Sweet and Sticky Crispy Beef

Super crispy beef tossed with a sweet and sticky sauce – better than take out!

Prep Time 20 minutes 

Cook Time 40 minutes 

Total Time 1 hour 

Servings 5 Servings 

Ingredients

• 1.5 lbs top sirloin steak (any type of beef works – flank steak, skirt steak)
• 1 cup potato starch (divided in half, can be substituted with corn starch, but it won’t be as crispy)

Beef Marinade

• 1 small onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 4-5 slices ginger (sliced thin, 2-3 mm)
• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce (reduced sodium)

Sweet and Sticky Sauce

• 3/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons light soy sauce (reduced sodium)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
• 1/2 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon shaoxing cooking wine

Corn Starch Slurry (To thicken sauce)

• 5 teaspoons corn starch
• 6 teaspoons water

Garnish & Toppings (Optional)

• 1-2 stalks green onion chopped
• toasted sesame seeds

Instructions

Marinate the Beef

• Slice the steak into 1 cm wide strips and place it in a bowl. (If your steak is more than 1 cm thick, cut the strips in half again length-wise)
• In a food processor, blitz the onion, garlic, and ginger until it is a paste. (If you do not have a food processor, you can grate them or chop it very finely by hand, just make sure the ginger bits are very tiny)
• Add the marinade and 1 tablespoon of soy sauce to the beef and mix well and marinade it in the fridge for 1 hour (or 20-30 minutes in room temperature)

Deep Frying the Beef

• After the beef has marinated, dust 1/2 cup of potato starch (or corn starch) on the beef and use your fingers to loosely coat the beef with it. Let it sit for 10 minutes
• While you are waiting for the meat, heat up a heavy bottom pot (or wok) set the temperature of the oil to 375F (191C) (or medium heat) and add at least 1 inch of oil and wait for it to get hot.
• Once the beef has sat for 10 minutes, dust the other 1/2 cup of potato starch (or corn starch) on the beef again to lightly re-coat the beef and lightly dust off any excess starch. Deep fry it immediately.
• Using your fingers separate the beef if they are clumped together and deep fry it in the oil in small batches (make sure the oil is hot but not smoking – to test if the oil is hot enough, add 1 small piece of beef first and see if it instantly sizzles)
• Deep fry the beef for 1-2 minutes, and remove it from the pot onto a plate with parchment paper or newspaper.
• Once all the beef has been cooked once (first fry), add all of it back in for the second deep fry for 1 more minute.

Sweet & Sticky Sauce Time!

• Remove all the oil from the pot and set it back on the stove on medium low heat
• Add in all the sauce ingredients, except the corn starch slurry ingredients.
• Stir until everything is combined well and wait until it comes to a low rolling boil
• In a small bowl, combine the corn starch and cold water to make a corn starch slurry and add it into the sauce and keep stirring until the sauce has thickened. Turn off the heat.
• Add in the crispy beef and coat it with the sauce
• Serve immediately! Goes amazing with plain rice. 🙂

Notes

• You can double up the sauce ingredients to make more sauce if you love things super saucey. This stuff is amazing drizzled on plain white rice! 🙂
• If you’re pressed for time, shorten the marinating time to 30-40 minutes by leaving the beef in room temperature for 20-30 minutes – instead of in the fridge for an hour.
• They key to a crispier beef is hot oil and double frying! 🙂
• No low sodium soy sauce? No problem! Cut back the amount of soy sauce by a few tablespoons and replace it with water to dilute it for a lighter and less salty soy sauce.
• This is amazing with a bit of heat as well! Add a few chopped up peppers while you are cooking the sauce or add a few teaspoons of cayenne pepper for a bit of a kick!

Credit to: pupswithchopsticks