Steak and Asparagus stir-fry is a quick and delicious weeknight dinner and a great way to extend a steak. Mushrooms and red peppers are tasty additions and a delicious sesame ginger sauce completes it all.
What Kind of Beef is Used For Stir Fry?
Any tender cut of beef will work for stir fry. Sirloin is a good choice because it's economical. You can also use flank steak, which is less tender, but when sliced thinly and cooked quickly can be made very tender, and really flavourful.
Which Oils Are Best for Stir Fry?
Because you are going to be cooking quickly over high heat, you will need an oil with a high smoke point. My favourite is peanut oil, here are a few more that work well for cooking over high heat:
- Peanut Oil
- Vegetable Oil
- Safflower Oil
- Canola Oil
- Corn Oil
How To Make Stir Fry Beef Tender
You know how the beef or chicken that comes from a Chinese restaurant has that wonderful silky, melt-in-your-mouth tenderness? They achieve that texture through a technique called velveting. To do this, they coat the meat in a mixture of egg white, cornstarch, rice wine and oil. They then blanch it in either oil or water and dry it before cooking. To me, doing this, although it does work, takes the quick and easy out of stir fry.
Instead, I use this baking soda technique that I learned from Cook's Illustrated. It's so much easier, and it works!
Tips For Stir Fry Success
- A Stir Fry is all about fast cooking over high heat, so it's important to have all of your ingredients prepped and close by before you begin to cook.
- Slice the meat very thinly across the grain. Partially freezing the meat for 15-30 minutes makes slicing much easier.
- In addition, cook the meat in batches so as not to crowd the pieces in the pan. Crowding will result in steaming the meat, rather than browning it.
- The same goes for vegetables. The goal is to keep some crispness, so cook them in batches as well. Alternatively, you can blanch the vegetables in boiling water prior to stir-frying them.
What to Serve With Stir Fry
We actually love this Steak & Asparagus Stir Fry just the way it is. However, you can serve it with rice or noodles if you want to add carbs. Or, with Cauliflower Rice or in Lettuce Wraps if you don't. Rice or noodles are also a good choice if you want to feed more people.
Recipe
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Steak & Asparagus Stir Fry
Ingredients
Sauce
- ½ cup orange juice
- 3 tablespoon tamari sauce or gluten-free soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon ginger minced
- 2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon chilli paste sambal oelek or sriracha
Stir Fry
- 2 tablespoon peanut oil
- 8 oz top sirloin steak thinly sliced
- 12 oz asparagus trimmed & sliced in half on the diagonal
- 8 oz cremini mushrooms sliced
- 2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- 1 large red bell pepper cored, seeded and sliced into ½ inch strips
- ½ cup cherry tomatoes halved
Instructions
Sauce
- Whisk all sauce ingredients in a bowl, or put them in a jar with a lid and shake*
Stir Fry
- Heat a wok or large skillet over high heat.
- Add 1 tablespoon of the peanut oil, heating until just beginning to smoke
- Add the mushrooms and thyme and stir fry until tender and browned about 2-3 minutes. Transfer mushrooms to a plate.
- Add the remaining tablespoon of oil & heat, spreading around the pan.
- In batches, add the meat, spreading pieces out.
- Sear the meat for 30 seconds, turn and sear 30 seconds more. Transfer to the plate with the mushrooms
- Add asparagus and red pepper to the pan and stir fry 1 minute
- Add 1 tablespoon water to the pan and cook until the water evaporates
- Add the sauce to the pan along with the meat and mushrooms
- Cook, stirring just until the sauce starts to thicken, about 1 minute
- Transfer to a platter, stir in cherry tomatoes and serve immediately
Notes
Nutrition
Leslie May
My husband I had this tonight. It was so good. We really loved the sauce. It was so good with the orange juice. We love stir fry and will definitely keep this on our rotation. Thanks Colleen!
Colleen
Aww, Leslie, this is wonderful to hear. Glad you loved the recipe, and super appreciate your sharing this!
Coralia Varga
I haven't made stir fry in such a long time so I'm really excited I came across this recipe. Really delicious!
Colleen
So glad you loved it Coralia. Thanks for letting me know!
Cynthia Priest
I love stir fried! Avocado oil is another good oil to add that has a high smoking point.
Colleen
Great tip, Cynthia. Thanks for sharing.
Mikayla
We probably make a stir fry once a week and we really enjoyed this one, great tips on preparing the steak, and the vegetable choices here are spot on! Thanks for sharing!
Colleen
You are so welcome, Mikayla! I'm thrilled that you all loved this recipe!
Leslie
There are two things that really caught my attention with this recipe. First, is your ingredients with the sauce! It looks amazing! Second, is the fact that you used asparagus. I've used asparagus in my sir-fry. I've got to try this!
Colleen
Hi Leslie! The sauce really ties everything together in this recipe, and yes, you must try this. Asparagus is delicious in a stir fry!
Denise
This is my kind of dinner, easy, quick and one pan! The flavors are amazing, this will be made often.
Colleen
Hi Denise, you can beat quick, easy and one pan, plus delicious. I'm so happy that you loved it!
Erin
That's interesting about velveting! I didn't know that. But you're right in that it sounds like a pain in the butt. Your method sounds way easier!
Colleen
Hi Erin. Making things easier in the kitchen is always good, right?
Lisa Day
Looks delicious, Colleen! I can imagine diving into this straight from the pan!
Colleen
Thanks Lisa! Hope you give this recipe a try!