Beef and Onion Stir Fry (Quick and Easy Classic Recipe) (2024)

5 from 8 votes

Quick and Easy to Make: This beef and onion stir fry recipe is straightforward and simple. With clear steps for preparing the ingredients, marinating the beef, and stir-frying the dish, anyone can whip this up in their kitchen. It's also very quick to prepare since the beef is thinly sliced for quick cooking, and the stir-fry process itself is fast and efficient. This makes it an excellent choice for a busy weeknight dinner.

Versatile: This recipe is versatile and can be easily adjusted to suit your tastes. You can experiment with different cuts of beef, add more vegetables, or adjust the sauce to your liking.

Chinese Takeout at Home: The combination of tender beef, fragrant onions, and savory brown sauce makes this dish incredibly delicious and tastes just like Chinese restaurants.

Here's an overview of the specific ingredients for this delicious beef and onion stir fry recipe at home. For the exact ingredients and measurements, please scroll to the recipe card below.

• Beef: For this stir-fry, I usually use sirloin steak. It’s a lean cut of beef with a lot of flavors. You can also use flank steak, skirt steak, ribeye steak, or any thinly sliced beef. Slicing against the grain is key and helps break down the muscle fibers, making the beef more tender.
• Onion: I like to use white onion because it adds a sweet onion flavor to the dish. It also adds a bit of crunch and color to your stir fry. That being said, any type of onion will work for this dish.
• Garlic and Ginger: This duo is a must for this recipe. They are very aromatic when browned, and it pairs perfectly with the onion and beef.
• Green Onions: These add a fresh, slight onion flavor to the dish and also make a colorful garnish.
• Marinade: This is what truly infuses the beef with all the flavor! I’ve used my simple beef marinade recipe for the beef. It’s made with ingredients such as soy sauce, dark soy sauce, Shaoxing cooking wine, water, oil, and toasted sesame oil. It’ll make your beef incredibly moist, juicy, and flavorful!

For the Beef and Onion Stir Fry Sauce:

• Soy Sauce: This is the key ingredient that gives our stir-fry its characteristic Asian flavor. It adds a savory umami taste. I like to use low sodium soy sauce for this.
• Dark Soy Sauce: This adds that beautiful brown color to your stir fry. It is optional and if you can't find it, you can use regular soy sauce instead.
• Water: We'll use this to dilute the soy sauce, ensuring that our sauce isn't too salty.
• Oyster Sauce: This ingredient adds a rich, sweet, and savory flavor to the stir-fry. It's a game-changer in Asian cuisine, enhancing the taste of the beef and onions.
• Shaoxing Cooking Wine: This adds another dimension of flavor to the stir fry sauce. You can also sub it for dry sherry or rice wine.
• Sugar: A touch of sugar will balance out the salty soy sauce and oyster sauce, giving our stir-fry a well-rounded flavor.
• Sesame Oil: This oil has a distinctive nutty flavor, adding a layer of depth to our stir-fry. It also helps to bring out the flavors of the other ingredients.
• Hoisin Sauce: This adds a bit more sweetness to the sauce, and gives it a bit more flavor.
• Corn Starch: I use corn starch to thicken the sauce, giving it a nice, glossy finish. To make sure it dissolves smoothly, make sure you mix it with the soy sauce first before adding the rest of the sauce ingredients together.

Now, don't get me wrong, the cut of meat you're working with obviously makes a difference when it comes to tenderness. But it's not just about the specific cut. How you actually slice and cut the meat is just as important for getting a tender, juicy result, and you can basically take any cheap cut of beef and make it amazing. The key is finding the grain - those muscle fibers running through the meat.

Muscle fibers are tough. Our teeth can break them down eventually, but it takes a lot of chewing to do it and no one wants chewy beef!

A sharp knife is way more effective at getting through the muscle tissue quickly and easily. The trick is to cut perpendicular to the grain, slicing across rather than parallel with those fibers.

Cutting against the grain shortens up those fibers, so they are not long and tough anymore. That makes them much easier to chew.

So, for tender, juicy meat that melts in your mouth, always take the time to spot the grain and slice opposite it.

To learn exactly how to do it (with step by step pictures), check out my article on how to make beef tender for stir fry.

Making this incredible beef and onion stir fry recipe at home is super easy and will give you great results every single time. Here's how to make it step by step:

Preparation

Prep the Ginger and Garlic: Slice the ginger and set it aside. Next, prepare to slice the garlic and set it aside. I like to slice it thinly, but you can finely mince it as well.

Slice the Green Onions: Next, cut the green onions into two-inch pieces. For the whites, if they are too thick, slice them lengthwise.

Prep the White Onions: Slice the white onion and separate the pieces.

Mix the Cornstarch with the Soy Sauce: First mix the soy sauce with the cornstarch together so that the cornstarch can easily dissolve without getting clumpy.

Mix the Rest of the Ingredients: Then add in the rest of the ingredients (oyster sauce, cooking wine, sesame oil, sugar, and hoisin sauce) and mix everything well.

Thin Out Sauce: Mix water into the sauce. This will create more sauce and prevent it from being too concentrated and salty.

Slice the Beef: Thinly slice the beef against the grain and place it in a bowl.

Marinate the Beef: Mix in the marinade ingredients (soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, water, sesame oil, Shaoxing wine, and dark soy) and let it sit for fifteen minutes. Make sure you don't add the cornstarch and oil in yet.

Prepare for Velveting: Add the cornstarch to the beef after it has finished marinating and mix well. Once that's done mix in the oil to seal everything in.

Heat the Pan: Set the stove to high heat and wait for the wok or skillet to get hot.

Cook the Beef: Once the pan is very hot, add some oil (don't be shy with the oil, I use about 3-4 tablespoons for this initial step), then add in the sliced beef and spread it evenly around the hot pan to get a nice sear and cook until it is about ninety percent done. Remove the beef from the pan and set it aside for later.

Stir Fry Onions and Aromatics: Add more oil to the pan and toast the ginger until it is golden brown. Then add in the garlic slices, and white onions and stir fry for about one to two minutes.

Add the Sauce: Stir the sauce in the bowl (the cornstarch settles on the bottom), and push the onions aside and add in the sauce mix into the pan. Keep stirring the sauce until it thickens and turns from a milky color to a dark brown color.

Combine Everything: Add back in the beef and green onions. coat everything with the sauce, and cook for about one to two minutes to full cook the beef.

Plate and Enjoy!

Joyce's Tips For Making the Best Beef And Onion Stir Fry

Preparation Is Crucial: Once you start stir frying, the process will happen very quickly, so it's important to have everything on hand to make it a smoother and easier process.

Marinate for Maximum Flavor: Marinating the beef not only imparts great flavor but also tenderizes the beef. Let the beef sit in the marinade for at least fifteen minutes before cooking, but the longer you marinade, the more flavor you'll get.

Slice Against the Grain: When prepping your beef, make sure to slice against the grain. This breaks up the muscle fibers and results in more tender beef.

Add Water to the Marinade: Adding water to the marinate will help create a quick brine, which helps the beef become even more tender and moist.

Velvet Your Beef With Cornstarch: After marinating, coat your beef slices in cornstarch. This technique, known as velveting, gives the beef a silky texture and locks in moisture when frying. Make sure you add the cornstarch after you finish marinating, this will ensure the beef will full absorb all the marinade first for the best flavor.

Try the Baking Soda Method: To get that very tender beef like you get in Chinese restaurants, you can opt to mix in ½ teaspoon of baking soda with2 tablespoons of water into the sliced beef and let it sit for about 15 minutes. But make sure to do this before the marinating step because you need to rinse the baking soda off of the beef very well, and squeeze out any excess water or it will have a funky flavor and smell. I like to skip this step because I find adding water in the marinade is enough to get the beef tender, as long as you slice it against the grain.

Sear the Beef Slices to 90%: Sear the beef on high heat until it's about ninety percent done, then remove it from the pan before making the sauce. It's okay if you see a bit of pink. This guarantees that the beef won't overcook and become tough.

Dark Soy Sauce for Color: Dark soy sauce is used in the marinade to get that dark brown color. In case you don’t have it and can’t find it, you can substitute it for soy sauce instead.

Freeze Beef To Make It Easier to Slice: To make the beef firmer, and easier to slice, I like to put it in the freezer for 15 minutes before I start to slice it.

Don't Be Shy With The Oil: Especially when you are doing the initial searing of the beef to give it more flavor. The extra oil will also help prevent the beef from sticking to the pan as well.

This delicious beef and onion stir fry recipe is so flavorful and easy to make, you'll want to try out some of these delicious variations! Here are some great ideas:

Add Red Peppers: If you love bell peppers as much as I do, you’ll love this variation. Simply slice some red peppers and add them to the stir fry. The flavors will work beautifully with the onions and sauce.

Make It Spicier: For a touch of heat, consider adding half a teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes to the sauce. It’ll make the sauce spicy and even more delicious!

Add More Vegetables: If you want to increase the vegetable content of your stir-fry, this variation is a great choice. Add any of your favorite veggies to the stir fry. Broccoli florets will work great along with some carrots. Feel free to experiment with the flavors, and don’t forget to tell me your favorite combination in the comments down below.

Frequently Asked Questions

To store leftover stir fry, allow it to cool down to room temperature. Once cooled, transfer it into an airtight container. You can then pop these into the fridge where they will keep for up to three days.

When you're ready to enjoy your beef and onion stir fry again, take it out of the fridge and reheat it in a pan over medium heat until it is warmed through. If you're in a rush, you can also reheat it in the microwave. Just make sure to stir it occasionally to guarantee that it heats evenly.

Unfortunately, this recipe doesn't freeze well. The process of freezing and thawing can cause the beef to become tough and the vegetables to lose their crunch. However, if you find yourself with a large amount of leftovers, you could consider repurposing them into a new dish, such as a beef fried rice or a beef and vegetable soup.

If you made thisbeef and onion stir fry recipe, I want to see! FollowPups with Chopsticks on Instagram, snap a photo, and tag and hashtag it with @pupswithchopsticks and #pupswithchopsticks. I love to know what you are making!

Please also consider leaving a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating and a comment to tell me how it went! I'd love to hear from you if you made this!

If you like my recipes and want to be updated on when new ones come out, please consider subscribing to mynewsletter(we don't spam) and follow along onInstagram,Facebook, andPinterestfor all of my latest recipes!