Crispy Chilli Beef is a fried shredded beef steak tossed in sweet, spicy and savoury homemade sweet sauce. This recipe is a popular Chinese takeaway style shredded beef strips with a delicious sweet chilli kick. You will be amazed by how quick and easy to make at home with simple ingredients!
I love making restaurant style recipes at home and share it with friends. Here is more of our family's favourite stir fry beef and steak recipes you might want to try :
- Salt and Pepper Beef ( Chinese takeaway style salt and pepper seasonings )
- Shredded Beef ( Classic Chinese recipe )
- Pepper Steak Stir Fry ( Stir fry steak slices with black pepper sauce )
Sometimes it can be very disappointing when the takeout dishes are heavily battered and too sugary. I tried and tested this recipe at home and and succeeded this recipe and taste better than my favourite restaurant! My friends and family really enjoyed this recipe and I highly recommend to try at your home. I can guaranteed that your guest will definitely impressed by your Chinese cooking skills. If you know the right amount of ingredients and follow the simple instructions, you can achieve the restaurant quality cuisine, way better than your local takeout.
3 Simple Tips
- Coating (The Batter) : To make the Chinese crispy beef batter you will need only 2 ingredients corn starch/flour and one egg. That's it! Here is my answers for frequently asked questions.
Why corn starch/flour? Corn starch/flour is the key ingredients to keep the coated skin airy crisp texture. So I highly recommend to use corn or potato starch/flour as a coating.
Can I use plain flour? Plain flour or regular all purpose flour is not recommended, as the gluten from the flour can soften the coating. You will not achieve the crisp texture. - The Marinade : Use nice tender steak cut for this recipe, like sirloin, tenderloin, rib-eye, rump steak, etc. Season the steak slices with soy sauce, ginger garlic paste, sesame oil, sugar and white pepper.
If you wish to use cheaper cut, tenderise it by adding half teaspoon of baking soda and half teaspoon of corn starch in the marinade. It's a Chinese method of tenderising meat and also known as meat velveting.
The most important part is how to cut the steak ? Check the direction of the meat grain direction first, then slice it against the grain into thin slices. - Crispy Chilli Beef Sauce : To achieve the well balance sweet chilli sauce, you will need soy sauce, sugar, vinegar and ketchup as a base sauce. Add sweet chilli sauce for a kick of chilli flavour and extra vibrant taste. As many of you have asked, which brand to use, I usually use Blue Dragon or Mae Ploy sweet chilli sauce for this recipe. As these sauces are available in all most all supermarkets and online.
This Dish is Very Versatile
You can toss the fried beef strips with sweet chilli sauce and serve it on its own. Or you can pair it vegetables like broccoli/carrot and make it into crispy chilli beef with broccoli/carrot. Or make ultimate crispy beef salad by tossing with any of your favourite crunchy vegetables.
How to make Crispy Chilli Beef Recipe
First of all, cut the steak into thin strips against the grain.
Mix all the ingredients from the marinate list and rest it for at least 15mins. You can leave it longer if you have more time.
Combine all the sauce ingredients in a mixing bowl and set aside.
Add one egg into marinated beef slices and mix it well.
Coat the beef strips with corn flour in a tray. If the flour is not enough, add more flour if needed.
All strips should separated and coated well.
Fry with pre heated oil about 350° F for 1-2 mins until crispy golden brown. Remove from oil and transfer to paper towel or cooling rack.
Toss the vegetables with medium high heat for a few seconds.
Place the fried beef strips and sauce mixture in. Follow with fresh chilli and spring onions, toss all ingredients with high heat for one to two minutes.
Transfer to serving plate. Serve immediately!
How to Serve This Dish
Serve it as a starter/savoury snack with Chinese tea or your favourite cold drink. I love to have it with simple steamed rice, fried rice or stir fry noodles and make it a main meal.
More of My Delicious Chinese Stir Fry Recipes
- Beef and Broccoli ( With delicious homemade stir fry sauce )
- Beef and Noodles Stir Fry ( The best steak noodles recipe! )
- Orange Chicken ( Better than take out orange chicken )
- Salt and Chilli Chicken ( Fried chicken with salt and chilli seasonings )
Watch How to Make It
📖 Recipe
Crispy Chilli Beef with Sweet Chilli Sauce
Ingredients
INGREDIENTS
- 200 g Rump/Sirloin steak ( or any tender steak cut )
- 1 Egg
- 1 cup Corn/Potato Starch (Flour)
- ½ Sweet Onion
- ½ Bell Pepper
- 2-3 Spring Onions
- 2-3 Birdeye/hot chillies
Marinate for Beef Steak
- 1 tbsp Light soy sauce
- 1 tsp Ginger garlic paste
- 1 tsp Sesame oil
- ½ tsp Sugar
- ¼ tsp White Pepper
Stir Fry Sauce
- 3 tbsp Sweet Chilli Sauce
- 2 tbsp Ketchup
- 2 tbsp Light soy sauce
- 1 tsp Vinegar ( white or rice )
- 1 tbsp Sugar
- ½ tsp Salt
Instructions
- Cut beef into thin strips. Marinate the beef strips with the all ingredients in the marinate list. Mix well and marinate for 15 mins.
- In a small bowl mix all the ingredients from the stir fry sauce list and set aside.
- Break one egg into the the marinated beef strips. Mix well.
- Coat the beef strips with corn/potato flour. Make sure all the beef strips are seperated. Toss the excess flour out before frying.
- Heat the oil into hight heat about 350 F. Add the coated beef and deep fry for 1-2 mins till crispy.
- Remove from oil and transfer to paper towel or cooling rack.
- Heat the wok/pan to medium high heat. Drizzle a tablespoon of oil, add the cut onions and stir for few seconds. Then add the pepper slices, stir well.
- Add the fried beef strips. Pour the sauce mix, add the spring onions and fresh chillies. Stir well to combine all ingredients with high heat for 1- 2 mins.
- Transfer to serving plate. Serve immediately!
- Match with hot steamed/cooked rice or stir fry noodle. Perfect as a savory snack too!
Notes
Nutrition
If you've tried this recipe, please leave a comment and give rating! I would love to see your creations, tag me on social medias and follow me on social medias Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest for latest updates.
You can try out my another shredded beef recipe (the winner recipe!) in below link.
Neil Fisher says
Fantastic dish.. I won't be visiting the takeaway for a while
Khin says
Thank you Nell! Happy that you enjoy this Chilli Beef recipe!
Danille paul says
What oil do you use for frying?
Khin says
Hi Danille, neutral flavour oil is perfect for deep frying. Canola, sunflower, grapeseed, vegetable oil, etc can be used.
Kayleigh Marie Sutherland says
Tastes amazing, but are the calories per portion or for the whole dish please?
Khin says
Thank you kayleigh! We'll update the calories on the recipe card soon.
Aimee-rose Francis says
Hi can I freezer this after cooking
Khin says
Hi Aimee, it tastes best when served immediately. If you wish to make ahead or freeze it, freeze the sauce and fried beef separately. Reheat the beef in the air fryer until the coating is crispy and toss in the piping hot sauce.
Belinda Martin says
Absolutely delicious, thankyou for a great easy to do recipe ????
Khin says
My pleasure! Happy that you enjoyed it!
Susan says
This was amazing - so delicious and better than a takeaway. Thank you for the recipe from the UK. Going to try the crispy prawns next. Thank you for the recipes !
Khin says
So glad that you enjoyed this recipe Susan! Hope you like crispy prawns recipe too!
Katie says
Soooo yummy !!! I’ve made it with beef now I am trying chicken ! Can’t wait
Khin says
It tastes great with chicken thighs or breast strips too! So glad that you enjoyed this recipe Katie!
Chris says
Fantastic dish, much better than my local Chinese restaurant.
Khin says
So glad that you enjoyed it Chris! Thank you so much for sharing feedback!
Claire says
Just made this and it was amazing! Turned out great and the best recipe I’ve tried for Crispy Chilli Beef ☺️
Rosaleen Egan says
just tried the Crispy Chilli beef. it was yummy!!!
Khin says
Thank you so much Rosaleen. I am so glad that you enjoyed it.
Glyn says
This looks so tasty! What oil would be best for frying the meat please? I'm hoping to make this one night this week. Thank you!
Khin says
You can use sunflower oil or vegetable oil. Thanks for your kind comment.
Mark says
We’ve tried few times. The best chilli beef recipe we’ve ever tried. Very clear instructions. Thank you!
Khin says
Very happy that you enjoyed Mark!
Pablo says
Delicious, better than any take-away.
Khin says
Thank you for leaving lovely feedback Pablo! Happy that you enjoyed.
Daisy says
Perfect taste better then our local restaurants thanks
Khin says
So glad that you enjoy this sweet chilli beef Daisy! Thank you so much for trying out!
Mi Ran says
It’’s Delicious. Thanks for the recipe.
Khin says
Thank you Mi Ran! Glad you enjoyed it.