A Beef Stir Fry to die for! Tender strips of beef with a sticky honey black pepper stir fry sauce, this is one of my favourite dishes at my local Chinese restaurant. This may well be the fastest stir fry recipe you make all year – 1 minute to cook the beef, 1 minute to make the sauce. And you’re DONE!
Beef Stir Fry with Honey Pepper Sauce
Chinese Beef with Honey Black Pepper Sauce is one of my favourite dishes that I order at Chinese restaurants. Never take out. It has to be at a restaurant because I love the theatrics of how it’s served – sizzling in a cast iron dish.
I don’t recreate the sizzle at home – I wish I could! If you have a cast iron dish or a small skillet so you can take it straight from the stove to the table, then you’ll get the sizzle. And I’m jealous.
But I have managed to recreate the glorious sauce for this stir fry! Sweet, salty and with a subtle peppery heat, this really does taste like what you get at restaurants. Look at it! Who could resist that??
What you need
I promised you simple, and I exaggerate not! Here’s all you need:
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Beef – rule of thumb for stir fries: if you’d serve it as steak, it’s ideal for stir fries! Use a decent-to-good tenderloin, flank, New York strip / Porterhouse / Sirloin (same thing!), boneless ribeye/scotch fillet. It doesn’t need to be a high end dry aged steak! To use a budget slow cooking cut of beef, tenderise it the Chinese way before using (“velveting beef”);
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Honey and black pepper – the two dominant flavours in the sauce!
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Oyster sauce – loaded with complex flavours, a secret weapon in Chinese/Asian cooking. Sub with Hoisin;
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Chinese wine aka Shoaxing wine – the secret ingredient in 99% of Chinese cooking. Read more about it here, sub with Mirin, dry sherry or cooking sake. For a non alcoholic sub, use chicken broth/stock (see recipe notes);
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Soy sauce – everyday, ordinary all purpose soy sauce. Or light soy. Don’t use dark soy – too strong!
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Garlic and onion – because not much food happens in this kitchen without these two!
How to make it
As with all stir fries, once you start cooking it moves super fast so be sure to have everything ready to toss into the wok before you start cooking!
In this recipe, we cook the beef first, then take it out – this is to control the cook time of the beef. Then we simmer the sauce in the pan until it becomes syrupy, then toss the beef back in.
Intense flavoured stir fry sauce!
My stir fry recipes tend to err on the side of generous amounts of sauce, because a stir fry isn’t a stir fry if you don’t get to eat sauce soaked rice. Nobody wants to be left with a bowl of plain rice after eating the stir fry!!
However, this is particular Beef Stir Fry is one of the exceptions. The flavour of this honey pepper stir fry sauce is quite intense, being a concentrated syrupy sauce as opposed to being thickened with cornflour/cornstarch like they usually are.
So you don’t want nor need loads of sauce. But there’s enough to carry plenty of flavour through the rice!
And another difference to most of my stir fry recipes – this Beef Stir Fry is light on the veg, whereas most stir fries are a kaleidoscope of colour of a small amount of protein with lots of veggies!
So serve this with a fresh side – like a crunchy Asian Slaw, this Chinese Lettuce with Creamy Sesame Dressing or a leafy Asian Side Salad with Sesame Dressing.
You could also sneak some veggies into the stir fry – some julienned carrots and similar shaped vegetables would be ideal.
Enjoy! – Nagi x
PS For a healthy low carb option try Cauliflower Rice – 77% fewer calories and 87% less carbs than rice.
Watch how to make it
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Beef Stir Fry with Honey and Black Pepper Sauce
Ingredients
Sauce
- 2 1/2 tbsp soy sauce (Note 1)
- 3 tbsp honey
- 1 1/2 tbsp Oyster sauce (sub Hoisin)
- 1 1/2 tbsp Chinese cooking wine , Mirin or dry sherry (Note 2)
- 2 tbsp water
- 1 tsp coarsely crushed black pepper (or 1/2 tsp normal ground black pepper)
Stir Fry
- 2 tbsp peanut oil (or vegetable or canola oil)
- 1 garlic clove , finely minced
- 1/2 onion , peeled and sliced
- 500g/1 lb thinly sliced tenderloin, flank, sirloin/Porterhouse/strip, or any other cut of steak suitable for stir frying (Notes 3)
Instructions
- Mix the Sauce ingredients in a bowl.
- Heat the oil in a wok or large heavy based skillet over high heat until it is smoking.
- Add the onion and garlic and cook for 1 minute or until the onion becomes translucent. Keep it moving so the garlic doesn't burn.
- Add the beef and stir fry for 1 minute until just cooked to your liking, then remove into bowl.
- Turn the heat down to medium high, pour in Sauce - it will start simmering very quickly! Let it cook for 1 minute or so until it becomes syrupy - the bubbles will be larger and caramel colour.
- Add the beef and onion back into the wok, along with any juices pooled on the plate. Toss in the sauce until just warmed through - 1 minute at most. Don't overcook the beef - that would be tragic!
- Serve immediately with rice - or for a low carb, low cal option, try Cauliflower Rice!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Originally published July 2015. Updated November 2019 with new photos, new video and the most important thing – Life of Dozer section added!!!
Life of Dozer
It’s Melbourne Cup tomorrow, the race that stops the nation! 🐎🐎🐎 We’re heading out to a lunch and Dozer’s coming. So here he is being fitted for his Race Day outfit! 😂 Turns out his hat is a little small…. need to find a bigger one!
KnyttWytch says
Hmm just tried this with Quorn Steak Strips and a veggie “Oyster” sauce – and very nice it is too! Thank you 😀
Nagi | RecipeTin says
So glad you enjoyed it!! 🙂
richard says
Hello,
I’m gonna try this recipe this week, I found some rice wine on Tesco website, is this the Chinese cooking wine that I need? Really looking forward to this as it’s my favourite Chinese dish. Thanks in advance, i’m gonna check out your other recipes!
Nagi | RecipeTin says
That’s it Richard! I hope you love it!!
richard says
Hi Nagi,
I made this recipe last week for me and the misses and it was truly delicious! That’s the first time I’ve made anything by following a recipe but definitely won’t be the last! Chicken wings next I think. Thanks and have a good Christmas.
Nagi | RecipeTin says
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! And I really appreciate that you took the time to come back and let me know! 🙂 Merry Christmas to you too!
Dave Gillespie says
Hi There,
Made this and served it with your Singapore noodles…..went down an absolute storm !
My 17 year old son has aked can I make this weekly !
Thanks for this great collection….I will be trying more
Cheers,
Dave
Nagi | RecipeTin says
YAY! SO GLAD!! And what a combo – this AND noodles?? You rock!
Fiona says
Love your recipes Nagi, I have made several of them now and they have all been delicious, so far this is my favourite, the one pot shwarma a close 2nd
Nagi | RecipeTin says
Oooh, thank you Fiona! This is a big personal favourite for me too 🙂 It reminds me of my childhood – mum would never let me have honey prawns because they were too sweet but we were allowed to have this!! N x
Chinablue says
Wow! it looks absolutely delicious..I’ll make this ASAP..thanks for the recipe..
Nagi | RecipeTin says
So glad you like the look of it! Hope you love the taste of it too!!
Rajitha says
So delicious looking food! Will be trying them soon!
Nagi | RecipeTin says
Thank you Rajitha! 🙂
the lady says
Hi! I have dark soy sauce in my fridge, how much of that can I use for your recipe? and what can I substitute for oyster sauce?
Nagi | RecipeTin says
Hi there! I would use 2 tbsp of dark soy (because the flavour is stronger than ordinary) but I’m afraid there is no good substitute for the oyster sauce in this. Hoisin has a close texture in terms of thickness but the flavour is quite different. Hope you can hunt oyster sauce down, it’s sold in all supermarkets nowadays! 🙂
thelady says
Thanks for getting back to me so quick. I live in South Africa so will hunt down for markets that sell oyster sauce
Kevin Roll says
Hi Nagi,
Beef with Honey and Black Pepper Sauce
This has now replaced your Sticky Chicken in my sons required eating when he comes round with his mates for dinner.
I look forward to getting a new recipe every week in my e-mail, they are always so simple to make and always so full of flavour.
Thanks
Nagi | RecipeTin says
Ba ha ha!! I burst out into laughter! You should keep a menu on your fridge for your son to choose from!
I’m so glad you enjoy my recipes. Thank you very much for reading! N x
Sarah Kern says
I had a long hard day at work and wasn’t in the mood for cooking. While thinking about where to go out to eat, I remembered this recipe (I had made it earlier in the week – so amazing!). I was going to buy some more beef when my husband reminded me that we had chicken in the refrigerator. What a great way to use it up! We both made this recipe together, substituting chicken for beef and cutting and tenderizing it just like the beef. WOW!!! This was so good! The beef was still my favorite, but the chicken turned out so moist and the sauce flavor can’t be beat. Nagi, your recipe is so good that not only did we want it more than eating out, my husband was also super excited about helping. Thanks!!
P.S. Your blog is now my favorite recipe blog – I’ve made 3 of your recipes (two twice) within the past week or so.
Kathryn says
Which three recipes? I am making the honey beef now…smells divine in here!
Nagi | RecipeTin says
SARAH!! Thank you SO MUCH for your lovely note! I’m so glad you enjoyed this! And yes, I have to agree, for some reason this sauce goes so well with beef 🙂 Maybe because the sauce is quite a strong flavour it works better with a stronger flavoured meat. Very chuffed to know you’ve made my recipes 3 times in one week!! <3
Gloria | Food Oh Glorious Food says
Oh. Em. GEEEEEEEEEEEE! This was SENSATIONAL! Made it for dinner last night and I’ve never eaten anything THIS nice even in a good Chinese restaurant. The sauce was a perfect blend of sweet and pepper-spicy, and just so so so so so so so good.
J Daddy is looking forward to this one going into our regular rotation – and he wants it on HIGH rotation! Next time I host a Chinese feast at my house with friends, I will DEFINITELY serve this dish, along with the Singapore Noodles. Oh, my word, this was so amazing! Thanks for yet another winner, Ms N! x
Nagi | RecipeTin says
Hurrah! Gloria and J Daddy stamp of approval!!
I want to share more Chinese restaurant favorites! What are your favourite things to order at Chinese restaurants? (Other than spring rolls – I rarely deep fry! Too scared!) 😉
Gloria | Food Oh Glorious Food says
I’ll have to consult with J Daddy to narrow down a list. We eat EVERYTHING (except for onion and coriander, and no offal for J Daddy even though I LOVE it). J Daddy is partial to sweet & sour pork – the brighter pink the sauce, the better!
I don’t deep fry either – if I see a recipe that involves frying of any sort – shallow or deep – I try to find a way to cook the dish using the oven. At a push, I will concede to shallow frying. I’m scared of deep frying too – I just know I’ll be that lady on the TV ad from the 80s and be screaming “Oh my goodness, the chips!” as my kitchen springs into flames.
Mel says
Nagi, this is my husband’s idea of heaven! I will pin it right now so I can make it for him (OK, us: you make it look so nice!). x
Nagi | RecipeTin says
Why don’t you guys jump on a plane and come here and I’ll make it for you! 🙂
Sarah Kern says
Wow. This was AMAZING! Just made it tonight for the first time. Followed all of your instructions, down to the velveting and getting a very good cut of meat. The results were restaurant quality. You should have seen my husband’s face when he ate – he looked like he was about ready to cry, it was so good. Thank you!!!
Nagi | RecipeTin says
I’m SO GLAD!! Your description about your husband’s face just cracks me up…. 🙂 All credit to the cook! Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know you enjoyed this!!
Vanessa Baggio says
Hey there Nagi
We have just polished off a delicious meal of your
CHINESE BEEF WITH HONEY AND BLACK PEPPER SAUCE !- it was so tasty !
I doubled the recipe and sauce and enjoyed as an after footy meal tonight. Was soo good, soo tender ( I used your tenderise velveting tip, just in case) the boys were very hungry and said it was better than our ‘local’ takeaway.
A definite 5/5 for this recipe
Thank you once again,,
Vanessa
Nagi | RecipeTin says
I’m so happy to hear you and the boys enjoyed it!!! Hurrah! I’m grinning away like a fool hearing that your boys even said it’s better than takeout! YAY! – N x
Amanda @ The Chunky Chef says
Holy mother of YUM! I’m literally dancing in my chair right now because I have several cast iron pans, so sizzle here I come 😀 Those pictures are gorgeous and have me practically licking the screen. Oh, and I know exactly what you mean by looking at a recipe and being able to tell if it’s credible or not 🙂
Nagi | RecipeTin says
Thanks Amanda! I hope you do give it a go, it is SO crazy delish!!! And super simple too 🙂 Good one when you’re rushing for dinner!
Rachel (Rachel's Kitchen NZ) says
Oh, so delicious Nagi and such love pics – as usual – bet Dozer was hanging for some of this:-)
Nagi | RecipeTin says
The drool was disgusting. Disgusting!! 🙂
Mira says
I’m very excited to try this sauce ! Sounds amazing! Love these mouthwatering pictures!
Nagi | RecipeTin says
Hope you do Mira! 🙂
Tricia says
Hi Nagi
Made this today and it was absolutely gorgeous and so quick and easy, this will definitely be a regular dish for me .
Your recipes never disappoint and I always looks forward to a one appearing in my inbox !!
Nagi | RecipeTin says
Hi Tricia! Thank you so much for taking the time to come back and let me know you loved it! I’m so glad you enjoy my recipes 🙂 Thank you for reading and trying them!! N x
Kristina says
I cooked this meal for dinner tonight and it was very good. Everyone liked it so we will be eating it again. Thank you for sharing it with us.
Nagi | RecipeTin says
I’m SO GLAD you loved it! Wow, you made it so quickly after I posted it – I love that! <3
Alice @ Hip Foodie Mom says
I love re-creating Chinese food dishes at home! I love black-pepper-sauce so will definitely give this one a try!!! and as always, gorgeous mouth watering photos!!!!
Nagi | RecipeTin says
Thanks so much Alice! Hope you do try it soon! N x
Ciao Florentina says
teeheehee you crack me up with those little plates ! Dang that looks so drool worthy i’m about to lick the screen. Yum!
Nagi | RecipeTin says
Teeny tiny plates. Great for food photography but so unrealistic!! Ha ha!! Nx