Korean Beef Stir Fry
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Served over lo mein noodles or rice, Korean Beef Stir Fry is a blend of tender slices of beef and crunchy, colorful veggies cooked together with a sweet sauce made with soy sauce, garlic, and freshly grated ginger.
It’s the perfect recipe for a quick middle-of-the-week dinner and incredibly convenient for these busy holiday months.
If you’re a fan of my blogs, you’ve already noticed my admiration for a good stir fry. Not only are they comforting, packed with veggies, and seasoned with delicious ingredients, but they are also so quick and easy to make!
That’s why this Korean beef stir fry recipe should be regular on your meal rotation. In just 25 minutes, you’ll have a steaming hot dinner on the table, equipped with vitamins and protein!
Are you a big fan of Asian-inspired stir fries? Check out this Easy Orange Chicken Stir Fry, my spicy Sriracha Chicken Stir Fry with Brussels Sprouts, or my Pepper Steak Stir-Fry.
Key ingredients & substitutions for for Easy Beef Stir Fry
- Steak | Use a lean NY strip or sirloin steak for this delicious stir fry recipe. If necessary, use flank steak or a cheaper cut of beef.
- Garlic, onions, and ginger | These three flavor-packed ingredients are the primary sources for the balanced taste of the stir fry. You’ll need a few garlic cloves, green onions, and fresh ginger.
- Red bell pepper and red pepper flakes | Add some spice to the recipe by including thinly sliced red bell peppers and hot red pepper flakes. If you’re not a fan of spice, omit the red pepper flakes.
- Water | You’ll use some water to give the sauce a fluid consistency. If you want a richer sauce, try using beef broth instead.
- Soy sauce | You can’t have a stir fry without classic soy sauce! I like using the low-sodium option to keep this meal on the healthier side.
- Cornstarch | Cornstarch thickens the stir fry sauce as it cooks.
- Brown sugar | Brown sugar balances the savory notes of the sauce by adding a richly sweet taste.
- Mirin | Your local grocery store should have mirin stocked in the international section. It is a cooking wine that adds sweet and tangy flavor to stir fry and other traditional Asian dishes. If you can’t find this unique ingredient, swap it out for dry sherry or sweet marsala wine.
- Oil | Use canola oil to prep the skillet or wok when sautéing the meat and vegetables.
- Noodles or rice | Ideally, this recipe is served over Lo Mein noodles or rice. However, there are other creative ways to serve your stir fry steak. Continue reading to know more.
- Sesame seeds | Sesame seeds are the perfect garnish for this Korean-inspired dish.
How to make this Korean Stir Fry Recipe
If you were hesitant about making stir fries before, this easy recipe is sure to change your mind! See for yourself how simple a stir fry can be.
STEP 1 | Prep the veggies and steak
For stir fry recipes, always prep the ingredients before you begin cooking. Once you start cooking the ingredients, the process moves pretty quickly.
Do yourself a HUGE favor and start this recipe by thinly slicing the steak across the grain. Then, set it aside or in the refrigerator and move to chop up the veggies!
Often, authentic Korean stir fry incorporates a grated Asian pear to add sweetness. For this recipe, I use dark brown sugar and mirin, a subtly sweet rice cooking wine, instead.
STEP 2 | Mince the garlic and chop the green onions
Next, carefully mince the garlic clove and place it in a small prep bowl. Then, thinly slice the white part of the green onions and add them to the bowl of garlic.
Don’t toss out the green portions of the green onions! Instead, grab another small bowl and diagonally slice the long leaves into 1/2-inch pieces. Avoid adding this ingredient to the garlic and white green onions.
STEP 3 | Cut the red bell peppers
Add some spice to the recipe by cutting the red bell pepper into thin slices. You may know this task better as julienning. Then, place the small pieces in a separate prep bowl and set them aside for now.
STEP 4 | Drain the canned ingredients
The last part of the prep for this recipe is to drain the baby corn. And now that everything is ready to go, it’s time to get the sauce going!
tips
- While making the sauce and cooking the beef and veggies, have the noodles or rice cooking so it’s ready for when you serve this delicious meal.
- Cook thinly sliced beef quickly at high heat, and skip the marinating time without sacrificing tenderness or flavor with this short-cut Korean Beef Stir Fry recipe.
STEP 5 | Make the sauce
For the stir fry sauce, stir the water and cornstarch in a small bowl. Once it’s nice and smooth, mince the other two garlic cloves.
Next, add the garlic to the bowl, along with brown sugar, sesame oil, mirin, ginger, and spicy red pepper flakes. Whisk the tasty ingredients until they are well combined and set them aside for later.
STEP 6 | Cook the onions and garlic.
Take out your wok or a large cast iron skillet. Then, add the canola oil and warm it on high heat until the oil begins to shimmer.
Pour the bowl of garlic and onion into the skillet or wok. If the temperature is correct, the ingredients will immediately sizzle from the heat.
Cook until the garlic and onions are fragrant. This may only take about 30 seconds, as you occasionally stir the mixture.
STEP 7 | Fry the beef.
Locate the beef slices you prepared earlier and add them to the skillet or wok. Cook the steak until it is no longer pink in the middle. This may take about 4 to 5 minutes.
STEP 8 | Add the remaining ingredients.
Now, it’s time to toss in the rest of the stir fry ingredients! Add the red bell pepper and cook for another couple of minutes, stirring constantly.
Lastly, add the drained baby corn and the sauce mixture. Cook your Korean stir fry while frequently stirring until the sauce has thickened.
STEP 9 | Garnish and serve over rice or noodles.
When the recipe is finished, and the sauce is nice and thick, remove it from the heat and spoon it over some freshly boiled Lo Mein noodles or rice. Top it off with the remaining green onions and sesame seeds as a stunning garnish.
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Frequently asked questions
If you aren’t familiar with this ingredient, think about cooking wine—while you could use regular wine for a recipe, cooking wine has a lower alcohol content and more sugar, making it more suitable for cooking rather than sipping. Mirin is the cooking wine version of sake, a rice wine. It adds flavor to the stir fry and gives it that signature Korean taste.
Most grocery stores will sell at least one brand of mirin in the international section. However, this is only sometimes the case. You may need to visit an Asian market or store to find this unique cooking wine.
If you want to change up the recipe and swap the beef for another protein, there are many options. Fry up some juicy chicken, savory pork, or tofu. Remember to slice the protein into small bite-size pieces or strips so they cook evenly and quickly.
Sure! Include some of your favorite vegetables, like cabbage, bok choy, celery, broccoli, snow peas, or bean sprouts. Honestly, you can load this recipe up with as many veggies as you’d like—the more, the merrier!
Toppings
Garnish the Korean steak stir fry with sliced green onions and sesame seeds if desired.
Serving suggestions
The traditional way to enjoy this tasty dish is to serve it over rice, noodles, or rice noodles, of course! However, it’s also the perfect flavorful meat to lay over a bed of greens or make into Asian tacos!
Here are some ideas on how to serve this stir fry:
- Keep it simple with jasmine or basmati rice, or try my fried rice recipe!
- Replace the chicken in this refreshing Asian Sesame Salad with the stir fried beef.
- Serve on rice or noodles along with my irresistible Asian Slaw with Egg Roll Crackers recipe.
- Top it off with homemade Yum Yum Sauce!
Behind the recipe: Recipe Name
Some people shy away from doing stir fry at home because of all the slicing and dicing required, but with just a little planning, today’s recipe comes together quickly and almost effortlessly!
French chefs religiously practice mise-en-place—measuring, peeling, dicing, slicing, or grating ingredients—before they start the cooking process.
Doing this ensures that everything is ready to be tossed in at the appropriate step in the recipe preparation.
Think about all the kitchen stress you could avoid by making this a regular practice!
Korean Beef Stir Fry
Ingredients
- 1 lb. lean NY strip or sirloin steak
- 3 cloves garlic divided
- 3 green onions
- 1 medium red bell pepper
- 2 tablespoons water
- ¼ cup lower-sodium soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons corn starch
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons mirin
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger minced
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 ½ tablespoons canola oil
- 1 15 oz. can baby corn drained
- lo mein noodles or rice prepared per pkg. directions
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds for garnish
Instructions
- For stir fry recipes, always prep the ingredients before you begin cooking. First, thinly slice steak across the grain; set aside.
- Mince 1 clove garlic and place in a small prep bow. Thinly slice the white potion of the green onions and add to the garlic.
- Diagonally slice the green portion of the onions into 1/2-inch pieces and place in another prep bowl.
- Slice red bell pepper into thin slices (julienned) and place in a prep bowl; set aside.
- Drain baby corn and bean sprouts.
- For the sauce, in a small bowl stir together 2 tablespoons water and 2 teaspoons corn starch until smooth. Mince the other 2 cloves of garlic and add to the bowl along with brown sugar, sesame oil, mirin, ginger, and red pepper flakes. Whisk until combined; set aside.
- Add the canola oil to a wok or large cast iron skillet and warm on high heat until just the oil just begins to shimmer. Add the bowl of garlic and onion—it should sizzle immediately—and cook and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Add the beef and cook until the meat is no longer pink, about 4 to 5 minutes.
- Next add the red bell pepper and cook another 1 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Last, add the drained baby corn and the sauce mixture. Cook and stir until thickened.
- Remove from heat and serve over lo mein noodles or rice and garnish with the remaining green onions and sesame seeds, if desired.
Notes
- While making the sauce and cooking the beef and veggies, have the noodles or rice cooking so it’s ready for when you serve this delicious meal.
Nutrition
Life Love and Good Food does not claim to be a registered dietician or nutritionist. Nutritional information shared on this site is only an estimate. We recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator if you need to verify any information.
About Sheila Thigpen
Recipe Developer, Food Photographer, Food Writer
Sheila Thigpen is the publisher of Life, Love, and Good Food — a Southern food blog — and the author of Easy Chicken Cookbook and The 5-Ingredient Fresh and Easy Cookbook. After 20+ years in the publishing industry, she retired in 2018 to focus on her own creative endeavors full time. She and her husband live near the beautiful Smoky Mountains and have a precious little granddaughter who has stolen their hearts. As an influencer, Sheila has collaborated with brands like Creamette, Kroger, HERSHEY’S, Hamilton Beach, Garafalo Pasta, OXO, Smithfield, Valley Fig Growers, and more.
OMG this was such a great switch for dinner! I usually make my stir fry with rice (when I actually make it) and I tried it with noodles this time and am totally hooked. Also, I added more sesame oil because I can’t get enough of the stuff and of course so extra Mirin because I love that tang! Thanks for introducing me to a new meal in the menu rotation. Mine was getting pretty lame and it’s a great way to start the new year off right. Now if I can find someone who likes to do dishes…
Jen, I’ve been looking for someone to do the dishes for the longest time, too! So glad you enjoyed the recipe — it’s definitely a fave around here especially since it is so quick and easy!