what will you need
steak — For stir-fries, the best steaks you can use are flank steak, skirt steak, New York strip steak, sirloin steak, and even rump steak, which is the cheapest cut. In this recipe, I use Costco’s Top Sirloin Steak.
Mild soy sauce — This is used in the brown sauce. It is also used to briefly marinate the beef. FYI, if you have soy sauce that is labeled all-purpose or neither light nor dark, you have light soy sauce.
Dark soy sauce — Mainly used to color the sauce dark brown.
oyster sauce — A salty umami flavor that is also used in the sauce.
sugar — To balance the saltiness of both the soy and oyster sauces.
Vinegar — To balance the sweetness of the sugar. You can use whatever you have on hand: white vinegar, rice vinegar, or black vinegar.
baking soda and water — This is optional but strongly recommended. These ingredients are used in a restaurant method called velveting. Velvety meat makes it tender with a smooth and silky texture that we all love in Chinese cuisine. The science behind this involves the alkalinity of baking soda. This raises the pH of the meat, causing the meat proteins to migrate apart and making the meat more tender.
beaten egg and cornstarch — To give the beef a thin crispy crust when frying.
neutral oil — For frying and sautéing. I use vegetable oil.
sesame oil — For that amazing nutty aroma.
Yellow Onion, Ginger, Garlic, Scallions/Spring Onions — These are your aromatics that will provide that beautiful Asian scent. The leafy green part of the spring onions serves as a garnish.
vegetables (optional) — Choose your favorite vegetables. For this recipe, I make it rounder by adding paprika. It also adds a nice pop of color. My green color comes from scallions/spring onions, so I use peppers of other colors.