Crispy Garlic Beef

If crispy beef is your usual Chinese takeaway order, this is one you need to try at home.

Thin strips of sirloin are coated in cornflour and fried until properly golden and crisp, then tossed through a sticky garlic sauce with red pepper and spring onions. The whole thing is finished with crispy slices of garlic and toasted sesame seeds for even more flavour and crunch.

It’s sweet, savoury, garlicky and ridiculously moreish, basically everything you want from a good fakeaway.

The sauce is deliberately simple too. Soy sauce brings the saltiness, honey gives it sweetness and that sticky finish, tomato ketchup adds body, rice wine vinegar cuts through the richness, then sesame oil, ginger and garlic bring loads of flavour.

Best of all, this is genuinely quick. Get your rice cooking before you start and you can have the whole thing on the table in around 30 minutes.

Crispy Garlic Beef

Crispy strips of beef tossed through a sticky, sweet and savoury garlic sauce with peppers and spring onions.

An easy homemade Chinese-style fakeaway that’s perfect served with rice or noodles.

What makes this Crispy Garlic Beef so good?

For me, it’s the contrast.

You’ve got properly crispy pieces of beef coated in a glossy sauce, slightly crunchy peppers, fresh spring onions and then those little pieces of crispy garlic scattered over the top.

The sauce has that sweet and savoury balance you expect from a takeaway-style beef dish, but the garlic is allowed to be the star.

There are three cloves of sliced garlic as well as garlic paste in the sauce, so we’re definitely not being shy with it.

If you’re going to call something Crispy Garlic Beef, it needs to deliver.

The best beef to use

I’ve used thin-cut sirloin steak because it’s tender, quick to cook and easy to slice into strips.

You don’t need a huge expensive steak for this. Around 300g is plenty for two generous portions once you’ve added the peppers, spring onions and rice or noodles alongside it.

The important thing is slicing it fairly thinly.

Thin strips cook quickly, meaning you can get the outside really crispy without leaving the beef cooking for so long that the inside becomes tough.

If your steak is particularly thick, putting it into the freezer for 20 to 30 minutes before slicing can make it easier to cut into thin, even strips.

Why cornflour makes the beef crispy

There’s no complicated batter here.

The beef simply gets tossed in cornflour before frying.

Cornflour creates a thin coating around the meat which becomes crisp when it hits the hot oil. Because it’s such a light coating, you still get plenty of beef flavour rather than ending up with more batter than meat.

Make sure every piece is coated, but shake off any really heavy excess before frying.

And don’t overcrowd your pan.

If necessary, fry the beef in two batches. Cramming everything into a small pan drops the temperature of the oil, and instead of frying and becoming crispy, the beef can start steaming.

Get the pan properly hot

This isn’t a recipe for timid heat.

You want the oil hot before the beef goes anywhere near it.

That immediate hit of heat is what creates the crisp coating on the outside while cooking the thin strips of sirloin quickly.

Once it’s beautifully golden and crisp, get it out of the pan and onto some kitchen paper.

Don’t add it to the sauce yet.

The longer that crispy beef sits in liquid, the softer the coating becomes, so it only goes back into the pan right at the end.

The crispy garlic takes this to another level

This is probably my favourite part of the recipe.

Thinly sliced garlic is gently fried until lightly golden and crisp. Half stays in the pan to flavour the peppers and sauce, while the other half is saved for scattering over the finished dish.

Just keep an eye on it.

There’s a very small window between beautifully golden garlic and burnt, bitter garlic.

Take it out when it’s lightly golden because it’ll continue to crisp slightly as it cools.

That final handful over the top gives you little explosions of proper roasted garlic flavour.

How to make the perfect sticky garlic sauce

You don’t need loads of ingredients to make a brilliant stir fry sauce.

Here you’ve got soy sauce, honey, ketchup, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, ginger and garlic.

Each ingredient does something different.

Soy brings salt and umami, honey gives sweetness and helps create that sticky consistency, while ketchup adds sweetness, acidity, colour and body.

Rice wine vinegar is particularly important because you’ve got honey and ketchup in there. Without some acidity, the sauce could become overly sweet.

Sesame oil adds nuttiness, while ginger and garlic give the sauce that unmistakable aromatic flavour.

Let the sauce bubble for a couple of minutes before adding the beef.

You want it to reduce until it’s glossy and slightly sticky rather than watery.

Don’t cook the beef in the sauce for too long

This is one of the biggest tricks to keeping crispy beef crispy.

Your beef is already cooked.

When it goes back into the pan, you’re not trying to cook it again. You’re simply coating it.

Get the sauce nice and sticky first, then add the beef and toss everything together quickly.

As soon as every strip is glossy and coated, serve it.

Leave it bubbling in the sauce for five minutes and that lovely crisp coating you’ve worked for will start disappearing.

Why peppers and spring onions work so well

The red pepper brings natural sweetness and a bit of crunch, while the spring onions add freshness.

You only need to stir fry them for a couple of minutes.

I don’t want the pepper completely soft here. A little bite gives the finished dish much better texture and stops everything becoming one big bowl of softness.

You can absolutely add more vegetables if you want to bulk it out.

Tenderstem broccoli, mangetout, baby corn or sliced onions would all work well.

What to serve with Crispy Garlic Beef

Steamed jasmine rice is probably my first choice.

The rice is perfect for soaking up any extra sticky garlic sauce and lets the beef remain the star of the show.

Egg fried rice would turn it into even more of a fakeaway.

You could also serve it with noodles, stir-fried vegetables or even some crispy chips if you’re going for full Chinese takeaway vibes.

Whatever you choose, serve the beef immediately.

This is one recipe that doesn’t benefit from sitting around.

Making this recipe in the US

If you’re making this Crispy Garlic Beef in America, there are only a couple of terminology differences to know about.

300g sirloin steak is approximately 10½ oz sirloin steak.

Cornflour in the UK is called cornstarch in the US. You’ll need approximately 2 tablespoons cornstarch for coating the beef.

1 red pepper is a red bell pepper in American terminology.

Spring onions are generally called green onions or scallions in the US.

Rice wine vinegar may simply be labelled rice vinegar in American supermarkets. Either is suitable here, but avoid seasoned rice vinegar if possible because it usually contains added sugar and salt.

The remaining tablespoon and teaspoon measurements work exactly the same in the US for a recipe like this.

So if you’ve landed here looking for crispy garlic beef, crispy beef with garlic sauce or an easy Chinese-style beef stir fry, you can follow the recipe exactly as written with those simple ingredient swaps.

Can I make it spicy?

Definitely.

As written, this recipe is more sweet, sticky and garlicky than spicy.

If you want some heat, add sliced fresh chilli with the peppers or mix some chilli flakes into the sauce.

Crispy chilli oil is also brilliant spooned over the finished dish.

If you’re cooking for different tastes, I’d leave the main recipe as it is and put the chilli oil on the table. That way everyone can control their own heat level.

Can I use a different cut of beef?

Yes.

Sirloin is great because it’s tender and cooks quickly, but rump steak can work too.

Flank steak is another good option, particularly for American readers, but make sure you slice it thinly against the grain.

Whatever cut you use, avoid anything designed for long, slow cooking. This recipe is all about fast frying.

Can I make Crispy Garlic Beef in the air fryer?

You can cook the coated beef in an air fryer if you want to reduce the amount of oil, although you won’t get exactly the same finish as frying.

Spray the cornflour-coated beef generously with oil and arrange it in a single layer. Air fry until browned and crispy, turning or shaking halfway through.

You’ll still need a frying pan or wok for the garlic, vegetables and sauce.

For the crispiest, most takeaway-style result, I’d still fry the beef.

FAQs

Why isn’t my crispy beef crispy?

The most common causes are oil that isn’t hot enough or overcrowding the pan. Fry the beef over a high heat and work in batches if necessary. The pieces need enough space to fry rather than steam.

Can I prepare the beef ahead of time?

You can slice the beef ahead of time, but I wouldn’t coat it in cornflour until you’re ready to cook. Once cooked, Crispy Garlic Beef is best eaten immediately.

What is cornflour called in America?

British cornflour is called cornstarch in the US. They’re the same ingredient for the purposes of this recipe.

Can I use chicken instead of beef?

Yes. Thin strips of chicken breast or boneless chicken thigh can be coated in cornflour and fried using the same method. Just make sure the chicken is completely cooked through before removing it from the pan.

How do I stop the sauce making the beef soggy?

Reduce the sauce until it’s already thick and sticky before returning the crispy beef to the pan. Toss the beef through quickly and serve immediately. Don’t simmer the beef in the sauce.

Can I make Crispy Garlic Beef gluten-free?

Yes, with a couple of changes. Cornflour is naturally gluten-free, but standard soy sauce often contains wheat. Use gluten-free tamari or gluten-free soy sauce and check the labels on your other sauces.

Can I use garlic powder instead of fresh garlic?

You could use garlic powder in the sauce, but you’d lose one of the best parts of this particular recipe, the crispy sliced garlic on top. Fresh garlic is definitely worth using here.

What’s the best way to reheat Crispy Garlic Beef?

It’s best eaten straight away because the coating softens once refrigerated. If you do have leftovers, an air fryer or hot oven will give you a better result than a microwave, although the beef won’t be quite as crispy as when freshly cooked.

Can I freeze Crispy Garlic Beef?

I wouldn’t recommend freezing the finished dish because the crispy coating will soften. If you want to get ahead, you can freeze the uncooked sliced beef separately and make the dish fresh when needed.

Final thoughts

Crispy Garlic Beef is exactly the sort of fakeaway recipe I love.

It’s quick, uses ingredients you can find in a normal supermarket and delivers those big sweet, savoury and sticky flavours you want from a Chinese-style takeaway.

The real trick is getting the little details right. Slice the beef thinly, coat it lightly in cornflour, get the oil properly hot and don’t overcrowd the pan. Reduce the sauce before the crispy beef goes back in, then toss it quickly and get it onto the plate.

And definitely don’t skip that crispy garlic.

It takes an already good sticky beef recipe and makes it something you’ll want to cook again and again.