Easy Kung Pao Beef - Chinese Recipe

Kung Pao Beef is a delicious Chinese stir fry dish that is made with tender beef, vivid veggies, crunchy peanuts, and a sweet and savoury sauce.

What is Kung Pao Beef?

Kung Pao Beef is a popular Chinese stir fry dish that is loaded with Asian flavours. People sometimes mix between Kung Pao Beef and Mongolian beef. In my opinion, they are totally different as Mongolian beef is not spicy at all, and unlike Kung Pao Beef, it isn’t made with veggies.

The Kung Pao sauce has a strong flavour that is spicy, slightly sweet, and sour. It is made with soy sauce, sugar, and sesame oil. It has a smooth and slightly thick texture.

Why this recipe works?

• It is customizable
• It can stay fresh in the fridge for 4-5 days.
• Suitable for meal prep
• Freezes so well
• A good alternative for the takeaway

What's in Kung Pao Beef?

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Cooking Oil: Use any oil you have; I use vegetable oil.

Flank Steak: You can put the steak in the freezer for an hour before slicing it, so that it will firm up and allow you to slice it thinly. If you can't find flank steak, that is fine; sirloin also works fine.

Onion: Freshly chopped.

Garlic: I use 3 minced cloves of garlic.

Corn Starch: To coat the beef and give it a smooth texture, and also to thicken the sauce.

Peanuts: Roasted peanuts are an amazing addition to this recipe; try not to skip it as long as it doesn't do any harm to you. However, if you have to replace it with something, you can use cashews instead.

Green and Red Bell Peppers: You can replace them with any veggies you like, such as carrots, celery, or zucchini.

Red Chillies: I use dried red chillies; however, you can use fresh if you like. Cut them into halves (use more or less to change the heat level to your preference). You can replace it with ½ tablespoon sriracha sauce or ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper.

Note: The red chillies are the source of heat in this recipe. I recommend adjusting the heat level of this recipe according to your preferences. If you follow this recipe, you will find it has moderate heat; however, if you want to reduce the heat more, you can de-seed the red chillies prior to cooking. If you want it spicier, that is easy; just add more red chilli.

Seasoning: salt and pepper for taste

For the Sauce, I use soy sauce, sugar, corn starch (to thicken the sauce), sesame oil and water.

Tip: I highly recommend using low-sodium soy sauce to make sure the dish will not be salty.

How to Make Kung Pao Beef?

Prepare the Beef: Slice the beef into thin strips, then mix with corn starch, salt, and ground black pepper. Make sure all the meat slices are covered well with the corn starch mixture.

Tip: I prefer to cut the beef into thin slices to cook fast.

Cooke the Steak: Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat, then put the steak slices in a single layer. Cook for 3-4 minutes on each side until they become golden brown.

Transfer the meat to a bowl, cover it, and set it aside.

Prepare the Veggies: In the same skillet, add red and green bell peppers and onions. Cook on medium to low heat for 2 minutes, then add the garlic and cook for one more minute. 

Return the meat back to the skillet with the veggies, add the red chillies and the peanuts, stir.

Make the Sauce: Mix all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl then pour over the steak. Bring it to a boil and simmer until the sauce is thickened then turn off the heat.

Variations

• This recipe works for other kinds of meat as well, such as chicken (Kung Pao Chicken), turkey, scallop, or shrimp.
• You can add any vegetables you like to this dish, such as peas, celery, zucchini, corn, or mushrooms.
• You can substitute bell pepper with celery, peas, or green bean (anything you have).
• To make this dish vegetarian replaced the steak with mushrooms.

How To Roast The Peanuts?

Put the peanuts in a single layer on a baking sheet, then bake at 180C for 15 to 20 minutes. Make sure to watch them so they don’t become burnt.

Store, Freeze, And Reheat

Storing: This dish will stay fresh for 4-5 days in the fridge; just put it in a well-sealed container.

Freezing: Put it in a freezer-safe container and freeze for 2-3 months.

Reheating: I let it thaw at room temperature, then microwave for 2 minutes or bring it to a simmer over low heat.

Serving Suggestions

I like to serve this dish on top of white rice, as in the photo above. However, you can serve it with Gyro Bread, Pasta with Breadcrumbs or Tomato And Onion Salad.

More Beef Recipes

• Chinese Chilli Beef Recipe
• Beef Rissoles Recipe
• Beef Stew Recipe With Potatoes And Carrots
• Beef Yaki Udon
• Black Pepper Beef Stir Fry

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Recipe Card