Beef with snow peas features tender juicy steak stir fried with crisp snow peas in a gingery, garlicky brown sauce. It is a satisfying and nutritious dish that takes less than 30 minutes to make – perfect for a weekday dinner. {Gluten-Free Adaptable}
Beef with snow peas is a popular Chinese takeout stir fry dish that features thin slices of beef and crisp snow peas that are brought together with a hearty brown sauce. The sauce has a savory and slightly sweet flavor, and tastes fragrant with aromatics. The beef is marinated in a mixture of soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, and cornstarch to help tenderize the meat and infuse it with flavor.
Ingredients for beef with snow peas
What cut of beef to use
My favorite cut for making beef stir fries is flank steak, which is quite lean yet still tender. Skirt steak also works very well.
If you have to use a cheaper cut, such as round roast or brisket, there is a quick method to tenderiz the beef. Sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda onto the beef along with the other marinade ingredients, then mix very thoroughly to coat the beef. Chinese restaurants commonly use this method so they can use cheaper cuts of beef and still get a tender result.
How to prep snow peas to improve texture
Once you’ve washed the snow peas, make sure to snip the tough ends off. When you’re snipping off the ends, do it gradually along the side of the pea, so the tough string along the side comes off. You can watch my video below to see it in action. This step will take a few minutes, but greatly improves the snow peas’ texture.
Mise en place
When you’re ready to cook beef with snow peas, your table should have:
- Marinated beef
- Minced ginger and garlic
- Mixed sauce
- Snow peas
- Sliced onions
How to cook beef with snow peas
Cooking beef with snow peas is a very fast process, that’s why you want to have everything ready before turning on the stove. He’s the process in a nutshell:
- Sear the beef
- Cook the onion and aromatics
- Stir fry the snow peas
- Pour in the sauce
- Add back the cooked beef
- Stir everything together
Do not overcook the beef
To make sure the beef turns out tender and juicy, you want to cook it just enough so it’s cooked through at the end of the stir fry.
When I sear the beef, I like to spread the pieces into a single layer and not move them much. So the bottom will form a nice char. It also prevents sticking if you use a carbon steel or cast iron pan.
After flipping the beef, I would wait just until the other side is cooked and the inside is still a bit medium. Because you will add the beef back later and cook it with the sauce, which will be just long enough to cook the beef through.
How to serve beef with snow peas
I like to serve beef with snow peas over steamed rice for a complete meal. If you want to serve it on boiled noodles, you can even double the sauce, so that the noodles soak up all the great flavor.
Beef with snow peas is super quick to make, and is loaded with vegetables. It also contains less sugar and salt than restaurant takeout. I hope you enjoy it!
More delicious homemade takeout recipes
- Crispy Peanut Butter Chicken
- Pork Chop Suey
- Mongolian Beef (Without Using a Wok)
- Cashew Chicken (腰果鸡丁)
- Rice Cake Stir Fry (炒年糕, Chao Nian Gao)
Beef with Snow Peas
Ingredients
Marinade
- 1 lb (450 g) flank steak , thinly sliced against the grain (or skirt steak)
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 2 teaspoons Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry)
- 1 teaspoon peanut oil (or vegetable oil)
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
Sauce
- 1/4 cup chicken stock
- 1 1/2 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
- 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce (or regular soy sauce)
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
Stir Fry
- 1 to 2 tablespoons peanut oil (or vegetable oil)
- 2 cups (6 oz / 170 g) snow peas , trimmed & strings removed
- 1/2 onion , sliced into thick strips
- 1/2 ” (1 cm) ginger , minced
- 1 clove garlic , minced
Instructions
- Combine the steak, oyster sauce, oil and cornstarch in a medium-sized bowl. Mix with your hands to coat the beef evenly. Marinate for 15 minutes while preparing the other ingredients.
- Combine all the sauce ingredients except the sesame oil in a small bowl. Stir to dissolve the sugar and cornstarch. Add the sesame oil and set aside.
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Spread the marinated steak into a single layer, cooking in batches to avoid overcrowding if necessary. Sear on one side for 1 minute or until the bottom is lightly charred. Flip and sear for another 30 seconds to 1 minute, until the other side is cooked but the inside is still slightly pink. Transfer the steak to a plate, leaving any excess oil in the pan.
- If the pan looks dry, add another tablespoon of oil to the pan. Add the snow peas and onions. Cook and stir for about 1 minute. Add the ginger and garlic. Continue to cook for another 30 seconds.
- Stir the sauce again to redissolve the cornstarch completely and pour it into the pan. Add the beef back to the pan. Stir until the sauce thickens. Immediately transfer everything to a large plate and serve hot as a main dish.
Video
Nutrition
Lilja Walter was a part of the Omnivore’s Cookbook team and worked closely with Maggie to develop and test this recipe.
This is a good recipe, I almost gave up on it because of all the ads trying to see it. Scrolling and scrolling through ads just to find the ingredients. I feel like going back and looking at who all the ads were for and avoiding doing any business with any of them.
Very good! I did add sliced mushrooms, s and used garlic & ginger paste instead, but otherwise made as directed.