Sharing is caring!

The trick to having delicious meat? Marinade! I learned from my mom that she pretty much marinades most meat she stir fries with prior to cooking, even if it’s just 15 minutes. It really does flavor the food, this Stir Fry Steak Marinade is one of the ones we use!

How to marinate stir fry beef?

This is pretty easy actually, you can use either big bowl or a big zip lock bag. I prefer to not waste a zip lock bag and use a big bowl but it’s of course up to you. Using a zip lock bag is probably a better idea if you plan to stick it in the fridge and let it marinade over night.

To marinade, you would just combine the marinade ingredients (salt, sugar, rice vinegar, thick soy sauce, oil, and cornstarch, etc.) with the meat and mix well. If you’re about to cook it you can let it marinade for about 15 mins, but you can also let it marinade overnight.

By the way if you’re looking for more information on the sauces/condiments I used for this recipe, check out this article I wrote introducing all the sauces!

Thick Soy Sauce

I do not use regular soy sauce for this recipe. I use Thick Soy Sauce, aka Soy Paste. There’s actually many different types of soy sauce! Thick soy sauce is a lot thicker than your normal soy sauce. It has a richer, sweeter flavor, which is perfect for this dish.

If you can’t find any thick soy sauce, you can actually use regular soy sauce. If you do this route, here’s a couple of recommendations:

• Add some sort of sweetener. Since Thick soy sauce is more sweet, you are now missing a flavor, so I would recommend adding a bit of sugar or sweetener of your choice.
• Thicken it. Since Thick soy sauce is, well duh, more thick, you may want to add something to thicken the sauce. To do this, you can mix cornstarch and water in a separate bowl to create a thickener, and then adding it to the dish prior to adding the basil.

Or even more simple – Oyster sauce can often be used as a substitute because it is similar in texture and it is also salty and sweet at the same time.

By the way you can find these sauces, in your local Asian grocery store or even on amazon here:

Kimlan Soy Paste / Thick Soy Sauce

Lee Kum Kee Oyster Sauce

How to stir fry steak?

The trick to stir frying steak is cutting the meat evenly. This way everything will cook evenly, and you won’t end up with some pieces that are way too tough and some that are still not done inside.

So if you are going to slice it in to strips, then you will want to make sure everything is sliced evenly. Or, if you are going to cut it in to cubes (like I did in this recipe), then you want to make sure all the cubes are about the same size.

How to make Stir Fry Steak Marinade?

First, gather the ingredients:

• 1 pound beef, sliced or cubed
• 1/4 onion, chopped
• 1 tbsp cooking oil
• Marinade:
  • 1 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 1 tbsp thick soy sauce aka soy paste
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil
  • 1 tbsp cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1 green onion, chopped (optional)

Second, we are going to marinade the meat:

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl or zip lock bag. If you are about to cook it, let it marinade at the very least 15-30 minutes. If you are making this ahead, cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes before cooking.

Third, we are going to cook the meat:

In a large nonstick skillet, add 1 tbsp of oil over medium-high heat. Add onions and stir fry for about 1-2 minutes.

Then, add the beef and stir fry until browned and to the doneness you prefer. Remove from heat, sprinkle with green onions and serve!

Pin for later!

Sharing is caring!