Chinese beef and eggs is a delicious dish and the perfect companion to take down a bowl of rice! Serve it with a vegetable stir-fry and maybe another dish (lots to choose from here), and you’ve got a Chinese meal that stretched 6-8 ounces of beef and six eggs to serve 3-4 people, while still enjoying a luxurious, incredibly tasty dinner.
When Bill and I were younger, and the girls were little, we would often buy one big piece of meat—flank steak, pork shoulder, etc.—almost always on sale, and then divide it into smaller pieces for stir-fries. Some would get used during the week, and some would go straight into the freezer.
While I may not be waiting for double coupon day with quite as much anticipation these days, we still practice this to this day. It is a great way to get more mileage out of your grocery bill and eat less meat. But I promise you, you won’t feel like you’re depriving yourself of anything!
Tender Beef, Silky Eggs
You may already be familiar with our Beef and Egg Stir-fry Rice Bowl recipe, which is another one of our super tasty and easy stir fries! It’s a saucier recipe—the kind that you soak into a big plate of steamed rice. The eggs are added directly to the sauce (as you might add beaten egg to Bill’s egg drop soup), and it creates a texture similar to shrimp with lobster sauce.
This beef and egg dish, however, is more similar to classic Cantonese Shrimp & Eggs, which we love for it’s fluffy texture and the tender, just-cooked shrimp.
It’s the same idea with this stir-fry, and several techniques in this recipe keep both the eggs and beef incredibly tender:
- The Eggs: adding cornstarch slurry to the beaten eggs, a Chinese technique, helps give them a silky texture as they cook.
- The Beef: Slice the beef against the grain (a little easier if the beef is still partially frozen). Bill does a great job of showing how to slice the beef here. Sarah also demonstrates it in the video below. Velveting is also key! Marinating the beef with water, cornstarch, and oil creates a protective coating around the beef that keeps it juicy in the hot wok. A little bit of baking soda tenderizes, while a touch of oyster sauce and sesame oil gives it flavor. Learn more in our YouTube video about velveting beef!
You really get the bang for your buck with this one-wok wonder. It literally cooks in minutes. While it may sound simple compared to flashier Chinese dishes you might enjoy, it’s so darn good. You have to try it.
For Some Korean Chinese Fusion…
You’ll see in our Youtube video that we enjoyed this dish with kimchi once all the photos were taken. Kaitlin buys kimchi from the Korean family that owns a bodega in her neighborhood. She periodically brings some home for me and Sarah, who are in the suburbs! No homemade kimchi around here—we have to drive 45 minutes.
The combination of kimchi and beef is famous, so instead of stir-frying vegetables on the side, we enjoyed the beef and egg with a bowl of rice and big pile of kimchi. It was so good. Give it a try if you have kimchi in your refrigerator!
Ready to cook? Watch first!
Beef & Egg Recipe Instructions
In a medium bowl, add the sliced beef along with the marinade ingredients: water, salt, baking soda, cornstarch, sesame oil, neutral oil, and oyster sauce. Mix well and marinate for 15-30 minutes.
Meanwhile, beat the eggs with white pepper, salt, sesame oil, and Shaoxing wine. Mix the cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water until combined. Add the cornstarch slurry to the beaten eggs along with the scallion. Beat again to incorporate everything together, and you are ready to cook.
Place your wok or frying pan over medium-high heat until it starts to smoke. (Or just until it’s hot, if using a nonstick pan.) Add the oil, and cook the beef in a single layer for 20 seconds on each side.
Beat the eggs one more time, and then pour evenly over the beef and reduce the heat to medium.
With your spatula, gently push the eggs across the wok a few times.
Once you see no more runny egg, dish it up immediately and serve!
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Recipe
Chinese Beef and Eggs
Ingredients
For the beef and marinade:
- 6-8 ounces flank steak (thinly sliced against the grain into 2- to 3-inch/5-8cm pieces)
- 2 tablespoons water
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon neutral oil (such as canola, vegetable, or avocado oil)
- 1 teaspoon oyster sauce
For the rest of the dish:
- 6 large eggs
- ⅛ teaspoon white pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon Shaoxing wine
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch (mixed into a slurry with 2 tablespoons water)
- 1 scallion (finely chopped)
- 4 tablespoons neutral oil
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, add the sliced beef along with the marinade ingredients: water, salt, baking soda, cornstarch, sesame oil, neutral oil, and oyster sauce. Mix well and marinate for 15-30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, beat the eggs with white pepper, salt, sesame oil, and Shaoxing wine. Mix the cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water until combined. Add the cornstarch slurry to the beaten eggs along with the scallion. Beat again to incorporate everything together, and you are ready to cook.
- Place your wok or frying pan over medium-high heat until it starts to smoke (or just until it’s hot, if using a nonstick pan). Add the oil, and cook the beef in a single layer for 20 seconds on each side.
- Beat the eggs one more time, and then pour evenly over the beef and reduce the heat to medium. With your spatula, gently push the eggs across the wok a few times—you don't want the eggs to brown. Once you see no more runny eggs, the dish is done. Dish it up immediately and serve!
