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    Home » Recipes » Sauces/Rubs/Salsas/Dips

    Simple Beef Marinade for Stir Fry

    Jul 15, 2022 • Author: Joyce • 10 Comments • This post may contain affiliate links.

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
    5 from 7 votes

    A simple and easy beef marinade that can be used for all types of beef, vegetable, or noodle stir-fry.

    A small metal bowl with beef slices in a marinade.

    When it comes to Chinese stir fry, it doesn't take a lot to make it fantastic, but marinating beef in a marinade is definitely a must to keep the beef juicy and moist. Most beef marinades for stir-fries are simple and easy anyway, so you definitely don't want to skip the marinating step.

    Whenever I make any type of beef stir fry recipes like my Beef Chow Fun, Cantonese Beef Chow Mein, Stir Fried Bitter Melon, or Beef Noodle Stir Fry, I always marinate the beef. It's a quick and easy step that adds a lot to your dishes and is definitely worth the effort.

    To take your beef to another level you can also slice beef against the grain when you're cutting the beef and you can take it to another level by velveting the beef as well.

    Beef being sliced against the grain in preparation of the marinade.

    I won't go into too much detail here because this is meant to be a simple post for you to make an easy beef stir fry marinade fry but if you want to jump into the details of how to slice beef against the grain and velvet it, check out my post How to Make Beef Tender for Stir Fry.

    Best Cuts of Beef for Stir Fry

    Before you marinate beef, make sure you have a nice cut of beef that will stay tender for any type of quick-cooking Chinese stir fry.

    When it comes to the type of beef I use for stir-fries, I'm not particularly too picky about it and usually use what is available at the time.

    The most common and popular beef cuts I use for stir-fries are:

    • Flank Steak
    • Chuck (my personal favorite) - I buy big chunks of chuck at Costco and cut them into chunks and freeze them so I always have beef on hand for stir-fries. They stay tender and have a great beef flavor as well.
    • Outside Skirt Steak
    • Top Sirloin Steak - Or any type of steak such as ribeye or t-bone

    Tips

    • This beef marinade also works very well with chicken and pork.

    Beef Marinade Ingredients

    • Soy Sauce - For this Asian beef marinade recipe, you can use both light (regular) soy sauce or low sodium soy sauce.
    • Dark Soy Sauce (Optional) - Dark soy sauce is only used to give beef a browner color once it has been cooked. It is completely optional.
    • Shaoxing Cooking Wine - Any type of cooking wine will work for this beef marinade. I like to use Shaoxing wine, but rice wine and dry sherry will also work.
    • Water - Water is a must, and is used to re-hydrate the beef, which will keep it moist and juicy once it has been stir-fried.
    • Toasted Sesame Oil - Adding toasted sesame oil will give this beef marinade another dimension of flavor.
    • Corn Starch - Adding starch to the marinade, seals in the beef juices, and keeps it tender and juicy. Any type of starch will work but I usually stick to corn starch and I will occasionally use tapioca or potato starch as well because it is what I always have on hand.
    • Oyster Sauce - I don't usually add oyster sauce, but if you have it on hand, you definitely can add about 1 teaspoon to give the marinade a bit more flavor.
    • Oil - For the neutral oil, I like to use avocado oil but any type of oil will work. The oil helps seal the cornstarch onto the beef to keep it moist.
    Cantonese Beef Chow Mein on a white plate on a wooden table

    FAQs

    How Long Should You Marinate Beef for Stir Fry?

    For any type of Chinese stir fry, you only need to marinate your beef for 30 minutes because we are marinating thin slices of beef which don't require a lot of time for the marinade to penetrate the meat.

    How Do You Tenderize Beef For Stir Fry?

    To tenderize beef, cutting the beef against the grain is usually enough to keep it tender. You can also add ¾ teaspoon of baking soda mixed with 2 tablespoons of water with your beef slices for 30 minutes but you must rinse out the baking soda before you start to marinate it.

    Should Beef Be Marinated Before Stir-Frying?

    Yes, you always should marinate beef before you stir fry because it gives the beef more flavor and it also keeps the beef tender and juicy.

    If you like my recipes and tutorials and want to be updated on when new ones come out, please consider subscribing to my newsletter (we don't spam) and follow along on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest for all of my latest recipes!

    Chinese Recipes That Use Beef Marinade

    • Crispy Cantonese Beef Chow Mein
    • Beef Chow Fun (干炒牛河)
    • Stir Fried Bitter Melon with Beef and Black Bean Sauce
    • Beef Noodle Stir Fry

    Marinade for Beef Stir Fry

    A simple beef marinade for Asian stir fry
    Print Pin Share Email Rate Save Saved!
    Course: Sauce
    Cuisine: Asian, Chinese
    Prep Time: 1 minute
    Cook Time: 0 minutes
    Total Time: 1 minute
    1
    5 from 7 votes

    Recipe Notes

    • This beef marinade also works very well with chicken and pork.
    • Adding water to any type of chicken, pork, or beef marinade not only rehydrates the meat so that it becomes juicier and moister but when combined with soy sauce it also makes it a mini brine which gives it another level of hydration so your beef always stays tender and juicy.
    • Alternatively, if you don't want to use corn starch for velveting beef, you can also use tapioca starch or potato starch but any type of starch will actually do the trick.
    • For the neutral oil, I like to use avocado oil but any type of oil will work as well.

    Ingredients
     

    • 300 g beef

    Beef Marinade

    • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
    • ½ teaspoon dark soy sauce (optional, for color)
    • ½ tablespoon Shaoxing cooking wine (or dry sherry)
    • 2 tablespoons water
    • ½ tablespoon neutral oil
    • ½ teaspoon toasted sesame oil
    • 1 teaspoon corn starch
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions
     

    • Thinly slice the beef against the grain and put it in a small bowl.
    • Add in all the ingredients from 'Beef Marinade' and mix it into the beef by hand.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 808kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 53g | Fat: 62g | Saturated Fat: 23g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 27g | Trans Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 213mg | Sodium: 869mg | Potassium: 877mg | Fiber: 0.1g | Sugar: 0.1g | Calcium: 61mg | Iron: 6mg

    *Nutritional information is calculated using online tools and is an estimate*

    Did you try this recipe?I'd love to hear from you! Let me know how it was and consider giving it a rating! Tag me on Instagram with @pupswithchopsticks to show me!
    Made with ♡ by Joyce Lee

    Disclaimer: We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no cost to you - these earnings help keep this blog running.  While I appreciate the support – please try to buy your items locally if possible to support your local shops (chances are they are cheaper locally as well!) ðŸ™‚

    More Sauces/Rubs/Salsas/Dips

    • Miso Butter
    • Miso Garlic Chili Oil
    • Vietnamese Fish Sauce Dipping Sauce (Nuoc Cham / Nuoc Mam)
    • Easy Thai Peanut Satay Sauce

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Toni says

      July 19, 2022 at 12:24 pm

      5 stars
      This marinade is so perfect!! Really quick and easy!

      Reply
      • Joyce Lee says

        July 21, 2022 at 10:11 am

        Hi Toni!
        Thanks so much for sharing! I'm so happy you liked the marinated beef!

        Reply
    2. Dannii says

      July 19, 2022 at 11:42 am

      5 stars
      The flavours in this were amazing. Really made an amazing stir fry.

      Reply
      • Joyce Lee says

        July 21, 2022 at 10:11 am

        Hi Dannii!
        I'm so happy you liked it on your stir fry!! 🙂

        Reply
    3. Tayler says

      July 19, 2022 at 10:51 am

      5 stars
      I used this marinade yesterday and of my goodness was my beef full of flavor! So delicious!

      Reply
      • Joyce Lee says

        July 21, 2022 at 10:10 am

        Hi Tayler!
        Yay! I'm so happy you liked it!

        Reply
    4. Carrie Robinson says

      July 19, 2022 at 10:43 am

      5 stars
      This marinade sounds so flavorful! I bet this tastes amazing. 🙂

      Reply
      • Joyce Lee says

        July 21, 2022 at 10:10 am

        Hi Carrie,
        Thank you!

        Reply
    5. Beth says

      July 19, 2022 at 10:43 am

      5 stars
      I can't wait to try this! I love marinades like this because you can get such a depth of flavor from such easy ingredients. Love it.

      Reply
      • Joyce Lee says

        July 21, 2022 at 10:10 am

        Hi Beth,
        Hope this marinade works out for you!

        Reply

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