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Beef in Oyster Sauce Takeaway Stir Fry

Beef in oyster sauce stir fry is an ever-green Chinese takeaway dish, this features lots of onions & goes from fridge to table in 15 minutes!

Soft and tender thinly sliced and quickly cooked beef steak is the star of this simple recipe that will have you ditching those takeaway menus.

Stir-fried beef steak in oyster sauce with fresh chilli and rice.

Chinese Takeaway Steak Stir Fry in Oyster Sauce

Before my love of British Indian food really took hold my idea of the perfect indulgence would have been a Chinese takeaway.

Growing up I would have had one of two things, either chicken chow mein or beef with oyster sauce. We did not have a lot of money so takeaways were a treat and choosing beef, was even more so!

This recipe is really simple and relies on ingredients that I pretty much always have at home.

It is insanely quick and joins other classic Chinese takeaway recipes like dan dan noodles, pork yuk sung, beef and broccoli stir fry, stir-fried black pepper beef, the wonderfully named dragon chicken and szechuan chicken in my lineup of takeaway recipes.

I even have a glorious Thai-inspired cashew chicken stir fry and a satay chicken stir fry.

All are far easier and quicker to make than you think. None of them takes longer than 25 minutes from start to finish!

They also use a similar foundation of store cupboard ingredients. Light and dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, hoisin sauce, rice wine and some form of Chinese vinegar.

Overhead Chinese stir-fried beef in oyster sauce with fresh chilli and rice.

Frequently Asked Questions

What type of beef should I use?

I have tested this recipe with 3 different cuts of beef.

My favourite is rump steak, and it is what this video and the images on this page feature. I think it has the most wonderful flavour and is more than tender enough when cross-cut and cooked quickly.

The next cut that I suggest would be sirloin, it has a little less flavour than rump. But it is slightly more tender. This is the cut that I recommend for my chilli beef stir fry with noodles.

Finally flank or skirt steak, both offer more flavour than either of the first two options but are less tender, it is the cut of beef that I prefer for my sticky crispy chilli beef.

Is there an alternative to Shaoxing wine?

You could use any rice wine as a substitute for Shaoxing wine.

Other popular substitutions are sherry, mirin (which I think is too sweet) and sake. However, my personal recommendation would be gin, especially in dishes with meat or fish.

I am always disappointed with my stir fries, what am I doing wrong?

I suspect that the issue is heat, your wok needs to be fiercely hot, and it needs to be hot all of the time. As a result keep that heat turned up, keep the ingredients moving and do not over crowd the wok!

To help you keep on top of this make sure ALL of your ingredients are prepared in advance and sauces measured out. You absolutely do not have time to do this when you start cooking.

An important note for US-based visitors!

I am informed that rump steak is often called sirloin steak in the US and that sirloin steak is often called short loin.

Close-up stir-fried beef steak in oyster sauce with fresh chilli and rice.

Serving Suggestions.

As with most of my simple fakeaway meals, I ordinarily serve this steak in an oyster sauce dish over boiled rice, although egg fried rice would also be great!

Aside from the garnish and lots of fried onions this recipe is very light on vegetables.

As a result, the perfect pairing with it would be some veggies. Either my broccoli stir fry or stir fried asparagus would be perfect.

This quick 10-minute bok choi recipe would be another ideal side dish!

Chinese takeaway style beef with oyster sauce served with rice.

Equipment Used

I only mention brands of equipment if I think they make a material difference to a recipe. If you have any questions feel free to ask them in the comments section below the recipe.

  • Stovetop.
  • Wok, I use a large carbon steel wok.
  • Mixing and prep bowls.
  • Chopping board.
  • Kitchen knife.
  • Weighing scales and or measuring cups and or spoons.
Chinese takeaway style beef in oyster sauce with rice.
Yield: 2 Servings

Beef in Oyster Sauce Recipe

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes

This beef in oyster sauce recipe is delicious and simple and it cooks in way less time than it takes the delivery chap or chapess to get to you!

Ingredients

  • 300g (10oz) Rump Steak
  • 200g (1⅓ Cups) Onion
  • 1 Medium Hot Red Chili Pepper
  • 1 Spring Onion
  • Ginger Thumb Sized Piece
  • 3 Cloves Garlic
  • 1 Tbsp Light Soy Sauce
  • 1 Tbsp Dark Soy Sauce
  • 1 Tbsp Shaoxing Wine
  • 1 Tbsp Cornflower
  • 50g (3 Tbsp) Oyster Sauce
  • Pinch of Sugar
  • 2 Tbsp Cooking Oil

Instructions

  1. Cut your steak into strips 5mm in profile and around 5cm long.
  2. Mix together the soy sauces, oyster sauce and Shaoxing wine with the cornflower.
  3. Add the beef to the sauce and allow to sit whilst you prepare the remaining ingredients.
  4. Peel, top and tail the onions and cut into wedges 1.5cm wide at the thickest end.
  5. Deseed the chilli and cut into long strips as thinly as you can.
  6. Peel and cut the ginger into batons as finely as you can.
  7. Slice the garlic as finely as you can.
  8. Slice your spring onion at a 45° angle.
  9. Heat a wok over a fierce heat, when shimmering add the cooking oil.
  10. Add the onions and stir fry for 3 minutes.
  11. Add the ginger and garlic and stir fry for a further 60 seconds.
  12. Remove the beef from the marinade throw that in and again fry for 2 more minutes.
  13. Add the leftover marinade and around half of the spring onions and stir fry for a final 30 seconds.
  14. Serve over rice and with the remaining spring onions and red chilli.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

2

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 552Total Fat: 32gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 21gCholesterol: 128mgSodium: 1728mgCarbohydrates: 21gFiber: 3gSugar: 7gProtein: 44g

Calorific details are provided by a third-party application and are to be used as indicative figures only.

Did you make this recipe?

If you made this recipe, I'd love to see what you did and what I can do better, share a picture with me on Instagram and tag me @krumplibrian and tell me how it went!

Danielle

Monday 9th of July 2018

I'm totally with you on the preparation. Stir frying moves so fast you have got to be ready! I love anything with oyster sauce, it has such a delicious flavor. Great recipe!

Brian Jones

Tuesday 10th of July 2018

Thank you :)

Kristi

Monday 9th of July 2018

Oh that looks delicious. Now you have me adding things to my shopping list to make this soon.

Brian Jones

Tuesday 10th of July 2018

Enjoy!

Kavita Favelle

Monday 9th of July 2018

Really love the combination of beef, white asparagus and oyster sauce, what a nice set of core ingredients. Looks really delicious.

Brian Jones

Tuesday 10th of July 2018

Thank you.

Valentina

Monday 9th of July 2018

I love white asparagus, and was first introduced to in when I was living in Spain. I think it's fascinating how it grows underground. Looks fabulous in this tasty meal!

Brian Jones

Tuesday 10th of July 2018

Me too, enjoy!

Natalie

Monday 9th of July 2018

I never would have thought of combining beef with oyster sauce! Looks absolutely delicious and your photographs are simply stunning as usual :)

Brian Jones

Monday 9th of July 2018

It seems such a common combination I am surprised you have not stumbled on it before... Oysters and beef have such a crossover in many food cultures, oysters in beef pie are a huge one that spring to mind.

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