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.
- Pan fry the garlic until golden and soft, then move it to a plate
- Sear the beef until browned
- Add back the cooked garlic and melt the butter
- Pour in the sauce and cook until thickened
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
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Garlic Beef (蒜香牛肉粒)
Ingredients
Marinating
- 1 lb (450 g) flank steak , diced into 1” (2 cm) cubes
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
Sauce
- 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
Stir Fry
- 2 tablespoons peanut oil (or vegetable oil)
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 heads garlic , peeled, outer larger cloves halved lengthwise
Instructions
- Combine all the marinating ingredients in a medium-sized bowl and mix well. Let sit for 15 minutes while preparing other ingredients.
- Mix the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl.
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add the garlic and turn to medium-low heat. Cook and stir until the garlic has turned golden on both sides, but not too browned. Transfer the garlic to a plate and set aside. Reserve the garlic oil in the pan.
- Spread the beef in the pan without overlapping and turn to medium-high heat. Let the bottom cook without touching until turning golden brown, 2 minutes or so. Flip to cook the other sides, until most sides have browned and the inside is still a bit pink (the beef will continue to cook until done in the sauce).
- Add back the cooked garlic and butter. Turn to medium heat again. Stir and cook until the butter melts.
- Pour in the sauce. Stir immediately to coat everything while the sauce thickens, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer everything into a plate and serve hot over rice as a main dish.
Video
Nutrition
Have a question or feedback? Add a Comment
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Barbara
Garlic is our thing! Could I use chicken or pork tenderloin?
Maggie Zhu
You definitely can! For pork, I would add 1/2 teaspoon baking soda into the marinade, to tenderize the pork. Because pork tenderloin is very lean and it will turn tough easily if over cooked. The baking soda will keep it tender and juicy.
Erica Heath
I made this this evening. It was superb! I layered it over a bed of black rice, and the strength of flavor from the rice paired perfectly with the umami of the meat.
Alfred
Hi Maggie, can I substitute the flank steak with beef stew cubes? Thank you
Maggie Zhu
You can. If you use stew cubes, I highly recommend adding 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda to the marinade to tenderize the beef. You should marinate the beef for 30 minutes. The stew meat is a tougher cut, and the baking soda will make it very tender.