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
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
Tammy
I love a good stir-fry! It's such an easy and delicious side that goes with so many dishes. Love how simple yet delicious this is!
Colleen
Hi Tammy! It is for sure a simple & delicious dish. So glad you loved it!
Eva
Perfect stir-fry! This was an amazing weeknight dinner and I just love how well asparagus goes with the other ingredients! Will make it again!
Colleen
So happy you liked this recipe Eva! Thanks for letting me know.
Kari
This is the perfect low carb dinner and it is a great one pot recipe with all the things I love with steak.
Colleen
Hey Kari, so glad you loved this recipe! Cheers!
Kelly Neil
I always seem to go to chicken stir fry but default but now I need to make this steak version! So fresh and colourful!
Colleen
Hi Kelly, I'm the same with the chicken default, but leftover steak sparked this recipe! Enjoy.
Tatiana
This recipe is just great! Steak and aspargus, what can be better than that? And the photos? So yummy! Saving for later!
Colleen
Tatiana, I know you will love this delicious stir-fry. Enjoy!
Vanessa
Look at those colours! You definitely eat with your eyes first with this dish...not to mention that I love all these ingredients! Saving for later!
Colleen
Thanks Vanessa. Enjoy!
Shelby
I could live off this recipe - literally, it has my two favorite things haha win.
Colleen
Haha, you are too cute, Shelby! So happy that you love this. Enjoy!
Linda
Stir-frys are a life-saver in our house. I saw this recipe and actually had some steak in the house so it seemed like the perfect dinner for a busy day. I have to say that it came out even better than the neighborhood takeout. I didn't have asparagus so I used snow peas and it still came out great.
Colleen
Hi Linda! I'm so happy that you found this recipe useful, tasty and simple. This recipe was born because of leftover steak. I love your addition of snow peas instead of asparagus. Thanks for the inspiration!
Riz
Steak and asparagus is a favourite at my house. I've how you've turned it into a beautiful stir fry! I can't wait to try this out 🙂
Colleen
Hi Riz, I hope you love this as much as we do!
Bernice Hill
What a great looking stir fry...so beautiful to look at and so many appealing flavours, too.
Colleen
Thanks Bernice!
Rika Livingston
So colorful and looks so good! I am gonna make this for dinner!
Colleen
Yay! I Can't wait to hear how it turns out for you, Rika!
Jamie
I love how colorful this dish is! It made a tasty dinner that was ready in no time. Everyone loved it!
Colleen
Hi Jamie. I'm so happy that you & your family loved this for dinner. Thanks for letting me know!
Marlynn
This recipe is such a satisfying and delicious one-pan meal!
Colleen
So glad you loved it, Marlynn!
Laura
Thank you for the baking soda technique, it works perfectly. I will definitely make this again
Colleen
So glad that you found it useful, Laura. I, too love that baking soda hack! And, so happy that you loved the recipe, too!
Andrea Metlika
This is a perfect stir fry. The sauce sounds amazing and brings it all together.
Colleen
Thanks Andrea! I hope you give this a try. It really is so yummy!