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This fast and flavorful Hunan beef recipe needs just 15 minutes and simple ingredients to create a fast weeknight meal that rivals your favorite takeout! Serve with an Asian cabbage salad or chicken broccoli stir fry and dinner is ready in a flash.
What Is Hunan Beef?
Hunan beef is a smoky, spicy stir fry dish that pairs wok-fried slices of beef with a spicy chili garlic sauce. Although it originated in the Hunan province of China, it’s easy to make right in your own kitchen.
Having never been to China, I’ll admit I’ve never had the real thing. But I did try Hunan style beef at several family-owned restaurants, some of them claiming to be authentic. My recipe is based on those, along with hours of research about the ingredients and spices that are prevalent in the region.
Why You’ll Love This Hunan Beef Recipe
- Spicy, beefy flavor
- Tender meat with rich sauce
- Done in 15 minutes
- No oyster sauce, honey, or other ingredients with added sugar or cornstarch
- Gluten-free and low carb
- Easy to pair with noodles, rice, or a variety of vegetables
Ingredients & Substitutions
This section explains how to choose the best ingredients for beef Hunan style, what each one does in the recipe, and substitution options. For measurements, see the recipe card below.
- Coconut Aminos – This is a soy-free alternative to soy sauce — feel free to use conventional low-sodium soy sauce instead.
- Shaoxing Cooking Wine – The most authentic choice for Hunan beef sauce, but you can also substitute sherry cooking wine if you want a grain-free option or can’t find Shaoxing. Although I highly recommend using wine for the right flavor, you can use beef broth instead if you prefer to avoid using wine in your cooking.
- Arrowroot Powder – This is my favorite clean-ingredient cornstarch substitute for thickening the sauce. You can also substitute the same amount of cornstarch, or xanthan gum in a smaller amount (see recipe card below).
- Flank Steak – This dish traditionally uses flank steak. Sirloin steak or skirt steak would be good substitutes.
- Avocado Oil – Or use any neutral, high-heat cooking oil you like.
- Dried Thai Chile Peppers – These add a distinctive flavor to the recipe, but if you can’t find them, try fresh chilies (like serrano peppers or fresnos), chili paste, or any dried chili you prefer (keeping in mind that some may be hotter than others!). Thai chilies are very spicy, so you may want to reduce the amount if you don’t want a lot of heat.
- Garlic – Since it makes up one of the primary flavors in this dish, I recommend fresh garlic.
- Spices – Ground ginger, sea salt, and black pepper.
How To Make Hunan Beef
This section shows how to make Hunan style beef, with step-by-step photos and details about the technique, to help you visualize it. For full instructions, including amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card below.
- Slice. Cut steak as thinly as you can, against the grain.
TIP: Quickly freeze beef for easier slicing.
Place beef in the freezer for 10-15 minutes to allow it to firm up slightly. It will be easier to cut into thin slices.
- Marinate. In a medium bowl, whisk together coconut aminos, cooking wine, and arrowroot powder. Add beef, toss to coat, and set aside to marinate for 30 minutes.
- Cook beef. Heat oil in a hot wok on high heat. Add beef with marinade and stir fry for about 1 minute. (It will not be cooked through yet.)
TIP: Make sure your wok is very hot before adding the beef.
If the wok is not hot enough, the beef will take longer to cook and become tough.
- Season. Add peppers, garlic, ginger, and pepper. Cook for 1-2 minutes, until beef has finished cooking and sauce has thickened. Season with salt to taste.
- Serve. I like to garnish Hunan beef with fresh chives (green onions also work), and sometimes a sprinkle of sesame seeds. Find more serving ideas below.
Hunan Beef vs. Szechuan Beef: What’s The Difference?
The main difference between Hunan beef and Szechuan beef (sometimes called Sichuan beef) is the spices, because the two originated from different regions of China. Both use garlic and chili peppers generously as the primary flavors, but Hunan cuisine (also known as Xiang cuisine) is more spicy and less sweet. It’s also a more purely spicy taste with less complexity.
Storage Instructions
- Store: Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days.
- Reheat: Warm up Hunan beef in a hot skillet, on low power in the microwave, or in a warm oven, until heated through.
- Freeze: Cool completely and store in an airtight container (with as much air removed as possible). Freeze for up to 6 months, then thaw overnight before reheating.
What To Serve With Hunan Beef Stir Fry
Hunan beef ingredients pair perfectly with Asian style side dishes, rice, and more!
- Rice – Serve this with your favorite brown or white rice, cauliflower rice (or cauliflower fried rice), or shirataki rice.
- Vegetables – Try this beef with smashed cucumber salad, sauteed cabbage, oven roasted broccoli or sauteed broccoli (pictured above), or garlic roasted bok choy. You can also make a mixed vegetable stir fry with bell peppers, broccoli, mushrooms, and/or even baby corn.
- Noodles – This dish tastes delicious on a bed of zucchini noodles, baked spaghetti squash, shirataki noodles, or rice noodles.
More Easy Asian Inspired Recipes
I have lots of healthy Asian recipes (and a guide on keto Chinese food if you’re looking to cut carbs while dining out)! Plus, try these easy Asian-inspired dishes.
Recommended Tools
- Carbon Steel Wok – The most authentic large pan choice for this Chinese Hunan beef recipe. It stays hot!
- Glass Bowls – My favorite for easy prep.
- Silicone Cooking Tools – These tools can handle hot pans with ease.
Easy Hunan Beef Recipe
Hunan Beef Recipe (15 Minutes!)
This takeout-style Hunan beef recipe takes less than 15 minutes to make, with healthy ingredients! It makes a quick, easy weeknight dinner.
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Ingredients
Tap underlined ingredients to see where to get them. Please turn Safari reader mode OFF to view ingredients.
Instructions
Tap on the times in the instructions below to start a kitchen timer while you cook.
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Slice the flank steak very thinly against the grain. (If you have time, it can help to place it in the freezer for about 10-15 minutes, which makes it more firm and easier to slice thinly. Don't let it freeze solid.)
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In a medium bowl, whisk together the coconut aminos, cooking wine, and arrowroot powder. Add the sliced beef and toss to coat. Set aside to marinate for 30 minutes.
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Heat avocado oil in a large wok over high heat. Add the beef and stir fry for about 1 minute.
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Add the crushed Thai chile peppers, minced garlic, ground ginger, and black pepper. Stir fry for about another 1-2 minutes, until the beef is cooked through and the sauce is thick and glossy. If needed, add sea salt to taste.
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Recipe Notes
Serving size: 1/4 lb
Note: This recipe is spicy! If you prefer less spice, you may want to reduce the amount of dried Thai chile peppers from two to one.
Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy. Have questions about calculations or why you got a different result? Please see our nutrition policy.
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14 Comments
Erica
0I’ve never seen takeout Hunan beef that looked this good, so I had to try it (obviously) – no regrets! It’s a bit more effort than picking up the phone, but I love how savory and homemade it tasted in comparison!
Gen
0Super easy, great for a weeknight, and really tasty! I’ll make this again for sure.
Dana
0This is a super delicious dinner that is perfect for busy nights. I love that it was so quick to make and everyone enjoyed it. Adding this great recipe to our rotation!
Jon Hamel
0I think you can improve this recipe using the Chinese method of velveting to further improve the texture of the meat. FYI – Wiki gave me this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velveting as a starting point to this method. The use of arrowroot as opposed to cornstarch is good, and in addition using egg whites and shao_xing rice wine to marinate the meat then a quick initial blanch of the meat would be a very good addition. The marinated and blanched meat would then be stir-fried in a wok as per your recipe.
Judy
0Hi Maya, we will be enjoying your Korean Beef Bowl again tonight. Yummy!!! But this looks great also. Can I use stew meat chunks, if I make the pieces smaller? Thank you
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Judy, Yes, I think that would work.
Lynda
0Hello! Can I substitute xatham gum for the arrowroot? If so, what amount should I use. Thank u!
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Lynda, Yes, start with 1/8th teaspoon and adjust as necessary.
Charlie Gilliam
0We made Hunan beef and pork this week. We add 5 thai/birds eye chili’s to both the marinade as well as the sauce. Yes, 10 total. We love the flavor as well as the heat. We even quartered a hobanero pepper too. Just tried avoiding eating those though
Connie
0I uploaded recipe to fitness pal and it’s showing 52 g of carbs. Is it wrong? It’s not showing any sugars. I just want to make sure I stay under my carb goal. Any advice would be appreciated.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Connie, That’s not accurate. Our nutrition info comes from the USDA Food Database, which is more reliable than 3rd party calculators. Unfortunately I can’t troubleshoot 3rd party calculators, but the nutrition info on the recipe card is correct – and much less than 52g carbs. 🙂
Linda
0Thank you so much for sharing your awesome recipes along with those wonderful tips you share. I love your site and all my friends who I have shared your site do as well. You make this keto life style fun and exciting and without feeling deprived. Wish you continued success.
Shernaz Dick
0Can we use any other oil like coconut,ghee,butter or olive oil instead of avocado oil? Are these oils interchangeable in your recipes?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Shernaz, Yes, you can definitely use any oil you like in this recipe. For other recipes, it depends what it is, so it’s best to ask for each recipe.