You will find a version of beef and mushroom on the menu of just about every Chinese restaurant. Tender strips of beef and meaty slices of mushrooms enveloped in a rich, mild brown oyster sauce is always a crowd favorite. The beauty of this recipe is that it uses simple ingredients that most cooks who make asian inspired foods at home will readily have on hand. The list of ingredients is not long, and this dish comes together quickly, making it a perfect meal on a busy weeknight, after a long day at work.
You’re probably wondering, what makes this beef and mushroom recipe better than any of the others that you can find all over the internet? It’s the tenderizing technique used to make the beef strips melt in you mouth tender! When I ran across this recipe at Sprinkles & Sprouts I was intrigued by the technique used to tenderize the beef. Lets face it, anything that can easily and inexpensively transform a not-so-tender cut of beef into a melt-in-your-mouth tender cut is definitely looking into, right?
Tenderize the beef:
Slice sirloin steak into thin strips.
Place beef strips in a mixing bowl. Sprinkle the beef with baking soda.
Toss to coat the beef with the baking soda. Set aside for 15 to 20 minutes while you prepare remaining ingredients. This is what tenderizes the beef, resulting in melt-in-your-mouth beef strips. Easy peasy, right?
Make the sauce:
Combine the beef broth, corn starch, Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, mushroom seasoning, pepper and sugar in a small bowl. Stir the sauce to combine everything and set aside.
Prep and Stir Fry:
Slice mushrooms. Set aside.
Slice green onions, separating green and white parts. Set aside.
Back to the beef. Place the beef strips in a colander and rinse the beef thoroughly under cold running water to remove all the baking soda. The baking soda will leave a bitter taste, so be sure to wash the beef really well to remove it completely.
Pat the beef strips dry with a paper towel.
Heat oil in a wok or large skillet over medium high heat. Once oil is good and hot, add the sliced mushrooms to the wok.
Cook them until they release their liquid. Once the liquid has cooked off, continue to cook them until they begin to brown along the edges.
Add the white part of the green onions and the minced garlic to the pan and cook, stirring continuously for another minute, until the green onions start to soften.
Add the beef strips to the wok. Cook for 1-2 minutes until cooked through. Keep everything moving around in the wok as it cooks.
Stir the sauce to make sure everything is combined and then add it to the pan.
Cook until the sauce thickens, 1-2 more minutes, stirring constantly.
Once the sauce reaches your desired thickness and turns glossy, remove the pan from the heat. Serve immediately over a bed of steamed rice and garnish with reserved green onions.
A huge shout out to Claire at Sprinkles & Sprouts for this delicious recipe! Her easy tenderizing tip made this dish absolutely delicious!!! I will be using it for other recipes that call for beef strips. Using a tougher cut of beef is a big money saver and using this inexpensive, easy tenderizing technique will allow you to stretch you grocery budget just a little farther. Time to dig in!
Chinese Beef & Mushroom Stir Fry
Equipment
- wok or large heavy bottom skillet
Ingredients
- 1 lb Sirloin steak, sliced into thin strips
- 1½ tbsp baking soda
- 8 oz Crimini or Button mushrooms, sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 stalks green onions, sliced
- 2 tbsp oil
For the sauce:
- ¾ cup beef broth
- 2 tbsp corn starch
- 2 tbsp Shaoxing cooking wine
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp mushroom seasoning
- ½ tsp pepper
- 1 tsp sugar
Instructions
Prepare beef:
- Place beef strips in a mixing bowl.
- Sprinkle beef with baking soda. Toss to coat the beef with the baking soda.
- Set aside for 15 to 20 minutes while you prepare remaining ingredients.
Make the sauce:
- Combine beef broth, corn starch, Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, mushroom seasoning, pepper and sugar in a small bowl. Stir sauce and set aside.
Stir Fry:
- Slice mushrooms. Set aside.
- Slice green onions, separate green and white parts. Set aside.
- Place tenderized beef strips in a colander and rinse beef thoroughly to remove all the baking soda. The baking soda will leave a bitter taste, so be sure to wash beef well to remove it completely.
- Pat beef strips dry with a paper towel.
- Heat oil in a wok or large skillet over medium high heat.
- Add the sliced mushrooms and cook them until they release their liquid. Continue to cook until mushrooms begin to brown along the edges.
- Add the white part of the green onions and the minced garlic to the pan and cook, stirring continuously for another minute, until green onions start to soften.
- Add the beef strips to the wok. Cook for another 1-2 minutes until beef is cooked through.
- Stir the sauce and add it to the pan. Cook until the sauce thickens, 1-2 more minutes, stirring constantly.
- Remove from heat.
- Serve immediately over a bed of steamed rice and garnish with reserved green onions.
Did You Make This?
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