This Homemade Crispy Chilli Beef recipe uses simple ingredients and tastes better than the real thing!
If I’m making a fakeaway, not only does it need to be simple, but it also needs to taste as good, if not better than the real thing. Thankfully, this crispy chilli beef ticks both of those boxes. Follow me…
Crispy Chilli Beef Sauce
Crispy chilli beef isn’t an overly saucy dish. Rather, it is crispy strands of beef coated in a sticky, glossy sauce.
As promised, you only need ingredients you can easily access at the supermarket. Here’s what you’ll need for the sauce:
- Sweet Chilli Sauce – aka Thai sweet chilli sauce. You’ll likely find a variety of different brands, any of which will do the trick!
- Honey – make sure it’s runny honey so it doesn’t clump in the sauce.
- Vinegar – I like to use rice vinegar, but apple cider vinegar and white wine vinegar make good subs.
- Ketchup – now is not the time for low-sugar/salt ketchup!
- Soy Sauce – make sure it’s light soy sauce, not dark.
Crispy Chilli Beef Ingredients
When it comes to the chilli beef itself, you really don’t need that many ingredients at all. Let’s take a quick look at what’s going on:
- Beef – very thinly sliced (make sure your knife is sharp!)
- Ginger & Garlic – these are mixed in with the beef to marinate.
- Soy Sauce – this is also used to marinate the beef.
- Cornflour – aka cornstarch. This is used to coat the beef in a light batter.
- Eggs – this helps the cornflour stick to the beef.
- Onion & Carrot – these bulk out the dish and add a difference in texture to the crispy beef.
- Red Chilli – this is where the ‘chilli’ part comes from. You can deseed it for less spice if you wish.
Recipe Tip
Because the beef is sliced so thinly and then fried, you do not need to use an expensive cut of beef. I use Rump or Sirloin.
Preparing Crispy Chilli Beef
The preparation for this dish comes in two forms:
- Marinating – you’ll want to inject some flavour into the beef itself. This simply requires mixing the sliced beef with soy sauce, garlic and ginger. I like to marinate it for 2 hours, but just go for as long as you have time for.
- Coating – to build up a nice crispy batter, you want to mix cornflour into the beef, then mix in the egg. From there, you’ll want to coat the beef in the cornflour one final time.
Although tedious, you’ll get the best results by individually coating each slice of beef in the final bit of cornflour. Having said that, you can do a few strips at a time, just make sure you coat them properly and shake off any excess.
Process shots: slice beef (photo 1), marinate (photo 2), mix in cornflour (photo 3), mix in egg (photos 4&5), coat each slice in cornflour (photo 6).
Making Crispy Chilli Beef
There’s no way around it – the beef needs to be fried for maximum crispness. Because the strips are so thin, if you were to bake or air fry it, you’ll find the beef overcooks before the batter gets crispy. Thankfully, you only need to shallow fry it, so it’s very straightforward. Plus, because the strips are thin, it fries really quickly too.
I recommend working in two batches, just so the beef has room to fry. You don’t want it to stick together and you certainly don’t want it to all steam together so the batter (that you worked so hard for) falls off.
Process shots: fry beef (photos 7&8), fry onion & carrot (photo 9), fry chilli (photo 10), add beef and sauce (photo 11), stir (photo 12).
Crispy Chilli Beef FAQ
Although I haven’t tried it, I imagine chicken thighs could work to create a delicious crispy chilli chicken!
It’s got a small kick of spice, but nothing OTT. If you want more, then add more chilli. If you want less, just use one and leave the seeds out.
Unfortunately this does not reheat well and is definitely best eaten fresh.
Serving Crispy Chilli Beef
The sauce will thicken and cling around the beef pretty quickly, so you won’t have to toss it for too long. Once it’s ready to rock & roll serve up right away! I typically serve with rice, but you could serve with noodles if you’d prefer.
Alrighty, let’s tuck into the full recipe for this crispy chilli beef shall we?!
How to make Crispy Chilli Beef (Full Recipe & Video)
Crispy Chilli Beef
Equipment
- 3x Medium-Sized Mixing Bowls (1 for sauce, 1 for beef, 1 for cornflour)
- Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
- Large Heavy-Based Pan & Wooden Spoon
- Tongs
- Kitchen Thermometer
- Wire Rack & Tray (for resting fried beef)
Ingredients
Sauce
- 3 tbsp Sweet Chilli Sauce
- 2 1/2 tbsp Honey
- 2 tbsp Tomato Ketchup
- 2 tbsp Rice Vinegar (sub apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar)
- 1 1/2 tbsp Light Soy Sauce
Crispy Chilli Beef
- 400g / 14oz Rump or Sirloin Steak (see notes)
- 2 tbsp Light Soy Sauce
- 2 cloves of Garlic, finely grated or very finely diced
- 1 heaped tsp grated or very finely diced Fresh Ginger
- 250g / 9oz Cornflour/Cornstarch, or as needed
- 2 medium Eggs, beaten
- 255ml / 1 cup + 1 tbsp Vegetable Oil, or another oil with a high smoking point e.g. sunflower oil
- 1 medium White Onion, thinly sliced
- 1 large or 2 small Carrots, sliced into thin matchsticks
- 1 Red Chilli, thinly sliced (see notes)
- Rice or Noodles, to serve
Instructions
- Remove any large bits of fat from the beef, then slice into very thin strips. In a mixing bowl, combine the beef strips with the soy sauce, garlic and ginger. Leave to marinate in the fridge for as long as you have time for (up to 2 hours). If you’re pushed for time, just leave at room temp as you prepare the other ingredients.
- Mix 2 tbsp of the cornflour into the beef and leave for a few minutes. It’ll be fairly sticky at this point, which is fine.
- Place a second bowl next to the beef and fill it with the rest of the cornflour. Mix the beaten egg into the beef, then take a strip and thoroughly coat it in the cornflour. Make sure you really press the cornflour into the beef, then give it a good shake before resting on a baking tray. Repeat with the remaining strips of beef. I know this step is tedious but it’s worth it for maximum crispiness! If you run out of cornflour, just add more as needed.
- Heat 240ml/1 cup of the oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan over a medium-high heat until it reaches 180°C (356°F). When it's hot enough, a crumb should sizzle when it hits the oil. Add half the beef (or as much as will comfortably fit) and use tongs to spread it out in the pan. Leave to fry for 2 minutes to allow the batter to cling to the beef, then cook for a further 2-3 minutes, stir-frying until golden and crisp all over. Remove and place on a wire rack set over a baking tray or kitchen paper to catch any excess oil. Repeat with the second batch, then discard the oil.
- Whisk all the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl until combined.
- Heat the remaining oil in the pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and carrots and fry for a few minutes until they start to soften, then add the chilli and fry for a minute longer. Toss in the beef and sauce and give it a good stir until the sauce thickens and clings to the beef.
- Serve with rice or noodles then tuck in and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Your Private Notes:
Nutrition
Looking for more?
You’ll find plenty more delicious comfort food like this in my Debut Cookbook ‘Comfy’
For more similar recipes check out these beauties:
Delicious Fakeaway Recipes
- Salt and Chilli Chicken
- Black Pepper Chicken
- Chicken Chow Mein
- Butter Chicken (or Chicken Korma)
- Homemade Pizza
