There isn’t anything better than some takeout food on a cozy snow day like today here in NYC. However, the only thing better than takeout from your favorite Asian restaurant, is homemade takeout. Something about just makes you feel accomplished. It takes the mystery out of takeout food perhaps because you’re trying something new. At least, that’s why I love making takeout food at home. I also love recreating my favorite takeout dishes, simply because Asian food is my second favorite type of food after Hispanic food.
Spicy Soy Ginger Beef is my take on a takeout classic. It combines elements of dishes you know and love like Mongolian Beef, Ginger Beef, and more. I love making this dish because easy, quick, and an instant crowd pleaser. I also love making this dish because it’s very easy to personalize to your own tastes. You could even make this dish a slow cooker and it come out just as tasty– just not as crispy. My sister asks for this dish constantly!
Now, if you’re going to make this dish, I urge you to use light sodium soy sauce. Why? Well,  you may not think that it will make a difference, but it seriously does. When you use regular soy sauce, you risk this dish coming out on the saltier side which isn’t all that great. Now let’s say that you don’t have any lite soy sauce on hand, simply cut back on the amount of soy sauce. I’m not the biggest fan of sweet sauces, but a little bit of brown sugar will balance out the soy sauce. As with all the recipes that I share on my site and YouTube channel, you can always change it up to your tastes. So if you don’t like spicy sauce, then it cut it out. If you like a sweeter sauce, then dial up the sugar! In the end, you will still have an amazing and tasty dish. I’m simply giving you the foundation to it, which I hope that you’ll enjoy.
If you’d like a step-by-step tutorial on this dish then just watch: How to Make Spicy Soy Ginger Beef
Enjoy y buen provecho! Feel free to watch my step by step video for this dish right here: How to Make Spicy Soy Ginger Beef
Ingredients
- 2 lbs thinly sliced flank steak
- ½-¾ cup lite sodium soy sauce
- 2 tbs cup cornstarch
- â…“ cup Flour
- 4-6 tbs brown sugar
- 1 tbs sesame oil
- 2-3 tbs olive oil
- 1½ cup water
- ÂĽ cup shredded carrots
- 3 scallions chopped
- 3-4 minced garlic cloves
- 2 tsp grated fresh ginger or 2 tsp powdered ginger
- 2 tsp red pepper flakes
- Cilantro to taste
Instructions
- Start off by coating your beef with flour making sure that all of the pieces are covered. The flour is going to make sure that our beef is crispy and brown when we fry it
- Next warm up some canola oil or any oil that you like to use for frying and slowly add your beef once the oil has heated up. I like to check that my oil is hot enough by dipping in a small piece of beef first and then adding the rest. Beef has a lot of moisture and if we add it too quickly, the oil is sure to pop and burn us. Ouch!
- Once you add the beef, break apart any thin pieces that are stuck together. This happens a lot especially if you buy your beef pre-cut
- Let the beef fry until is a light-medium color. Then remove and drain the excess oil onto a paper towel
- Continue to fry the beef until it’s all done. Be sure not to overcrowd the pot when frying
- Once all of the beef is fried, add some olive oil in a separate pan
- Then add the rest of the ingredients-- there’s no need to wait for the oil to heat up. You’re going to add the soy sauce, sugar, ginger, garlic, sesame oil, and red pepper flakes
- Give everything a good mix and let it come to a simmer
- On the side, combine together the water and cornstarch and mix. Hint: if you use warm water, the cornstarch will dissolve quicker
- Now add the water and cornstarch to the sauce and let that simmer away until it thickens
- Once the sauce thickens, add the crispy beef strips and give that a good mix. We want to make sure that all of the beef pieces are coated in that delicious sauce!
- At the very end, add the shredded carrots, scallions, and fresh cilantro
- Give that one last stir and serve warm over white rice or steamed veggies
