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This Thai beef stir fry with peanut sauce is a flavor-packed weeknight dinner that comes together in just 30 minutes, featuring tender beef, crisp vegetables, and a luscious coconut peanut sauce.
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What makes this dish special
Lately, I've been remembering my days as a chef, creating products for a frozen food company. During one of our tastings, there was one dish that completely blew everyone away: my satay stir fry with peanut sauce. People were going back for seconds, thirds, and I knew I had something special on my hands. Fast forward to now, and I figured it was time to revisit that recipe and bring it back to life in my own kitchen.
After a few rounds of testing, I can happily say that this Thai beef stir fry with peanut sauce is just as good as I remember it to be. Maybe even better, honestly. And with a couple of tweaks I've made, it's even easier to prepare at home than the original version. Hopefully, this dish will also blow you away!
Recipe
Thai Beef Stir Fry with Peanut Sauce
Ingredients
Peanut sauce
- ⅓ cup coconut milk
- 3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce
- juice of ½ lime
Beef
- 1 pound flank, skirt steak, or flap meat
- 1 tablespoon water
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
Stir fry sauce
- ¼ cup water
- 1 ½ tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon ketchup
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon Thai sweet chili sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
Remaining ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 1 red bell pepper sliced
- ½ medium onion sliced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 2 teaspoons minced ginger
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
Instructions
- Make peanut sauce. In a medium bowl, whisk together coconut milk, peanut butter, brown sugar, soy sauce, fish sauce, and juice of ½ lime until smooth. Set aside.
- Slice beef into ¼-inch strips. Toss with water, cornstarch, and oil until well combined. Let sit for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make stir fry sauce. Combine water, soy sauce, ketchup, oyster sauce, Thai sweet chili sauce, and sesame oil until well combined.
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add beef and arrange in an even layer. Cook until the beef is about 80% cooked through. Remove and set aside.
- In the same pan, add the remaining tablespoon of oil. Add red bell pepper and onion, and saute until vegetables are softened, about 3-4 minutes. Add garlic and ginger and saute for 30 more seconds. Add prepared sauce and bring to a simmer. Continue to cook for 1 minute.
- Add beef to the pan along with any juices, tossing to combine. Simmer for another minute, and or until beef is hot. Remove from heat, drizzle peanut sauce on top, and garnish with sesame seeds. Serve with rice and pickled cucumbers.
Notes
Step-by-step instructions
Step 1: Prepare toppings
Let's start with the toppings since they can be prepared in advance. It might seem unconventional to serve stir fry with an extra sauce, but the peanut sauce is what turns this dish from good to great.
To make the peanut sauce, whisk coconut milk, peanut butter, brown sugar, soy sauce, fish sauce, and fresh lime juice in a bowl until it's smooth and creamy. The fish sauce might seem like an odd addition, but it adds this savory depth without adding a fishy taste.
This recipe makes a generous amount of peanut sauce. If you have leftovers, use it for these spicy Thai chicken lettuce wraps.
While you're at it, I highly recommend making pickled cucumbers to serve alongside. They're totally optional, but they add a bright, tangy acidity that cuts through the richness of the beef and peanut sauce beautifully.
For this dish, I followed the pickled cucumbers on my triple pepper crusted steak recipe.
Step 2: Marinate the beef
For the beef, you want to use a cut that's tender and cooks quickly; flank steak, skirt steak, or flap meat all work perfectly here. You can even use ground beef and create beef bowls.
The key to slicing the beef is to slice it thinly against the grain into strips about ¼-inch thick. Cutting against the grain is crucial because it makes each bite more tender.
Once your beef is sliced, toss it with a little water, cornstarch, and oil. This creates a protective coating that keeps the beef incredibly tender and juicy even when you're cooking it over high heat.
Let it sit for about 10 minutes while you prep everything else. Stir fries come together quickly, so it's important to have all the prep work done before you start cooking.
Step 3: Cook beef
When you're ready to cook, heat a tablespoon of oil in a large sauté pan or wok over medium-high heat. Add your beef in a single layer and let it cook without moving it around too much. You want it to get some color on the edges.
Cook until it's about 80% done, then remove it and set it aside. Don't worry if it looks slightly underdone; it'll finish cooking later when you add it back to the pan.
In the same pan, add another tablespoon of oil and toss in sliced red bell pepper and onion. I kept it simple with the vegetables, but you can add extra vegetables, including broccoli, snap peas, or bok choy.
Sauté these for 3 to 4 minutes until they're softened but still have a little bite to them.
Then add minced garlic and ginger, cooking for just 30 seconds until they're fragrant. Be careful not to burn the garlic here-it can go from perfect to bitter really quickly.
Step 4: Putting it all together
Next, pour the stir-fry sauce, which is a mix of soy sauce, ketchup, oyster sauce, Thai sweet chili sauce, and sesame oil. Let it come to a simmer and cook for about a minute to thicken slightly.
Add your beef back to the pan along with any juices that have collected, tossing everything together so the meat gets coated in that beautiful sauce.
Let it simmer for another minute or until the beef is heated through and fully cooked. Remove the pan from the heat, drizzle that gorgeous coconut peanut sauce over the top, and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Serve this Thai beef stir fry with peanut sauce over steamed rice with those pickled cucumbers on the side. With just 30 minutes, you've got yourself a restaurant-quality meal. It's the kind of dish that tastes like you spent way more time on it than you actually did, and honestly, that's my favorite kind of recipe.
For another great stir fry recipe, check out this cara cara orange ginger chicken stir fry and dry pot salmon stir fry!
Make-ahead and storage tips
- Make-ahead: You can make the peanut sauce, pickled cucumbers, and stir fry sauce the day before.
- Store: Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the refridgerator for up to 3 days.
More easy beef recipes
Looking for more easy beef dinner ideas? Try these:
Work with me
All images shot and styled by Christine Ma. Available for food photography, styling, and recipe development.
Samantha O. says
So much flavor in this stir fry!! I loved it so much.
Christine Ma says
I'm so glad to hear it!