Crispy Chilli Beef – Delicious & Easy
Succulent strips of beef tossed in Chinese five-spice, fried until crisp on the outside yet tender inside, and coated in a sticky, sweet-spicy sauce. This easy crispy chilli beef is full of flavour and makes a brilliant homemade alternative to a takeaway.
Make it with rice or noodles for a quick midweek supper that’s far better than ordering in.
Healthier Takeaway — Crispy Chilli Beef
Cooking this at home lets you control every ingredient, the cooking times and temperatures, so it can be healthier than the takeaway version. It’s packed with Chinese five-spice, ginger and garlic for authentic flavour without the heavy greasiness you sometimes get from takeaways.
Easy Crispy Chilli Beef Recipe
This is a great change from the usual dinners and fast to make once you’ve prepped the ingredients. I suggest using sirloin or rump, but any beef you prefer will work.
Ingredients
- 200 g sirloin or rump steak
- 3 tablespoons cornflour
- 2 teaspoons Chinese five-spice
- 80 ml sunflower oil (for frying)
- Salt and black pepper
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- Thumb-size piece of ginger, grated
- 4 mushrooms, thinly sliced
- 1 yellow pepper, seeds removed
- 1/2 red pepper, seeds removed
- 6 spring onions, chopped (save green ends for garnish)
- 1/2 red chilli, finely chopped
- 4 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce
- 1 tablespoon tomato ketchup
- Cooked egg noodles or rice, to serve
How to Make Crispy Chilli Beef — Step by Step
Prep all ingredients before you start cooking to make the process quick and smooth. Cook the noodles or rice while you’re preparing the stir-fry.
Step 1 – Cut and coat the beef
Slice the steak into very thin strips (about 1/2 cm thick). In a bowl, combine the cornflour, Chinese five-spice, salt and pepper. Toss the beef strips into the mix until evenly coated.
Step 2 – Fry the beef
Heat about 100 ml sunflower oil in a large frying pan until hot. Fry the coated beef in batches until golden and crisp, about 4–5 minutes. The coating may look odd at first but will crisp up nicely. Remove the beef and drain on kitchen paper, set aside.
Step 3 – Cook the vegetables
Discard most of the frying oil, leaving about 1 teaspoon in the pan. Add the crushed garlic, grated ginger and chopped chilli and stir-fry for about 2 minutes. Add the sliced mushrooms, peppers and most of the spring onions (reserve some green ends for garnish). Stir-fry until the vegetables are just softened, about 2 minutes.
Step 4 – Make the sauce
In a small bowl, whisk together the rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, sweet chilli sauce, tomato ketchup and about 1 tablespoon of water.
Step 5 – Combine and glaze
Pour the sauce into the pan with the vegetables and bring to a boil. Cook for 1–2 minutes until the sauce thickens and becomes glossy and sticky.
Step 6 – Return the beef
Add the crispy beef back to the pan and toss with the sauce and vegetables for about a minute to heat through and coat the strips. Finish with the reserved green spring onion tops.
Serving Suggestions
Serve the crispy chilli beef over steamed rice or tossed with cooked egg noodles. It also pairs well with a side of sesame broccoli or in a wrap for a different twist. Garnish with chopped spring onion for freshness.
Can I Freeze Crispy Chilli Beef?
Fresh is best for maintaining the crisp texture of the beef. Freezing is possible, but the coating will lose some crunch when reheated. If you need to freeze, flash-freeze the fried beef on a tray first, then store in an airtight container and reheat in a hot oven to help regain some crispness.
Recipe Card
Easy Crispy Chilli Beef
Ingredients
- 200 g sirloin or rump steak
- 3 tablespoons cornflour
- 2 teaspoons Chinese five-spice
- 80 ml sunflower oil
- Salt & black pepper
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- Thumb-size piece ginger, grated
- 4 mushrooms, thinly sliced
- 1 yellow pepper, seeds removed
- 1/2 red pepper, seeds removed
- 6 spring onions, chopped (green ends for garnish)
- 1/2 red chilli, finely chopped
- 4 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce
- 1 tablespoon tomato ketchup
- Cooked egg noodles or rice, to serve
Instructions
- Slice the steak into very thin strips, about 1/2 cm thick.
- Mix cornflour, Chinese five-spice, salt and pepper in a bowl. Coat the beef strips in the mixture.
- Heat 100 ml oil in a frying pan. Fry the beef until golden and crisp, about 4–5 minutes. Drain on kitchen paper and set aside.
- Cook your noodles or rice while frying the beef.
- Discard most oil, leaving ~1 tsp in the pan. Fry garlic, ginger and chilli for 2 minutes. Add spring onions, peppers and mushrooms and stir-fry until just soft, about 2 minutes.
- Mix rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, sweet chilli sauce, ketchup and 1 tablespoon water. Pour into the pan and heat for 1–2 minutes until bubbling and thickened.
- Add the fried beef back to the pan and toss for 1 minute to coat and heat through. Serve over rice or noodles and garnish with spring onion.
Notes
All nutritional information is approximate and intended as a guide.
Other Ideas
If you enjoy a bit of spice you might also like lamb koftas, beef with udon noodles, or Chinese-style BBQ pork. For another family favourite try easy beef enchiladas.
Have a go and let me know how it turns out. Thanks Cx