
- 1 tbs fish sauce
- 1 lbs blade or flank steak cut into thin strips
- For the Stir Fry:
- 2 tbs fish sauce
- 2 tbs rice vinegar
- 2 tbs water
- 1 tbs light brown sugar
- 11/2 tsp Sriracha sauce (or to taste)
- 3 medium garlic cloves, minced
- 3 tbs vegetable oil
- 3 medium shallots chopped fine
- 3 large bell peppers, sliced
- lime wedges for serving
- For the Marinade: Combined all of the marinade ingredients in a medium bowl. Mix.
- Add the beef, and allow it to marinate for 15 minutes.
- For the Stir Fry: Heat a large, heavy bottomed, wide pan over medium heat.
- While the pan heats, mix the fish sauce, rice vinegar, water, brown sugar, and hot sauce. Stir until the brown sugar is dissolved.
- In a small bowl, mix the garlic with 1 tbs of oil. Set aside.
- Add 2 tsp of oil to the hot pan. It will smoke.
- Then add 1/2 of the beef to the pan. Cook, without stirring, for about 2 minutes so that the beef can sear. Stir, then cook for about 1 minute longer until the edges of the beef are no longer pink.
- Remove the cooked beef from the pan.
- Add additional 2 tsp of oil and the second half of the marinated beef. Cook in the same manner as the last batch of beef.
- Remove the second batch of beef from the pan.
- Add the remaining 2 tsp of oil to the pan along with the shallots. Stir and cook until soft – about 2 minutes.
- Add the vegetables, and stir fry for about a minute. Then push the vegetables to the sides of the pan and add the garlic and oil mixture to the center of the pan. Smash the garlic mixture with the back of a spoon until fragrant (about 30 seconds). Then stir the garlic into the shallot mixture.
- Add the sauce to the pan and cook until the sauce reduces and thickens – about one minute.
- Add the beef and the accumulated juices back into the pan. Toss well to combine.
- Serve immediately with lime wedges.
This post is linked to these parties.
Oh hey, future dinner, so nice to see you! Stir-frys are my jam during the week when time is short, and I’m always looking for fun new recipes.
Thanks so much Elizabeth! I know – stir-frys are a lifesaver on busy days 🙂
This looks very pretty and delicious. I’m saving the recipe to try over the weekend. Thank you for sharing.
#InspireMeMondays
Thanks Mariet. I hope you give it a try. It’s so easy and delicious!
Thai is probably one of our favorite foods and I’m always looking for new recipes. Thanks! I found your recipe over at the Two Cup Tuesday link party. I host Tickle My Tastebuds Tuesday and would love it if you would come over and share this recipe. I’m sure our party goers would love it! Here is the link http://bit.ly/1DCiOtl.
Have a wonderful day!
Hello Aida! Loving your flavour combinations with actually minimal ingredients for a Thai inspired dish. I know that people always panic as the ingredient list of many of my Asian dishes are a mile long so can’t wait to give your recipe a try. Even more awesome, I have all the ingredients in my kitchen, already. Awesome!!! Take care, BAM
Hi Bobbi,
Thanks so much! It’s amazing how these common ingredients are put together in this dish to create a well-balanced and authentic-tasting Thai dish. Even though I’ve been going to Asian grocery stores since I was a child, I even feel intimidated with unfamiliar ingredients, so this recipe is an excellent option with regular grocery store ingredients. I hope you give the recipe a try!
Best,
Aida
I am crazy about Thai flavors, and this stir fry sounds fantastic! Well done, Aida!
Thanks, Alli! My husband actually doesn’t like Thai food which is seriously inconvenient for me since I love it, but he does love this dish. It’s definitely a keeper 🙂
That is a great idea to do the prep for two dinners, but only cook one of them. We love stir fry here as well. Thanks for sharing on Weekend Bites!
My pleasure Adelina! Prepping for two dinners at one time is key. It’s such a time saver.
I’m a sucker for stir fry – pass me the sriracha!
Me too, Melanie! And I’m also addicted to Sriracha – I put it on almost every savory food 🙂
Stir frys are the best! I actually just made something really similar to this the other week but with ground beef. Love how flexible they are 🙂
I totally agree Gina! You can pretty much put whatever protein and veggies you have on hand. Stir frys are so perfect for last minute meals!
Oh, wow! Does this ever look GOOD! I am going to try this recipe for sure. Please come share your blog posts over at the Home Matters Linky Party! We’d love to have you for a visit. The Door is OPEN. http://lifewithlorelai.com/2015/03/05/home-matters-linky-party-27/ 🙂
~Lorelai
Life With Lorelai
Thanks so much Lorelai! It is such a quick and delicious meal. It’s definitely a go to recipe at our house!