Beef and mushroom stir-fry with oyster sauce
Written by Estelle & Alice for The Wok House
I make this stir-fry whenever I have a piece of flank steak and a punnet of button mushrooms to hand, which happens a lot. Beef and mushrooms get on well: both brown over a high heat, and the oyster and soy sauce coats them together. Allow 40 minutes, 20 of which the beef spends in the freezer.
This is an American-style home recipe with Chinese roots rather than a classic from one region of China: the beef is seasoned with garlic and onion powder, then coated in cornflour. The cornflour protects the meat as it sears, and later it thickens the sauce. Two things make it work: slicing the beef thinly against the grain, and searing it a little at a time in a very hot wok before setting it aside, while the mushrooms brown on their own.
Beef and mushroom stir-fry with oyster sauce
Thinly sliced beef coated in cornflour and seared in batches, then tossed with golden button mushrooms in an oyster and soy sauce.
For 3 to 6 people, use a 32cm wok: the beef goes in 2 or 3 batches, in a single layer, and browns instead of boiling.
Ingredients
For the beef
For the sauce
To cook and serve
Equipment
- 30 to 32cm carbon steel wok
- Sharp chef's knife and a chopping board
- Wok spatula or wooden spatula
- A mixing bowl, a small bowl and a plate
Method
Firm up the beef
Put the piece of flank or rump steak in the freezer for 20 minutes: once slightly firm, it slices thinly without slipping under the knife. This is the time to put the rice on.
Prepare the vegetables
Meanwhile, wipe the mushrooms with damp kitchen paper and cut them into 5mm slices. Thinly slice the onion, chop the garlic and cut the spring onions into 2cm lengths.
Make the sauce
In a small bowl, mix 3 tbsp oyster sauce, 2 tbsp soy sauce and 80ml water. Keep the bowl next to the hob: once the wok is hot, everything moves quickly.
Slice and coat the beef
Slice the beef against the grain, that is across the fibres, into strips 3mm thick and 5cm long. In the mixing bowl, season them with the salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. Add 2 tbsp cornflour and toss with your hands until every strip has a thin, dry coating. Do this just before cooking, otherwise the cornflour turns pasty.
Sear the beef
Heat the wok over a high heat until it is lightly smoking. Sear the beef in 2 batches: for each batch, add 1 tablespoon of oil, spread the strips out in a single layer and leave them for 1 minute without touching them. Turn them, give them 30 seconds and set them aside on the plate. They should be brown outside and still pink in the middle.
Brown the mushrooms
Without washing the wok, add 2 tbsp oil and the mushrooms, still over a high heat. Stir only now and then. First they release their water, then it evaporates and they brown at the edges: allow 4 to 5 minutes.
The onion and garlic
Add the onion and stir-fry it for 2 minutes, until translucent but still a little crunchy. Add the garlic and stir for 30 seconds: it should smell fragrant without browning.
Deglaze with the sauce
Pour the sauce into the wok and scrape the bottom with the spatula to lift the brown bits left by the beef. Let it bubble for 1 minute: the sauce reduces by about a third.
Thicken the sauce
Return the beef to the wok with the juices left on the plate. Toss for 1 minute: the cornflour coating thickens the sauce, which turns glossy and coats every strip. The beef finishes cooking without turning tough.
Serve
Add the spring onions and toss for about 30 seconds, just long enough for them to soften without losing their crunch. Serve straight away with the hot rice.
Wok tips
- The beef should sizzle loudly as soon as it touches the metal. If it releases grey juice, the batch is too big or the wok isn't hot enough: the meat boils and turns tough. Between batches, give the wok about 30 seconds to get its heat back.
- On induction, a flat-bottomed wok such as one of our induction woks stays in contact with the hob. Heat it for 2 minutes at full power before the first batch, and toss with the spatula rather than lifting the wok: the hob cuts out as soon as the wok leaves it.
- In a new or poorly seasoned wok, the cornflour sticks and burns. A wok that has been properly seasoned leaves brown bits on the bottom that come away as soon as the sauce goes in: scrape them up, they give the sauce its flavour.
- If the sauce is still runny after a minute with the beef, mix ½ teaspoon of cornflour with 1 tablespoon of cold water and pour it in slowly. If it's too thick, a spoonful of hot water loosens it.
Variations
- Without oyster sauce: vegetarian oyster sauce, made from mushrooms, replaces it in the same amount (3 tablespoons for 4 people). Failing that, add 1 extra tablespoon of soy sauce and 1 teaspoon of soft light brown sugar: the sauce will be lighter in colour and less rich.
- With shiitake: replace half the button mushrooms with 8 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked for 30 minutes in 200ml hot water. Slice them and use 80ml of their strained soaking water in the sauce instead of the plain water.
- More Cantonese: leave out the garlic and onion powders, stir-fry 1 tablespoon of thinly sliced fresh ginger with the garlic, and add 1 teaspoon of dark soy sauce to the sauce for colour. A tablespoon of Shaoxing rice wine, or dry sherry, mixed into the beef before the cornflour takes it the same way.
- Other vegetables: swap half the mushrooms for a red pepper cut into strips or a handful of mangetout, added with the onion.
Storage
The cooked stir-fry keeps for 2 days in the fridge in an airtight container. Reheat it for 2 minutes in the wok over a medium heat with a tablespoon of water to loosen the sauce: in the microwave, the beef turns tough. The spring onions go soft, so add some fresh ones when you serve.
The Oniri Induction Wok
Uncoated carbon steel, Ø 32cm, works on induction
Frequently asked questions
What is the best cut of beef for a stir-fry?
A tender cut that cooks quickly: flank, rump or sirloin. Slice it against the grain into 3mm strips to shorten the fibres. Braising cuts such as chuck or beef cheek stay tough after two minutes of cooking.
Is beef and mushroom stir-fry a Chinese dish?
This version is an American-style home stir-fry with Chinese roots: the garlic and onion powders come from American cooking. Oyster sauce, on the other hand, is Cantonese, created at the end of the 19th century in Guangdong. To get closer to Cantonese cooking, follow the ginger variation.
Why is my stir-fried beef tough?
Usually the strips were cut along the grain, or the beef stewed in its own juices because the wok was overloaded. Slice against the grain, sear in small batches in a smoking hot wok and take the meat out while it's still pink: it finishes cooking in the sauce.
Can I make this stir-fry ahead?
Yes. Slice and season the beef without the cornflour, then seal it in a 1 litre freezer bag: it keeps for 24 hours in the fridge or 3 months in the freezer, and the sliced vegetables keep for a day in a container in the fridge. Thaw the beef overnight in the fridge, take it out 15 minutes before cooking and add the cornflour then.
