Garlic beef is a popular dish in China. The beef is cut to square pieces and cooked until juicy and tender, creating a satisfying mouthfeel. A large amount of garlic cloves are fried until golden and buttery tender, with a mild sweet taste. An oyster sauce and black pepper based brown sauce bring everything together, with a piece of melting butter to finish up. Top it on some steamed rice and you will have an exciting dinner in the comfort of your own home.
Garlic beef ingredients
What cut of beef to use
My favorite cut of beef to use is flank steak. It is quite tender once cooked and has a nice mouthfeel. If you prefer a cheaper cut of beef, you might consider adding 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda into the marinade. It will tenderize a tough cut of beef and make it extra smooth. It is a trick that is commonly used in Chinese restaurants.
Mise en place
When you’re ready to cook, your table should have:
Marinated beef Mixed sauce Garlic, peeled and cut Butter
This dish uses a surprisingly large quantity of garlic, two whole heads! But rest assured, the garlic will become very tender and mild when pan fried. It has great flavor and doesn’t taste too pungent like raw garlic.
How to cook garlic beef
Cooking garlic beef is super easy. It’s very important to not overcook the beef. Because of the soy sauce and the sugar in the marinade, the beef will brown quickly. You should proceed to the next cooking step when the beef is just browned and the inside is slightly undercooked. The beef will keep cooking after you add the sauce, and will be just done once the sauce thickens. You can even leave the beef a little medium rare if you prefer an even tenderer texture. Once cooked, the beef will be beautifully browned on the outside and juicy tender inside. The sticky brown sauce has a ton of umami and is slightly sweet, so it pairs very well with the buttery garlic.
How to serve garlic beef
You can serve garlic beef with some steamed vegetables as a main dish. You can even serve it with some mashed potatoes, fries, or potato salad and a green salad. But my favorite way to serve it is with steamed rice. Here are some easy dishes to go with garlic beef:
Spicy Cucumber Salad Soy Sauce Fried Rice (酱油炒饭) Shanghai Scallion Oil Noodle (葱油拌面) 4-Ingredient Yu Choy Stir Fry (清炒菜心) Spinach Egg Drop Soup
Other delicious beef recipes
Chinese Beef Chow Mein (牛肉炒面) Easy Beef Fried Rice (牛肉炒饭) Beef and Chinese Broccoli (芥蓝牛肉) Sesame Beef Beef and Celery Stir Fry
