This quick and easy beef stir-fry recipe with mushrooms and baby corn involves velveting the meat. It is a practice used in Chinese cooking where inexpensive cuts of beef are marinated with baking soda and cornstarch to make them tender and “velvety.”
Various different cuts of meat can be used with a beef stir-fry. You do not need to purchase an expensive meat in order to have a super flavorful meal!
The recipe has been shared with us by our friends at Recipes By Nora! Please be sure to check them out.
Why You Will Love This Recipe
- Quick & Easy – Stir-fries are a great choice for dinner as they can be cooked in a short amount of time. The ingredients are simple and easy to customize.
- Affordable – Majority of the ingredients that we use are not expensive or can be substituted for a cost-friendly option.
- Healthy But Satisfying – You will be pleasantly satisfied that you are preparing a healthy protein-enriched meal with the vegetables. No need to leave the dinner table feeling hungry!
Beef Stir-Fry with Mushrooms and Baby Corn – Ingredients that You’ll Need
Please scroll down to the bottom of the recipe to see FULL ingredient amounts and instructions.
Beef: Flank steak is an excellent cut for stir-frying — flavorful, tender, and affordable. You can also use beef sirloin, boneless short ribs, skirt steak, or chuck steak.
Mushrooms: We used a combination of cremini or Baby Bella and shiitake mushrooms. You can also use portobello, oyster, or white button mushrooms.
Baby Corn: This miniature young corn has a mild flavor and adds a crunchy texture to the dish. They are available fresh or canned in most supermarkets. You can use snow peas, carrots, or water chestnuts to substitute.
Baking soda: A key ingredient in velveting or tenderizing the beef. It’s the same sodium bicarbonate you would use for cleaning or neutralizing odors.
Scallions or Green Onions: They will wilt and add a wonderful aroma and color.
Ginger and Garlic: Combining two aromatics adds a lot of flavor and aroma to the stir-fry.
Oil: Use canola or vegetable oil for stir-frying — they are neutral-flavored with a high smoke point.
Soy sauce: You can use regular or light soy sauce, but not dark soy sauce.
Shaoxing wine: It’s an amber-colored Chinese rice wine that adds depth to the dish. You can use another Chinese cooking wine, dry sherry, or sake to substitute.
Oyster sauce: A thick, brown sauce that packs a big, umami flavor.
Sugar: You can use any sugar, honey, or agave to balance this savory dish.
Cornstarch: It thickens the sauce and velvets the meat, along with baking soda.
Sesame oil: It’s rich and nutty oil made from toasted sesame seeds with a strong flavor and aroma.
How to Make Beef-Stir-Fry with Mushrooms and Baby Corn
Step 1: Prepare the stir-fry sauce – Combine the soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, oyster sauce, sugar, cornstarch, sesame oil, and water in a bowl. Set it aside.
Step 2: Slice and velvet the meat – Partially freeze the meat for about an hour to make slicing easier. Slice the beef thinly (about ¼ inch) at an angle against the grain or across the muscle fibers. Place the meat in a bowl and add two tablespoons of the stir fry sauce, ¼ teaspoon baking soda, and 1 tablespoon cornstarch. Mix them to evenly coat the meat and let it “velvet” for about 15 minutes.
Step 3: Prepare the aromatics and vegetables – Wash/clean your mushrooms and cut them into large bite-size pieces — they shrink as they cook. Cut the baby corn in half diagonally if they are big. Finely mince the ginger and garlic. Slice the scallions into 2-inch sections.
Step 4: Stir-fry – Preheat a wok or a large skillet over high heat. Add a tablespoon of oil and swirl to cover the bottom when it’s very hot.
Add the meat in a single layer and leave them undisturbed for about 2 minutes so they can sear properly. Turn the beef or swirl them around the pan for another minute to sear some more. Transfer to a plate.
Spread the mushrooms in a single layer, adding oil as necessary. Leave them untouched for 2 minutes, then season with salt and pepper. Add the baby corn and cook for another 2 minutes. Toss them together and push them to the side of the wok.
Lower to medium-high heat at this point and add a teaspoon of oil. Quickly sauté the ginger and garlic for about 30 seconds. Toss them with vegetables and bring the seared meat back to the pan. Pour the stir-fry sauce over them and mix them. Add some ground pepper and let the sauce thicken for about 30 seconds. Turn off the heat.
Step 5: Serve – Stir-fries are best paired with rice or noodles.
Recipe Tips
- Stir-fries come together quickly, so make sure everything is prepped and ready.
- Don’t crowd the pan or stir them too much when searing the meat and mushrooms, so they don’t steam.
- Keep another ¼ cup of water on the side if you need to thin out the sauce.
Can You Substitute the Protein (Beef)?
Yes, you can certainly substitute the beef in this recipe for a different protein. Other popular choices include chicken, pork and tofu. The key tip to remember is that it is important to cut each piece into smaller bite-sized pieces.
Ingredients
- Stir-fry sauce:
- · 3 tablespoons soy sauce, regular or light
- · 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
- · 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
- · 2 teaspoons sugar, any kind
- · 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- · 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- · ½ cup water
- For the Stir-fry:
- · 1 pound (454 grams) flank steak
- · ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- · 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- · 8 ounces (227 grams) mushrooms, cut into bite-size pieces
- · 6 ounces (170 grams) baby corn, cut into bite-size pieces
- · 3 scallions, cut into 2-inch sections
- · 2 teaspoons minced ginger
- · 4 cloves garlic, minced
- · Ground pepper, to taste
- · Oil, for searing and sautéing
Instructions
Step 1: Prepare the stir-fry sauce. Combine the soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, oyster sauce, sugar, cornstarch, sesame oil, and water in a bowl. Set it aside.
Step 2: Slice and velvet the meat. Partially freezing the meat for about an hour to make slicing easier. Slice the beef thinly (about ¼ inch) at an angle against the grain or across the muscle fibers. Place the meat in a bowl and add two tablespoons of the stir fry sauce, ¼ teaspoon baking soda, and 1 tablespoon cornstarch. Mix them to evenly coat the meat and let it “velvet” for about 15 minutes.
Step 3: Prepare the aromatics and vegetables. Wash/clean your mushrooms and cut them into large bite-size pieces — they shrink as they cook. Cut the baby corn in half diagonally if they are big. Finely mince the ginger and garlic. Slice the scallions into 2-inch sections.
Step 4: Stir-fry. Preheat a wok or a large skillet over high heat. Add a tablespoon of oil and swirl to cover the bottom when it’s very hot.
Add the meat in a single layer and l them undisturbed for about 2 minutes so they can sear properly. Turn the beef or swirl them around the pan for another minute to sear some more. Transfer to a plate.
Spread the mushrooms in a single layer, adding oil as necessary. Leave them untouched for 2 minutes, then season with salt and pepper. Add the baby corn and cook for another 2 minutes. Toss them together and push them to the side of the wok.
Lower to medium-high heat at this point and add a teaspoon of oil. Quickly sauté the ginger and garlic for about 30 seconds. Toss them with vegetables and bring the seared meat back to the pan. Pour the stir-fry sauce over them and mix them. Add some ground pepper and let the sauce thicken for about 30 seconds. Turn off the heat.
Step 5: Serve. Stir-fries are best paired with rice or noodles.