Korean Style Beef Stir Fry Recipe

Beef Stir-Fry Gangnam Style

Have you ever cooked with kimchi, pronounced [KIHM-chee]  also spelled kimchee?

Do you know what kimchee is?

I heard of it but really had no idea what it is until I adapted this recipe from one of my cooking magazines. It is served with this Korean beef stir fry.

Kimchee is a Korean pickled side dish made with fermented vegetables including napa cabbage, ginger, radish scallion, cucumber and I'm guessing whatever is available. Added to these vegetables are a variety of spices and seasonings depending on what region of Korea you are living.

For the record, Kimchee is the national dish of Korea and one of the most important ingredients in Korean cuisine. I read that in Korea people say "kimchi" when they smile for photos.

I searched Amazon and found dozens of books dedicated to kimchi so you can see its importance.

For this recipe my wife picked up two jars of kimchi from the local supermarket. Can you imagine finding kimchi anywhere but a Korean market 15 years ago?

One of the jars was mild, the other spicy. I chose to use the mild in this dish so my girls would try it.

Stir-Fry Technique

This recipe calls for using a stir-fry technique where you cook the ingredients (usually uniform in size) in a hot pan (wok) in a small amount of oil. Classic stir-fry (Chao technique) cooks the ingredients in a particular order but I'll talk about that in another post soon.

Serve with Noodles

The recipe said to serve with mung bean noodles because they absorb the liquids created when preparing the dish and they don't have much flavor on their own.

I used Thai Kitchen's Stir-Fry Rice Noodles and had to laugh when I read on the box they were "Linguini_Style". That's what I'm looking for….Italian style Thai rice noodles.

The noodles I used took about 10 to 15 minutes to prepare so plan accordingly.

📖 Recipe

Print Recipe

Korean Style Beef Stir Fry Recipe

Prep Time45 minutes mins

Cook Time15 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Korean

Servings: 4 - 6 servings

Ingredients

• ¼ cup soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 3 New York Strip steaks fat trimmed and steaks cut into bite size pieces
• 14 ounces box rice noodles
• 2 tablespoons peanut oil
• 1 large red onion thinly sliced
• 1 jar kimchi mild or spicy
• 8 ounces sugar snap peas
• 2 large carrots sliced into ribbons with peeler
• 1 cup beef broth
• 1½ teaspoons cornstarch optional
• Garnish toasted sesame seeds, sliced radishes

Instructions

• The total time for preparing this dish is about 45 minutes but that includes getting the ingredients ready and letting the meat marinate for 30 minutes. The actual cooking time is about 15 minutes.

  The rice noodles take about 10 to 15 minutes and get soggy if you cook them too early so try to time it right.
• In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, sesame oil, and brown sugar.
• Add the cubed beef, stir to coat and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

  Get the rest of the ingredients together and prepped.
• Just before starting the stir-fry, heat up the water to cook the rice noodles and cook according to the package.
• Heat up your wok or fry pan until hot, add 1 tablespoon of peanut oil and sauté meat until it's brown on all sides. This should take about 3-4 minutes depending on the size of the meat cubes.

  You DON'T want to crowd the pan or the meat will steam and not brown. If you have too much steak, cook in batches.

  You also don't want to overcook the meat because you'll be adding it back to the pan at the end to finish the dish. New York strip steaks are very tender. They come from the loin and if overcooked, will be tough and chewy.

  Better to under-cook at this stage and finish cooking to the desired doneness at the end.
• The recipe says to reserve the marinade the steak cubes were marinating in. From my experience, there wasn't much marinade left so I just added a little more soy sauce and sesame oil to the bowl.
• Once browned, transfer the steak cubes to a plate or bowl and reserve.
• Add the remaining tablespoon of peanut oil to the pan and when its hot, add the onion to the pan and stir-fry for a minute or two.
• Add the sugar snap peas, kimchi and carrots and stir fry for another 2 - 3 minutes.
• Add the cornstarch and beef broth to the reserved marinade along with any juices that may have released from the meat.

  Add this mixture back to the cooking pan and cook on medium-high heat for a few minutes until it starts to thicken.
• Add the beef back to the pan and cook until the meat is cooked to your desired temperature.

  Please be careful not to overcook. It happens to me all the time if I'm not paying attention.
• Serve over the prepared rice noodles and garnish with the sesame seeds and radish slices if using.

Notes

This is a good one and I think it will become one of those regular meals on your family menu. Don't be afraid to experiment with different ingredients and create your own version.