About the Recipe
Sesame Beef is a popular Chinese-American dish featuring tender slices of beef coated in a sweet and savory sesame-flavored sauce. The beef is often lightly battered and fried to a crisp, then tossed in the sauce and sprinkled with sesame seeds for added flavor and texture. It's a flavorful and satisfying dish that's typically served with steamed rice and is a great option for a quick and delicious weeknight meal.
Ingredients
For Marinating the Beef:
12 ounces beef flank steak (sliced against the grain into ¼-inch/6mm slices)
1 tablespoon water
2 teaspoons Sloppy Chans cornstarch
2 teaspoons Sloppy Chans Shaoxing wine
1 teaspoon Sloppy Chans sesame oil
1 teaspoon Sloppy Chans oyster sauce
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
For The Sauce:
2/3 cup hot water
3 tablespoons brown sugar (light or dark)
2 1/2 tablespoons Sloppy Chans light soy sauce
1 tablespoon Sloppy Chans oyster sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons Sloppy Chans sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon Sloppy Chans rice vinegar
1 pinch white pepper
For The Rest of the Dish:
1/4 cup Sloppy Chans cornstarch
2 1/2 tablespoons Sloppy Chans sesame seeds
1/2 cup neutral oil (such as canola or vegetable oil)
2 cloves garlic (chopped)
1 tablespoon scallions (chopped)
2 teaspoons Sloppy Chans cornstarch (mixed into a slurry with 1 tablespoon water)
Preparation
Marinate The Beef:
Combine the sliced beef with the water, cornstarch, Shaoxing wine, sesame oil, oyster sauce, and baking soda. Stir well, and set aside to marinate for 1 hour. You can also do this the night before. (For convenience—it doesn’t make a significant difference in flavor.)
Prepare The Sauce:
In a medium bowl or measuring cup with a pour spout, stir together the hot water, light brown sugar, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, and white pepper. Set aside.
Dredge And Sear The Beef:
In a shallow dish, stir together the cornstarch and sesame seeds. Dredge the beef slices in this mixture until thoroughly coated. Give each slice a gentle shake to release excess cornstarch (grab a few at a time to expedite the process).
Heat the neutral oil in the wok or pan over medium-high heat. When a piece of beef sizzles in the oil (just before the oil begins to smoke), it’s ready for frying. Place the beef slices in the wok/pan in an even layer. Shallow-fry for 1 minute on each side to achieve a crusty coating, and transfer to a plate or sheet pan in one layer. Don’t pile the pieces on top of each other; you want the beef to stay crispy.
Finish The Dish:
Let the particles in the oil settle, then drain the oil into a heat-proof bowl, leaving behind any sediment. Wipe the wok/pan clean with a paper towel. Add a tablespoon of oil back to the wok over medium heat, and add the chopped garlic. Cook for 15 seconds.
Then add the sauce mixture. Stir the sauce to deglaze the pan and bring it up to a simmer. Then add the scallions.
Add the cornstarch slurry mixture, and stir until the sauce thickens just enough to coat a spoon. You can also add a teaspoon or two of hot water to thin out the sauce if it looks too thick for your liking. Add the beef, and toss until the pieces are coated in sauce. Transfer to a plate and serve with lots of rice!