Crispy Orange Beef

Crispy Orange Beef made with crispy, tender slices of steak coated in an orange garlic-ginger sauce in just 30 minutes!

Crispy Orange Beef made with crispy, tender slices of steak coated in an orange garlic-ginger sauce in just 30 minutes!

Crispy Orange Beef skip the delivery!

Crispy Orange Beef is definitely in the shadows of the powerhouse Orange Chicken but it has a delicious flavor all its own and without a heavy coating of breading.

There are three classic cooking methods for most takeout Chinese food. First is deep fried food with a breading like Orange or Sweet and Sour Chicken. Second is a pan fry with a cornstarch coating to keep the food crispy but without the breading like in this recipe. Third is your classic stir fry.

You'll love this Crispy Orange Beef in just 30 minutes!!

If you’ve ever wondered how Chinese food recipes get a crisp coating without the breading, the magic is usually a soak in soy sauce that is then coated in cornstarch. When the cornstarch is fried it gets very crispy and btw, delicious!

Some tips and tricks:

  • If you don’t want to use orange juice and zest you can swap out for some orange marmalade. (cut sugar back if you do this)
  • Don’t cook the steak for too long, it will get tough. High heat for a very short period of time on each side.
  • Don’t crowd the pan. The beef needs to get crisp and if you add it at one time it’ll steam and get gummy instead.
  • If you want a richer deeper sesame flavor, add a teaspoon of sesame oil in with the orange juice.

Quick and Easy Chinese Crispy Orange Beef

Want more Chinese Food Recipes?

Crispy, tender Chinese Orange Beef in just 30 minutes!

Tools Used in the making of the Crispy Orange Beef:
Wok: Great for high heat, quick cooking. This wok is a great addition to your kitchen if you love cooking Chinese food or stir fries in general.
Large Frying Pan: I use this Cuisinart for most of my non cast iron cooking unless I am going with a stainless steel option, then I choose my All Clad.
Soy Sauce: Nothing much to say here except Kikkoman has the best flavor overall and I always recommend reduced sodium.
Rice Vinegar: Readily available in almost all grocers these days, this is a great vinegar to keep on hand. It does have a hint of sweetness to it, so don’t replace with any other vinegar except perhaps a red wine vinegar if you absolutely need to.

Crispy Orange Beef made with crispy, tender slices of steak coated in an orange garlic-ginger sauce in just 30 minutes!
5 from 8 votes
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Crispy Orange Beef

Crispy Orange Beef made with crispy, tender slices of steak coated in an orange garlic-ginger sauce in just 30 minutes!
Course Main Course
Cuisine Chinese
Keyword Chinese orange beef, crispy orange beef
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 6 Servings
Calories 312 kcal
Author Sabrina Snyder

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 3 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1 1/2 pounds flank steak , thinly sliced against the grain
  • 1/4 cup canola oil , for frying
  • 1 teaspoon ginger , grated
  • 2 tablespoons garlic , minced
  • 1/3 cup white sugar
  • 1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
  • 1/4 cup orange juice
  • 2 teaspoons orange zest , optional

Instructions

  1. Add the steak and soy sauce together in a large ziploc bag, leaving air inside and shake.
  2. Add in the cornstarch and leaving air in the bag again before closing, shake until well coated.
  3. Heat the oil on medium-high heat and cook the steak strips for 45 seconds on each side.

  4. Remove to a plate and cook in batches.
  5. Drain most of the oil, leaving just a tablespoon.
  6. Add in the ginger and garlic and cook for 30 seconds.

  7. Add in the sugar, vinegar, orange juice and zest and stir.
  8. Add the beef back in and toss.
Nutrition Facts
Crispy Orange Beef
Amount Per Serving (1 g)
Calories 312 Calories from Fat 135
% Daily Value*
Fat 15g23%
Saturated Fat 3g19%
Cholesterol 68mg23%
Sodium 397mg17%
Potassium 431mg12%
Carbohydrates 17g6%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 12g13%
Protein 25g50%
Vitamin A 20IU0%
Vitamin C 6.9mg8%
Calcium 29mg3%
Iron 1.9mg11%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Crispy Orange Beef made with crispy, tender slices of steak coated in an orange garlic-ginger sauce in just 30 minutes!
Make deliciously crispy orange beef in just 30 minutes!
You'll never go back to delivery, enjoy this Chinese Crispy Orange Beef!

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. If you enjoyed the recipe and would like to publish it on your own site, please re-write it in your own words, and link back to my site and recipe page. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  1. Sabrina, I’ve come back and back again to your website this year. You have blessed our family with all these awesome recipes, especially in this crazy 2020, where we have had a lot of family dinners! Thank you and can’t wait for some of the Thanksgiving recipes!

    Happy Thanksgiving, Sean & Family!

    1. Sean, thank you so much for these kind words! You made my day. I hope you and your family have a wonderful Thanksgiving! I hope you enjoy the Thanksgiving recipes!

  2. I’ve not had orange beef in a very long time, and found this recipe to be very easy to follow, and the crispy orange beef came out very tasty. It’s a big hit with the family.

  3. if I use orange marmalade instead of orange juice and zest, how much do I use of the orange marmalade and then do I use only 1/4 cup sugar?

    1. I would add about 1/4 cup of marmalade mixed with 2 tablespoons of water to help thin it out and cut back to 3 tablespoons of sugar. You also might want to add a tablespoon of white vinegar because you’re going to loose some of the tang from the juice. It’s up to you. Enjoy!

  4. I’ve been searching for a good crispy orange beef recipe that replicates the one served at my favorite Chinese restaurant and this one is as close as I’ve come. My only changes have been: I added sambal olek to the sauce, and will add dried chili peppers next time. This dish needs heat to offset the sweetness. Will use strips of peel rather than zest (or maybe in addition) so that there is the punch of citrus. Next time I will bite the bullet and deep fry rather than pan fry. It just took too long to cook that much meat using a pan fry method. Easier to maintain the right temperature too. Served with steamed rice and broccoli. Planning to make again this week.

  5. Not crispy. The meat was sort of crispy after the first step. Dumping it into the OJ/vinegar
    negated it. Disappointed that I wasted a quality piece of steak. Also… WAY TOO VINEGARY!

    1. If it wasn’t crispy you might want to recheck your technique. Mine was wonderfully crispy if dredged and fried properly in enough very hot oil. Don’t overcrowd the pan. Also, if you cook the juice, sugar, and vinegar in the pan by itself until the vinegar reduces you won’t be left with the strong taste of vinegar. Like boiling off alcohol. Toss in the beef and done.

  6. I came late to the “party”, so I made mine with valentine sprinkles and chocolate candies. Cute and delicious!

  7. Newlywed & trying to make dinner for my steak loving husband, but I HATE steak. BUT that being said I made this tonight and ate almost as much as him! The crispiness is sooooo good. I used the marmalade instead of orange juice & zest and it all turned out so yummy. I’m so glad to have found a recipe that we both love! Thank you!

  8. Prep time was good Cook time great. Made just in time before family got home.
    Family says it’s Delicious Dad