Sesame Beef

5 from 7 votes

This sesame beef recipe is a delicious fusion of crispy beef, sweet sauce, and toasted sesame seeds. It's a simple yet flavorful dish that's perfect for those who love Chinese cuisine and are looking for an easy, tasty meal to prepare at home.

Prep Time30

Cook Time30

Total Time1

Course: Main

Cuisine: Chinese

Servings:

Calories: 541kcal

Author: Joyce Lee

Ingredients

1 lb beef
½ white onion (or 1 yellow onion)
3 cloves garlic (sliced)
4-5 slices ginger

Sesame Beef Marinade

1 tablespoon onion
1 teaspoon ginger
1 tablespoon garlic
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon Shaoxing cooking wine (or dry sherry)
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons water

Sesame Beef Batter

½ cup cornstarch
2 tablespoon white sesame seeds (not toasted)

Sesame Beef Sauce

2 tablespoons light soy sauce (low sodium)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2½ tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
¼ teaspoon Chinese five spice
1½ tablespoons sesame oil (added at the very end, after heat is turned off)
½ cup water

Garnish

3 tablespoons sesame seeds (they will be toasted during prep)

Instructions

Preparation

In a small pot, add 3 tablespoons sesame seeds and toast it over medium heat for a few minutes. Keep shaking the pan so that the seeds don't burn. You'll know they are done when they are a dark golden brown color. Set them aside for later.
Peel and thinly slice 3 cloves garlic, and then slice 4-5 slices ginger and set them aside for later.
Peel and slice ½ white onion thinly, then set them aside.

Prepare the Sesame Beef Sauce

To prevent clumps, mix 1 tablespoon cornstarch with 2 tablespoons light soy sauce first until the cornstarch has fully dissolved.
Then add 2½ tablespoons sugar, 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce, 1 tablespoon oyster sauce, ¼ teaspoon Chinese five spice, and ½ cup water. Mix well and set aside.

Marinate the Beef

In a bowl, combine 1 teaspoon ginger, 1 tablespoon onion, and 1 tablespoon garlic.
Slice 1 lb beef thinly against the grain and place the slices in the bowl with the grated garlic, ginger and onion.
Add 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon Shaoxing cooking wine, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, and 2 tablespoons water. Mix well and let it marinate for at least 15 minutes.

Batter the Beef

On a large plate, mix together ½ cup cornstarch (or potato starch) with 2 tablespoon white sesame seeds (not toasted).
Take the beef slices and coat them one at at time in the sesame cornstarch mix until it is well coated, shake off any excess.

(Option 1) - Deep Frying the Beef

Heat oil in a small pot over medium heat. Add a few slices of beef and deep fry for 3-5 minutes. Do this in batches to avoid overcrowding the pot.
Once the beef is brown and crispy, remove it from the oil and set it aside.

(Option 2) - Pan Frying the Beef

Heat oil in a large skillet or wok over medium heat.
Add a few beef slices into the pan and pan-fry it in a single layer for approximately 2-3 minutes a side.
Make sure not to overcrowd the pan, and don't let the beef slices touch as well. Try not to touch it too much while it's pan-frying so that it can form a crust.
Once the beef forms a crust on one side, flip it and brown the other side for 1 minute.
Then flip it again to crisp up the other side again for 1 minute.
Depending on how thick you cut your beef, and how hot your stove is, you may need to flip it every 30 seconds, a few times. Keep doing this until it is crispy and golden brown, then plate it and work on the next batch until all the beef is cooked.

Stir-Frying the Ingredients

Heat oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Add the ginger and toast for about two minutes. Add the garlic slices, and onions and stir-fry for about one to two minutes.
Stir the sauce in the bowl (cornstarch will settle at the bottom) and pour it into the pan. Keep stirring until the sauce starts to bubble and thickens and changes color from a milky brown to a dark brown.
Mix in 1½ tablespoons sesame oil until it is glossy.
Add the beef back into the pan. Stir-fry and coat everything with the sauce for about one minute. Remove the ginger slices and discard them (or you can leave them in and eat around them).
Add in 3 tablespoons sesame seeds you toasted earlier and coat every piece of beef by mixing it well.
Plate your dish, and enjoy your homemade sesame beef!

Notes

Freeze the Beef For Easier Slicing: To make it easier to slice the beef into thin pieces, you can put the beef in the freezer for 35 minutes before you slice it. This will harden the beef into a solid texture which will be easier to cut and hold on to.
Cut the Beef Against the Grain: To ensure you don't get tough and hard to chew pieces of beef, make sure you slice it against the grain.
Marinate the Beef: Marinating the beef in soy sauce, sesame oil, Shaoxing wine, and other ingredients not only tenderizes the beef but also infuses it with flavor. The longer you marinate, the more flavorful your beef will be.
Use a Large Skillet or Wok: When cooking the beef, use a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. This allows the beef to sear and brown nicely without overcrowding the pan, which can cause the beef to boil or steam instead.
Dissolve the Soy Sauce with the Cornstarch First: Cornstarch doesn't dissolve easily in thick sauces, or in a lot of liquid, so make sure you dissolve it with just soy sauce first. Once it is fully dissolved and smooth, you can add in and mix the rest of the sauce ingredients.
Toast the Sesame Seeds: For the garnish, we use a lot of sesame seeds, and it's very important to pre-toast this ahead of time because it adds a lot more nutty sesame flavor. It really makes a big difference. We won't need to toast the sesame seeds going into the batter, since they will be deep-fried, and we don't need to cook it twice, which will burn it.
Keep the Pan Moving When Toasting Sesame Seeds: It's very important to keep the pan moving when you are toasting sesame seeds because they burn very quickly. You'll know they are done when they are a golden brown color. They will also continue to brown a little even after you remove it from the heat.
Deep Fry vs Pan Fry: For this recipe, you can choose to deep fry or pan-fry the beef slices. Keep in mind that deep frying (even if it's a shallow fry with less oil) will always taste better than pan fry because the batter will turn out more crispy and the crispiness will be more even.

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