Crispy Char Siu Beef

Enjoy homemade Crispy Char Siu Beef in less than 30 minutes! Crispy steak slices are coated in a sauce bursting with ginger, garlic, and rich Char Siu flavour. This popular Chinese takeout beef recipe features a sticky, sweet-savoury sauce perfect for your fakeaway weeknight dinner.

Product: Smokey Joe's Char Siu Rub

Serves 4

Effort: Easy/Moderate

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 20 mins

Gluten free

Ingredients

• 450g beef steak (Rump, sirloin, flank, chuck)
• ¼ cup cornflour
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp pepper
• 1 red capsicum, sliced
• 1 onion, chopped into wedges
• Spring onions for serving
• Cornflour slurry – 1 tsp cornflour + 1 tsp water mixed together.

Sauce

• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1 tbsp char siu seasoning 
• ½ cup water
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 2 tsp ginger
• 2 garlic cloves

Instructions

1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine sesame oil, soy sauce, water, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, and Char Siu Seasoning. Simmer for 5-7 minutes until reduced by ¼. Remove from heat and set aside.
2. In a medium-sized bowl, coat beef slices with salt, pepper, and cornstarch.
3. In a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat, heat peanut oil. Cook steak pieces in batches for 2 minutes on each side until crispy. Transfer cooked batches to a plate lined with paper towels.
4. Discard excess oil from the pan. Stir-fry onion and capsicum slices for 4-5 minutes until softened.
5. Add Char Siu Sauce to the pan and cornflour slurry. Cook for 3-4 minutes until thickened.
6. Add beef to the pan and stir for 1-2 minutes to coat evenly and reheat. Top with sliced spring onion before serving.
7. Serve immediately with rice and extra veggies on the side.

Hints & Tips

• Air Fryer Option: Preheat the air fryer to 200°C. Add the steak to a lined air fryer basket/tray in one layer and spritz generously with oil. Air fry for 8-10 minutes, shaking the basket every couple of minutes. Spritz with more oil halfway through cooking. You might need to do it in 2 batches depending on the size of the air fryer.
• Slicing the Beef: Cutting meat against the grain is very important to yield nice, tender pieces in your stir-fry dishes. The “grain” refers to the long strands of muscle running through the beef parallel to each other. Cutting against the grain means cutting across those strands, so the long strands of muscle can be made shorter to create small, tender pieces. This technique ensures a more enjoyable eating experience.
• Easy Swaps: Chicken or pork could be easy swaps for this dish if you prefer or if you have those on hand.
• Serving Suggestion: Serve this dish over fluffy white rice with broccolini on the side for a complete meal. Alternatively, you could stuff this crispy beef into hot, crunchy bread rolls to create a Bahn Mi-style dinner, adding a fusion twist to your mealtime.
• Storage: Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days. While this dish is suitable for freezing, keep in mind that you may lose some of the crispy texture once it's defrosted.