Simple Spicy Authentic Hunan Beef recipe loaded with juicy tender beef, vegetables, and delicious hot and spicy flavor sauce. One of the best stir fried Chinese beef recipes that is great for the days when you don't want to make a ton of dishes. Pair it with plain jasmine rice for a quick family meal.
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What is Hunan Beef?
Hunan beef and Hunan style cuisines are originated in Hunan province, China, and are famous for their unique aromatic, spicy flavours. Stir fry Hunan cuisines are usually made with beef, chicken, or pork with fresh hot chilli peppers and also flavourful chilli oil or chilli bean paste. This dish does not contain Sichuan peppercorns like the Sichuan Chinese cuisines. A perfect dish to try if you love spicy food but are not a fan of numbing sensations of Sichuan peppers.
Hunan cuisines are also popular outside of China, in Western Chinese restaurants and takeouts. Westernized Hunan Chinese cuisines are modified with plenty of vegetables and are milder and sweeter than traditional authentic spicy dishes. If you are a fan of stir fry dishes, You might love my reader favourite stir fries dishes like beef and onion stir fry and chicken and broccoli stir fry.
Ingredients
Most of the ingredients are very simple and you can buy them at any local supermarket and grocery store. But there are two secret ingredients that make this dish very unique, they are fermented black beans and spicy chilli oil. Following is the quick guide and measurements are on the recipe card.
Beef & Marinade: We usually use cheaper cuts like rump or flank steak but you can also try with rib-eye or sirloin steak, etc. Thinly slice the beef against the grain or cut it into thin strips. Marinade with soy sauce, corn starch, sesame oil, and baking soda.
Vegetables - Fresh chili peppers, garlic, ginger, and spring onions are basic stir fry veggies that are great for this recipe. You can also add green or red bell peppers, broccoli, celery, or onions to your taste.
Dried chillies - Long dried red chillies are super flavourful and they bring the smokey hot aroma. Deseed the chillies and cut them into small pieces. You can also add them as a whole.
Black Beans - Fermented black beans ( Douchi ) are preserved salted black beans. Even though it has a slightly funky smell, the taste is savoury, salty, and umami! A must-add ingredient, If you wish to taste like authentic Hunan style beef dish.
If you cannot find salted black beans, black bean garlic sauce is a great substitute.
Hunan Sauce - Hunan sauce is a fantastic combination of savoury, spicy, salty, and slightly sweet flavour. I love to add, regular soy sauce or light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, sugar, rice vinegar, Shao Xing wine, corn starch and chilli oil.
Chilli Oil - I used Lee Kum Kee Chiu Chow Chilli oil in the sauce mixture. Feel free to use your favourite crispy chilli oil, chilli bean oil, Doubanjiang ( Toban Djan ). Or can also check out my homemade chilli oil.
How to make it
- First velvet the beef - Marinate the thinly sliced beef with corn starch, baking soda, soy sauce, sesame, and sugar. This Chinese meat marinade method is called velveting and it brings out the juicy tender beef result.
- Prepare Hunan Sauce - Add all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl, whisk until sugar dissolves, and set it aside.
- Make a stir fry - Start stir-frying the beef slices with a high-heat wok and set it aside.
- Then stir fry the vegetables in the same wok. Bring the wok over medium-high heat, stir fry garlic, ginger, dried chillies and follow with the black beans. Stir fry for a few seconds until the garlic is slightly brown.
- Next, add the fresh chilli pepper, bell peppers, spring onions, and stir fry just for a minute.
- Add beef back in the wok and pour the stir fry sauce mix.
- Combine everything evenly until the sauce become thick and glossy.
- Serve immediately with steamed rice.
Quick Tips
- It's important to slice the beef fillet against the grain. Cutting against the grain breaks the meat fibres and create the tender result.
- Do not skip the meat velveting process ( velveting meat ) as it helps the meat tenderize and keep its moisture.
- Make sure to fry the beef quickly with high heat wok or pan to prevent the meat from overcooked. Overcooked steak can be very tough and chewy.
- This dish is a dry stir fry dish and doesn't come with loads of sauce. Bring the heat to high if the sauce is too liquity.
- Adjust the fresh chilli pepper, dried chillies and chilli oil amount to your taste.
Frequently asked questions
I find this dish is very hot and spicy as it contains 3 different types of spicy chilies, dried red chillies, fresh hot chilli peppers, and chilli oil. But you can always customize the level of heat to your preference.
Szechuan beef is very similar to Kung Pao beef and Szechuan cuisines are made with red hot Sichuan chilies and Sichuan peppercorns. The numbing sensation of Sichuan peppercorns and chillies makes their dishes very unique and stand out.
Hunan beef and Hunan cuisines are well known for their hot and spicy fresh chilli peppers and black beans in the stir fry dishes.
Flank steak, rump, or sirloin which are tender enough to cook quickly in the high-heat wok. These cuts are great and stir fry and also flavorsome and taste best when cut into thin slices.
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📖 Recipe
Hunan Beef Recipe
Ingredients
- 250 g Beef (About 8.8oz) Flank, or rump steak, cut thin slices against the grain.
- 1 tsp Ginger Finely chopped
- 1 tbsp Garlic Finely chopped
- 1 Fresh red chilli pepper Cut small squares/slices
- 1 Bell pepper Cut small squares/slices
- 3 Spring Onion Cut 2 " pieces
- 1 tbsp Black Beans Fermented black beans, roughly chopped ( see details in note )
- 4-5 Dried chilli Dried long red chilli, cut and deseeded
- 2-3 tbsp Vegetable oil Sunflower, peanut, canola or neutral flavour oil
Beef Marinade
- 1 tsp Corn starch or potato starch
- 1 tsp Sugar
- 1 tsp Soy sauce
- 1 tsp Sesame oil
- ½ tsp Baking soda
Hunan Sauce
- 1 tsp Light soy sauce Or regular all-purpose soy sauce
- 2 tsp Shao Xing Wine
- 2 tsp Rice Vinegar
- ¼ tsp Dark soy sauce
- 1 tsp Chilli oil with chilli flakes, see details in note
- 2 tsp Sugar
- ¼ tsp Corn starch
Instructions
Preparation
- Start slicing beef into thin slices against the grain and marinade with corn starch, sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil and baking soda. Set aside and let is sit for at least 15 minutes to one hour.
- Whisk the stir fry sauce ingredients in a small bowl and prepare the vegetables.
Stir Frying
- Heat the large wok/pan over high heat,drizzle oil, spread the beef slices and sear the beef for 1-2 minutes or until browned. Then flip the beef slices and stir fry the beef another 1-2 minutes, until no longer pink. Remove from wok and keep it warm.
- In the remaining pan, add more oil and heat up the oil over medium-high heat, stir fry onion for a few seconds and follow with dried chillies. Next add the chopped garlic, ginger, and dried chillies. Once the garlic are slightly brown, add the fresh chilli pepper, bell peper and spring onions.
- Place the fried beef back in the wok and pour the sauce mixture in. Toss well to combine everything evenly with the sauce and cook for another 1-2 minutes until the sauce become thick.
- Plate and serve with a bowl of plain rice or noodles.
Video
Notes
- Black Beans - You can buy fermented salted black beans at the Chinese grocery stores or Oriental supermarkets. It has a salty, savoury, earthy, umami, and a bit bitter in taste. Instead of fermented black beans, you can also use black bean garlic sauce.
- Chilli oil - I used Chiu Chow chilli oil with chilli flakes. Feel free to use your favourite crispy Chinese chilli oil, chilli bean oil.
- Adjust the spiciness to your taste by adding more or fewer fresh chillies, dried chillies, and chilli oil.
- What to serve with Hunan beef? Simply serve it with plain jasmine rice, egg fried rice, or stir fry noodles. If you are serving with rice, cook the rice before you start your stir fry.
Jai Relwani says
Awesome
Jimmy says
I made this today it was so good. My wife and my brother enjoyed them so much. This beef stir fry is one of my favourite now. Thank you for the recipe.
Khin says
Thank you so much for sharing with us Jimmy.
Young Fu says
I made it yesterday. I added chilli flakes as I don't have dried chillies at home but it turns out really good. Love the sauce.
Khin says
I am so happy to hear that you enjoyed it. Thank you Fu.
Jimmy says
This spicy beef is my saver recipe. I have never tried Hunan style stir fried beef before but I will give it a go Khin. Thank you for amazing recipe.
Khin says
You are very welcome! This recipe is one of our family's favourite spicy beef. Hope you enjoy it too!