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Beef and snow pea stir fry features tender beef and crunchy snow peas tossed in a thick, savory sauce. It takes 25 minutes to come together and it all happens in one pan!
25 Minutes, Only: Beef with Snow Peas
Beef with snow peas is a dish my mom used to make when we were growing up and it’s also a dish that’s pretty popular at Chinese restaurants. The thin slices of beef are tender while the snow peas give the dish a nice crunch and freshness. Everything is tossed together in a thick, savory, garlicky sauce that I sometimes love making extra of to drizzle over my rice. This all comes together so quickly too — in just 25 minutes!
The key is to use thinly sliced steak, which cooks fast, and to retain the crunch of the snow peas, you don’t need to cook them long either.
Recipe Tips and Variations
- Swap or add in more vegetables. Not a fan of snow peas but like its sister snap peas? Feel free to swap her in! Additionally, adding more vegetables like sliced red bell pepper or broccoli florets would be a great way to amp up the vegetables.
- Make sure you don’t turn off the heat when you add the sauce. Cornstarch needs heat to activate in order to thicken the sauce.
- Don’t overcook the beef! Flank steak, especially sliced thin, will cook really fast and won’t need much time at all so take care to keep an eye on it.
- This dish comes together really quickly when it’s on the stove so make sure you have everything chopped and ready to go!
Suggested Beef Cuts to Use
Flank steak is the recommendation here because it’s lean, thin, and cooks fast. Skirt steak also works well. I wouldn’t recommend a stew beef or a chuck roast as those are better for pot roasts.
Storage and Reheating Instructions
Allow leftovers to cool and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. To reheat, use a microwave-safe bowl to reheat until warmed through or put into a skillet on the stovetop to warm through.
Beef and Snow Pea Stir Fry
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ cup (118 ml) low-sodium soy sauce
- ¼ cup (59 ml) water
- 3 tablespoons Chinese cooking wine, see notes
- 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons corn starch
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 10 ounces (284 g) snow peas, ends trimmed
- ¾ pounds (340 g) thinly sliced flank steak
Instructions
- In a measuring cup or bowl, whisk together soy sauce, water, cooking wine, brown sugar, and corn starch. Set aside.
- In a skillet or wok, over medium-high heat, add vegetable oil. Once oil is heated, add minced garlic and cook until fragrant.
- Add the snow peas and cook until bright green, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from skillet and set aside on a plate.
- Add the flank steak to the skillet and cook until mostly cooked through, about 5-7 minutes.
- Add the snow peas back into the skillet then pour sauce in. Let simmer and thicken for 3-5 minutes, stirring and tossing to incorporate everything.
- Serve with white rice.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Photographs by Jess Gaertner Creative
Be careful if not using low sodium soy sauce, I made this recipe using regular japanese soy sauce. I almost halved the amount called for in the recipe and added extra water to keep the liquid to cornstarch ratio. For me, it was slightly salty. Next time I make this, I will keep in mind I can always add extra soy sauce later if it isn’t salty enough. I wonder how a touch of vinegar and ginger might change the recipe….
Julie, thank you so much! The whole family loved this, even the picky teen that doesn’t like veggies. I did double for a family of four, but made no other changes. . . simply delicious!
Hooray!! Thank you!
Just made this tonight! We didn’t have corn startch so I used arrowroot startch instead. It was delicious – the sauce was nice and thick and flavorful. Also, you cannot beat how quick it is to throw together. We will definitely make this one again.
So glad to hear this! Thanks for the feedback
Love easy recipes ,but they have to taste Delicious
Hi there- do you think this could be made in a slow cooker instead?
No, it wouldn’t make much sense to because the beef cooks so fast
Julie, the ads on your site are really getting annoying. They are covering the entire recipe so you can’t read it, and there is no way to click them off. As much as I love your recipes, it’s almost to the point I don’t want to even click to the blog. Sorry, but thought you should know in case no one else is complaining about it.
Hi Cherie. Thanks for your feedback. I just checked and the ads do not cover the recipe and there is ALWAYS a way to click them off. It is policy that all my ads have that ability. I’m not sure what browser you are in or device, but please email me (julie@tablefortwoblog.com) a screenshot so I can send it to my ad management team so we can try to diagnose what is happening. I’m sorry you feel this way but ads pay the bills for this site. There is a WHOLE LOT that goes on behind the scenes with a website that posts recipes and other resources for free/for everyone, such as: photography equipment, food costs, web hosting, my time, and more. If you would prefer to pay a monthly or yearly subscription fee for an ad-free site, please let me know and I can consider that for an upcoming feature. I get very few complaints about ads; I would say average less than 10 complaints per year.
I made this last night and it was a hit with me and my husband!
Awesome!!
OH MY GOODNESS! I made this tonight and it was soooo good!
Yay!! So great to hear!!
I have a pork tenderloin that needs to be used, (and the snow peas) so I’ll use that. I’m sure it will be a winner as I love all the ingredients. May add a bit of oyster sauce too.
I hope you enjoy!
I love your recipe! Used broccoli cause that’s what I had in the refrig. Bought mirin. Loved the sauce! I plan to use it for all my stir fry recipes! Much Aloha!!