When it comes to ordering a Chinese take away, my first port of call is some crispy shredded chilli beef. One day we picked up some beef strips from the supermarket reduction shelves and I thought I would give it a try. I have amended recipes I have found online to make this perfect for our tastes, so here is my crispy chilli beef recipe.
It is quicker for me to make this crispy chilli beef recipe than it is to drive to our nearest Chinese takeaway and back. We have it most weeks because it feels like a real treat without breaking the bank. There is the initial outlay to get all the spices and condiments, but they last for ages.
Not gonna lie, when I make this instead of getting a Chinese then I transfer £20 into our savings.
I just want to take a moment to talk about the beef shape that I use. Buying beef strips is probably one of the most expensive ways to buy the beef for this recipe, so I use diced beef. The flavour combination is there, but you won’t get it like crispy shredded beef you get from your local Chinese takeaway.
crispy chilli beef
Ingredients
- 2 spring onions
- 1 carrot
- 2 chillis
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 large onion
- 1/4 pepper
- 10 green beans
- 3 tsbp soy sauce
- 3 tsbp cornflower
- 3 tsbp Chinese 5 spice
- 3 tsbp white wine vinegar
- 3 tsbp ketchup
- 3 tsbp sweet chilli sauce
- 1 pack beef (diced)
Instructions
- In a large bottom frying pan or wok, heat up 2" of cooking oil.
- Whilst the pan is heating, mix together the cornflour and Chinese 5 spice.
- Mix the beef into the cornflour and Chinese 5 spice mixture.
- Fry the beef for around 5-8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Whilst the beef is cooking you can start to chop up your vegetables into whichever shapes you like.
- Once the beef is cooked place it on a plate with some kitchen roll underneath to drain.
- Remove the oil from the pan, retaining about 5 tablespoons.
- Fry the vegetables for 2-3 minutes until soft.
- Stir all of your wet ingredients into the pan.
- Cook for a further 3 minutes.
- Place your drained beef back into the pan.
- Stir so that the beef is covered in the sauce.
- Cook for a further 2 minutes then serve.
What to serve with crispy chilli beef?
There are so many great sides to serve with your crispy chilli beef.
You can serve it with rice, noodles and salt and chilli chips for a real Chinese take away taste.
Amendments to crispy shredded beef recipe
There are so many things you can change with in this Chinese chilli beef recipe to mix it up.
You can use beef strips to make crispy shredded beef, adjusting the frying time for a small piece of meat.
You can also mix up the vegetables you use, and it is a great way to use up some sorry looking vegetables in the bottom of your fridge.
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