Description

A flavorful and crispy chilli beef stir-fry featuring tender thin-cut steak strips coated in a fragrant five-spice battered cornflour crisp, tossed with vibrant peppers, spring onions, and an aromatic sauce blending soy, vinegar, and sweet chilli. Perfect served over noodles and garnished with crunchy prawn crackers for an authentic Asian-inspired dish.

Ingredients

Scale

Beef

350g thin-cut minute steak, very thinly sliced into strips
3 tbsp cornflour
2 tsp Chinese five-spice powder
100ml vegetable oil

Vegetables & Aromatics

1 red pepper, thinly sliced
1 red chilli, thinly sliced
4 spring onions, sliced, green and white parts separated
2 garlic cloves, crushed
thumb-sized piece ginger, cut into matchsticks

Sauce

4 tbsp rice wine vinegar or white wine vinegar
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
2 tbsp tomato ketchup

To Serve (optional)

Cooked noodles
Prawn crackers

Instructions

Prepare Beef: In a large bowl, toss the thinly sliced minute steak strips with cornflour and Chinese five-spice powder until evenly coated.
Fry Beef: Heat vegetable oil in a wok or large frying pan over high heat until hot. Add the beef strips in batches and fry until golden and crispy, stirring frequently to prevent sticking. Once cooked, scoop out the beef and drain excess oil on kitchen paper. Discard all but 1 tablespoon of the oil from the pan.
Cook Vegetables: Add the sliced red pepper, half of the sliced red chilli, the white parts of the spring onions, crushed garlic, and matchstick ginger into the pan. Stir-fry for about 3 minutes or until the vegetables soften slightly, making sure the garlic and ginger do not burn.
Make Sauce: In a small jug, combine rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, sweet chilli sauce, tomato ketchup, and 2 tablespoons of water. Pour this sauce mixture over the vegetables in the pan and let it bubble for 2 minutes to thicken slightly.
Toss Beef with Sauce: Return the crispy beef strips to the pan and toss thoroughly to coat with the sauce and vegetables evenly.
Serve: Serve the crispy chilli beef over cooked noodles if desired, topped with the remaining sliced red chilli and green parts of the spring onions. Scatter with prawn crackers on the side for extra crunch if preferred.

Notes

For extra heat, add more red chilli or substitute with bird’s eye chillies.
Ensure the steak strips are very thin to achieve a crispy texture quickly when frying.
Use rice wine vinegar for a more authentic flavor, but white wine vinegar works well as a substitute.
Serve immediately to maintain the crispiness of the beef.
This dish pairs wonderfully with steamed jasmine rice if noodles are unavailable.

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Category: Main Course
Method: Frying
Cuisine: Chinese-inspired

Keywords: crispy chilli beef, Chinese five-spice beef, quick stir-fry, spicy beef, Asian beef recipe