Hoisin beef stir-fry makes a great veggie-packed dinner with great smoky spiced flavor! 

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Growing up, if we asked what we were having for dinner and mom said “stir-fry,” this hoisin stir fry sauce is what she meant. 

Hoisin sauce is a power flavor. It’s is kind of a Chinese barbecue sauce –  a smoky, garlicky, spicy sauce. But not ears-on-fire spicy, it’s more flavorful aromatic spicy. Hoisin sauce makes a fantastic marinade on its own and works well with most proteins, so combining it with a bit more chili, rice vinegar and soy was ALWAYS going to be a winner. 

One thing I love about stir-fries (stir-frys?) is that it’s an easy way to sneak in a ton of vegetables into a meal. Yes, there’s beef (which you can sub in chicken, pork or tofu no problem), but the ratio of beef to veggies is decidedly in favor of the veggies. If you’re wanting a meat-free option, skipping the beef (and the marinade) makes it vegan! 

Hoisin Beef Stir-Fry

Ingredients: 

• 12 oz flank steak or stir fry beef, cut into strips 
• 1 bunch broccolini (about 2-3 cups when chopped into chunks) 
• 1 medium onion, sliced into half moons
• 2 cups carrots, cut into ribbons
• 1 1/2 cups snow peas
• 8 oz water chestnuts, diced
• 2 Tbsp fresh ginger, minced
• 2 Tbsp garlic, minced
• 4 Tbsp dry sherry
• 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp cornstarch
• 1 egg white
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 Tbsp rice vinegar
• 3 Tbsp hoisin sauce
• 3 Tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp chili garlic sauce
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar
• 2-3 Tbsp peanut oil
• 1 Tbsp sesame oil

Steps: 

1. First, make the marinade: combine 1 Tbsp cornstarch with 1 Tbsp sherry, egg white, and 1/4 tsp salt. Marinate the beef in it for 10 minutes. 
2. While the marinade sits, make the sauce. In a medium bowl, combine 3 Tbsp sherry, 1 tsp cornstarch, 1/4 tsp salt, rice vinegar, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, chili garlic sauce, and brown sugar. Use a traditional or immersion blender to blitz all the ingredients together, and set aside. 
3. Heat the peanut oil in a large skillet over high heat, and add beef once the oil is almost smoking. Stir-fry for two minutes until browned on the outside. It’s okay if it’s a little pink at this point. Remove from the skillet and set aside. 
4. Add broccolini and stir-fry one minute, then add onion and cook another two minutes. Add the carrots and water chestnuts. 
5. Add the garlic and ginger to the pan as well as the beef. Stir-fry for another minute, then add about 2/3 of the sauce and cook one minute more. It’s done when everything has heated through. 
6. Serve hoisin beef stir-fry over rice with a splash of sesame oil! Add more sauce as needed: I like to add a splash more to soak into the rice. 

I love the smoky bold flavors that come through this hoisin beef stir-fry. If you’re looking for more great flavors that you can whip up on a weeknight, check out more of recipes here!