This scallion beef recipe is slightly adapted from scallion lamb stir-fry (葱爆羊肉, cong bao yang rou), a classic northern Chinese dish. You probably won’t find scallion beef in a Chinese restaurant, as beef is not a staple in most of China. But since beef is a more available protein in the US, I wanted to share this classic recipe with you using beef. Scallion beef is made with sliced beef and Chinese scallions in a savory brown sauce. The beef is cooked with high heat until browned and still juicy. It’s then brought together with scallions, a simple sauce and a ton of aromatics. It’s the best type of dish to serve over steamed rice for a quick and satisfying meal.
Ingredients
What is Chinese scallion (大葱)
Growing up in Beijing, the most common type of scallion is the very long and thick type (See the picture below. I placed some regular green onions on the side for scale.). It is called Da Cong (大葱), or directly translated means big scallion. We use it every day instead of the delicate green onions (known as scallions in the US), which are more expensive and do not stand up to heat as well. You can see that the Chinese scallion is much bigger, with a very long white part. The texture of the Chinese scallion is very similar to that of green onion, except the white part and green part are slightly thicker and coarser. Chinese scallions resemble leeks, but I think the texture of leeks is much drier. Also, leeks have a shorter white stem, and the green part is much thicker. For the scallion beef stir fry, the best option is to use Chinese scallions for a much better texture. However, you can use regular scallions or leeks as an alternative. If using regular scallions, you will need about 6 to 8 of them and you should slice them into 2” (5 cm) long pieces. For leeks, you can use 1 to 2 of them, depending on the size. You should also cook the leeks a bit longer so they will turn soft.
What type of beef cut to use
My favorite beef cut for stir frying is flank steak. You can use skirt steak as well. If you want to use a cheaper cut such as chuck or brisket, you can add 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda to the marinade and marinate the beef for 20 to 30 minutes. The baking soda will tenderize the beef and keep a great texture during the cooking process.
Mise en place
When you’re ready to cook, your table should have:
How to make scallion beef stir fry
Cooking scallion beef is super fast once you’ve done the prep: That’s it! Then you can serve this juicy beef and tender scallions over steamed rice for dinner!
Other delicious dinner ideas
Real-Deal Xinjiang Cumin Lamb (孜然羊肉)Black Pepper ChickenChinese Beef and Broccoli (牛肉炒西兰花)Spicy Squid Stir Fry (爆炒鱿鱼)Shredded Pork with Garlic Sauce (鱼香肉丝, Yu Xiang Rou Si)
The post was published on Aug 13, 2015 and updated by Jul 29, 2022.
