Crispy Beef In Oyster Sauce

This beef in oyster sauce is an amazing simple dinner that you can have on the table in about 20 minutes. A crispy beef stirfry with a thick and savoury oyster sauce with sweet peppers all served over noodles. The perfect weeknight dinner. 

We're slicing the beef across the grain to make sure it's as tender as it can be and we're quickly searing it over very high heat to make sure that it gets crispy on the outside but stays perfectly pink on the inside. There are a lot of easy dinner recipes here on Savvy Bites and always a HUGE fan of noodles (like these 15 Minute Drunken Noodles), this crispy beef with oyster sauce is no exception.

Crispy Beef in Oyster Sauce
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Ingredients needed

• Noodles- You can use any type of noodle here. Any Asian style noodle, like egg or rice noodles, would be perfect, but you can also use spaghetti. Do what you gotta do!
• Thin cut beef steaks- These steaks are meant to be cooked quickly and at very high heat. This recipe is for cheaper cuts of steak, not your premium sirloin. These are often called minute steaks too. 
• Peppers- Any colour will do. I just suggest that you don't use green peppers unless you really like them. I find them quite bitter in this recipe.
• Carrots- Slice them thinly so that they cook quickly with the peppers.
• Oyster sauce- The key ingredient in this whole recipe. 
• Soy sauce & Sriracha- Add some depth of flavour and heat to the sauce.
• Lime juice- balances out the sweet/salty/spice and brings a much-needed acidity to the sauce.

Step by step directions

Step 1 & 2

• Start by slicing the beef into strips. Cut across the grain to keep the meat tender. *See photo below.
• Dust the beef in seasoned flour (flour with salt and pepper). This will ensure a nice crispy surface on the beef as soon as it hits the hot oil in the pan. 

Cutting beef against the grain

Cutting beef (or any meat) against the grain means that you are cutting through the muscle fibres rather than along them. As you can see from the above photo, this beef has muscle fibres that run diagonally from top to bottom. 

In order for this steak to be as tender as possible, you need to cut it across those fibres.

Step 3 & 4

• Slice the carrots and peppers to match stick length and thickness. This will help them cook quickly while still retaining some of their bite.
• Mix the ingredients for the sauce in a small bowl and set aside.

Step 5 & 6

• Heat a non-stick frying pan over high heat. Add in the oil (olive or vegetable) works here. The oil will shimmer when it's hot. Add in the flour-dusted slices of steak and fry quickly for about 2 minutes per side. 
• Add in the pepper and carrots and cook for another 2 minutes. Pour in the sauce and bring to a simmer. Depending on how thick you like your sauce you may want to add a few tablespoons of water to the pan to thin it out a little bit. I added 4 tablespoons of water, but you may want more or less depending on your preference.

Tips and variations for the best beef in oyster sauce

This recipe (like all Savvy Bites recipes) has as few ingredients as we can use. But there are still a few substitutions we can make a a few hot tips to make sure you get the best stir fry ever.

• Beef- use a cheaper cut of steak that will benefit from a quick cook at a very high temperature. Also make sure that your steak is at room temperature before frying it. It will ensure that the beef cooks to the perfect pink on the inside and sears on the outside.
• Add-ins- If you want to get extra veggies in this stir fry then add in some broccoli florets and some sliced mushrooms when you add the peppers and carrots.
• Noodles- As mentioned, you can use any type of noodle for this stirfry, but it's also really perfect served over a bed of fluffy steamed rice. Either way, this recipe is awesome.

Storage

This recipe makes amazing leftovers. The noodles soak up more of the sauce and the vegetables keep their bite, making this perfect for lunch the next day. To reheat, you can either use a pan or the microwave. If using a pan non-stick will work the best. For the microwave option, heat in 30-second intervals until hot all the way through.

More Asian style recipes

• Korean Beef Stir Fry
• 15 Minute Crispy Chilli Beef
• Easy Sticky Chicken

Tools used

1. Non-stick frying pan
2. Wooden chopping board
3. Chef's knife

Crispy Beef In Oyster Sauce

Crispy beef in oyster sauce! Seared beef in a thick and savoury oyster sauce with fresh peppers and carrots.

5 from 4 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Easy Dinners

Cuisine: Asian

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 Servings

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Author: Deborah Rainford

Ingredients

1x2x3x

• 360 g (⅘ lb) thin cut beef steaks
• 4 tablespoons (4 tablespoons) plain flour
• 2 tablespoons (2 tablespoons) olive oil, or vegetable oil
• 1 (1) red pepper, sliced into match sticks
• 2 (2) carrots, sliced into match sticks
• 200 g (3 ⅐ cups) dried pasta, cooked according to package instructions

For the oyster sauce

• 1 (1) sachet, 120g oyster sauce
• 2 tablespoons (2 tablespoons) soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons (2 tablespoons) sriracha sauce
• 1 tablespoon (1 tablespoon) fresh ginger, minced
• 3 cloves (3 cloves) garlic, minced
• 1 (1) lime, juice only

Instructions

• Place the flour in a bowl and season with salt and pepper.  Start by slicing the beef into strips. Cut across the grain to keep the meat tender. Dust the beef in seasoned flour. This will ensure a nice crispy surface on the beef as soon as it hits the hot oil in the pan. 
• Boil and cook the pasta according to the package instructions. Drain and set aside.
• Slice the carrots and peppers to match stick length and thickness. This will help them cook quickly while still retaining some of their bite.
• Mix the ingredients for the sauce in a small bowl and set aside.
• Heat a non-stick frying pan over high heat. Add in the oil (olive or vegetable) works here. The oil will shimmer when it's hot. Sear the steak and fry quickly for about 2 minutes per side. 
• Add in the pepper and carrots and cook for another 2 minutes. Pour in the sauce and bring to a simmer. Depending on how thick you like your sauce you may want to add a few tablespoons of water to the pan to thin it out a little bit. I added 4 tablespoons of water, but you may want more or less depending on your preference.
• Toss the cooked noodles in the pan to coat with the sauce. Divide between 4 bowls and serve.

Notes

Note 1- Cut the beef across the grain to ensure that it is the most tender possible. See the photos in the post above.

Note 2- This oyster beef is perfect for leftovers, but avoid freezing. The vegetables will not hold up well to freezing and will turn mushy when defrosted. 

Nutrition

Calories: 447kcal | Carbohydrates: 51g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 58mg | Sodium: 760mg | Potassium: 661mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 6046IU | Vitamin C: 50mg | Calcium: 56mg | Iron: 3mg

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