Savoury, fruity, slightly sour and refreshingly spicy, orange beef stir-fry is a comforting dish that can be easily prepared in your own kitchen.
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Pin ItThere are always plenty of fresh fruits in our Red House. Sometimes I would pick up some to add to my savoury dishes. Pineapple for beef fried rice, apple for beef stew, mango for chicken stir-fry, etc. Today I’d like to introduce another fruity dish: Spicy orange beef stir-fry (橙味牛肉).
A Traditional Recipe with a Twist
In a traditional Chinese dish named Chenpi beef (陈皮牛肉), sun-dried tangerine peel is used to deliver a sophisticated citrus flavour to the beef. Unfortunately dried tangerine peel was quite difficult to find in Switzerland where I lived before coming to England. Once by accident I came across a cooking program from 1980s in which the famous TV chef Ken Hom demonstrates how to make stir-fried beef with fresh orange peel. It inspired me to create my own version of orange beef which has a stronger flavour of orange and a more pungent taste provided by fresh chilli.
How to use orange in this dish
In my recipe, orange is used in three parts:
- Using a vegetable peeler to get the zest. Make sure you just peel the orange-coloured part of the skin and avoid peeling off the white part which tastes a little bitter. Julienne the zest before adding to the oil along with fresh chilli, ginger and garlic.
- Squeeze the juice out and use half to marinate the beef. Not only does it add flavour, it also helps to tenderize the meat thanks to its acidic element.
- The other half of the juice is used in the sauce (with soy sauce, corn starch, sesame oil, etc.) which is added at the end of the cooking process to give the beef a shiny and flavoursome coating.
Add an extra kick with fresh chillies
I love all things spicy! So I put quite a lot of fresh chillies (red and green) in my orange beef. It balances the overall flavour of the dish and makes it more visually appetizing (you know that I always eat with my eyes first). If you love it extra hot, include the seeds of the chilli instead of discarding them.
Stir-fry the beef twice
A final note on the beef: like cooking my favourite Black pepper beef, you need to stir fry the beef twice. Please make sure you work quickly and avoid overcooking:
- The 1st time: Fry marinated beef in oil. Once it becomes pale (still pink inside), dish out immediately.
- The 2nd time: Put the fried beef back to the wok when other ingredients has been fried. Give everything a quick stir then pour in the sauce. As soon as the sauce thickens, remove the wok from the heat.
Other delicious beef dishes
Beef is a very popular in Chinese cooking. Check out some of my recipes using it as the star ingredient.
Spicy orange beef stir fry (橙味牛肉)
Ingredients
For marinating the beef
- 350 g flank or skirt steak, cut into strips against the grain, 12oz
- 2 tablespoon fresh orange juice
- 1 teaspoon Shaoxing rice wine
- 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
For the sauce
- 2 tablespoon fresh orange juice
- 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch ground Sichuan pepper
For stir-frying
- 2 tablespoon cooking oil
- Zest of ½ orange, julienned
- 4 fresh chillies, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon minced ginger
Instructions
- Place beef strips in a bowl. Add all the ingredients for the marinade. Mix well until all the liquid is absorbed by the beef. Leave to combine for 10 minutes.
- Mix all the ingredients for the sauce. Set aside.
- Heat up a wok (or a deep frying pan) over a high heat then pour in 1½ tablespoons of oil. Sear the beef until it becomes pale. Dish out and set aside.
- Discard any liquid in the wok. Pour in the remaining ½ tablespoon of oil. Add orange zest, fresh chilli, ginger and garlic. Cook until fragrant then stir in the beef.
- Fry for 1 minute or so. Pour in the sauce (stir well beforehand). Dish out when beef is evenly coated with the thickened sauce. Serve immediately.
Your Recipe Notes
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Such a delicious recipe!
So happy to hear that, Zuma!
Hi Wei,
Just cooked this for my partner and his Mother in law and there are clean plates all round. We all loved it. I’m not usually a fan of fruit with meat but this is so well balanced that the Orange doesn’t dominate.
I will definitely cook it again.
I do have some dried Tangerine peel at home and would like to try a version with that. Do you have any advice as I’ve never cooked with it before?
Thanks again Wei,
Paul:-)
So glad you enjoyed the dish! Dried tangerine peel would be a great twist—just soak it to soften, then slice and add it early with the aromatics. It adds depth without overpowering.
Thanks Wei,
I’ll let you know how it goes,
Paul:-
I just prepared this dish & its turned out great! I added a bit of brown sugar for my husband bt i loved it as per the original recipe. The orange flavor tasted real! I especially enjoyed the toasted sichuan peppercorn– oh what a delight!! AMAZING aroma! It felt like such an honor to experience this fragrance! I love love love these peppercorns. Thanks for sharing!!
Yes, Sichuan pepper creates such a unique taste. Glad you enjoyed it!
Ni hao!
I’ll try to cook this dish. Sounds fantastic. I always look for the most authentic recipe, like it’s cooked in a random family in China. If I don’t find the real ingrediends I don’t cook it. I want it real. With that said: Is it the normal light sesameoil or Pure black sesameoil in this recipe? It just says “Sesameoil” .. Thanks. 恭喜发财
/ Lars from Sweden
For Chinese cooking, sesame oil refers to oil made from TOASTED sesame seeds (both beige and black seeds are fine). It has a very strong aroma and can be found in any Chinese supermarket. Sesame oil with very light color (like vegetable oil) is made with raw sesame seeds and neutral in flavor. Hope this helps!
Great flavors and easy ….my kind of recipe! Every one of your recipes that I have made has turned out great. Thanks
My pleasure Thomas! Very happy to hear your positive feedback.
This recipe looks delicious, and I plan to try it. I have dried tangerine peel from a Chinese grocery store in my city. How much should I use to substitute for the fresh orange peel in this recipe? Thank you!
You could use a little dried tangerine peel (rehydrated and finely chopped) to this dish. But I suggest you don’t skip the orange juice as dried tangerine doesn’t release enough citron flavour in a quick stir-fry.
Thank you very much for your clear reply!
Hi, thank you for this recipe, I just tried it out and it was super delicious and quite easy to make
So happy to hear that Maria! Enjoy your cooking time!
Hi I can’t wait to make this, what kind of green and red fresh chili did you use?
Thanks!!
I don’t remember exactly what types of chilli peppers I’ve used for this recipe. Jalapeno pepper, for example, is a good choice. Please feel free to use chillis that suit your tolerance to spicy food.
It seems to be very tasty and healthy. thanks for sharing.
Thank you very much Kimberly! It’s always my pleasure to share my favourite recipes!
Wei, This looks delicious and easy to make! I think my kids will love it. Need to try it soon!! Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks Heddi! Look forward to hearing your kids’ comment. Have a great day!
Hello Wei! I just wanted to let you know that my darling husband 😉 used your recipe for dinner last night. It was a huge hit! Thanks so much.
That’s great news! ! Thank you for letting me know. It means a lot to me. Have a great week ahead!