A 15-minute savory, spicy beef and shrimp stir fry with basic seasonings. The tender beef will present a great contrast with the crunchy shrimp.
In Chinese stir-frying, we usually stir fry any one type of protein each time. But this mixed beef and shrimp stir fry can be very satisfying for meat lovers. We will meet the combo of beef and shrimp in a classic Chinese stir-frying dish. Previously, we had many beef stir-frying dishes (minced beef stir fry, beef and snowpea stir fry, and more ), but in many cases, the meat was stir-fried with one vegetable or more.
Shrimp has a slightly crispy texture compared with the softness of tender beef. What’s better is that it provides an extra flavor that can combine super well with beef strips.
Step by Step Instructions
Make the stir-fry sauce
Combine light soy sauce with dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, black pepper, sugar, and water in a small bowl. Divide the sauce into two portions: half as marinating sauce and half as stir-frying sauce.
How to marinate the beef
Scoop around two tablespoons of the stir-fry sauce we prepared in the previous step. Use your hand to grasp the beef or mix until the beef absorbs the flavors. Then, add some extra water and cornstarch.
Finally, add some vegetable cooking oil to coat it. This can help the beef slices stick together.
Fry the beef
First, heat your wok or pan until very hot. Add cooking oil to form a 2-3 cm high layer (do not be scared by the amount of oil. Fry minced garlic, ginger, and scallion white until aromatic. Spread the beef slices when the oil is warm but not hot. Let them stay for 3-5 seconds, then quickly fry them until they turn pale. Transfer out immediately.
Fry the shrimp
Leave the oil in the wok and add the shrimp. Fry for about half a minute until it changes color. Transfer the shrimp out.
Mix them up
Return the beef and pour it into the bow sauce we prepared in the previous step. Add scallion sections and chopped Thai peppers. Quickly mix everything up.
Cook’s Note
You can adjust the spiciness of this beef and shrimp stir fry by adjusting the amount of Thai paper or the time of adding those peppers. If Thai peppers are added with garlic and ginger earlier, it will strengthen the hot level.
What to serve with
This is a comforting meat stir-frying, and thus, I highly recommend you match it with some fiber and vegetable side dishes, including broccoli with garlic sauce, Chinese smashed cucumber, or tofu with bok choy soup.
You can serve the delicious beef and shrimp with steamed rice, wheat noodles, or rice noodles.
- 100 g Beef
- 100 g shrimp
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 thumb ginger minced
- 2 red Thai chili pepper cut into small circles
- 2 scallions cut into sections
- 4 tbsp. vegetable cooking oil for stir frying
Beef Marinating
- 1/2 tbsp. Chinese cooking wine
- 1 tbsp. light soy sauce
- 1 tsp. dark soy sauce
- 1 tbsp. oyster sauce
- 2 tbsp. water or chicken stock
- 1/4 tsp. white pepper powder
- 3 tsp. cornstarch
- 1/2 tbsp. vegetable oil
Marinate the beef
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Combine the pork with soy sauce, dark soy sauce, water cornstarch, cooking wine, oyster sauce, and white pepper powder in a bowl. Let it marinate for 20 minutes to absorb all the flavors. Then, pour vegetable cooking oil and mix well before stir-frying. Since we want it to have a lovely seafood flavor, we add oyster sauce for marinating beef.
Make the stir-fry sauce
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Combine light soy sauce with dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, a dash of black pepper, sugar, water, and cornstarch in a small bowl. We will use this as the stir-fry sauce later.
Fry the beef
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First, heat your wok or pan until very hot. Add cooking oil to form a 2-3 cm high layer (do not be scared by the amount of oil; we do not eat it all. Spread the beef slices when the oil is warm but not hot. Let them stay for 3-5 seconds, then quickly fry them until they turn pale. Transfer out immediately.
Mix them up
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Leave some oil in a wok, add minced garlic, ginger, and Thai chili pepper, and fry until aromatic. This may take around 10 seconds. Return shrimp and beef, and pour in the bow sauce we prepared in the previous step. Add scallion sections and mix everything up.
