This Beijing Beef Panda Express Recipe Copycat is nice, delicious, simple, and cheaper than Panda Express. Also, you can always try and make things a little different with copycat recipes, and quite often, it turns out even better than the original. Check this out.
Beijing Beef Panda Express Recipe
Don’t be frightened by the number of ingredients. I promise that you’ll be happy with the results, and this Beijing beef is simple to make; just be sure to follow the instructions.
Ingredients
- 1 (8 oz./226g) flank steak, flap, or sirloin chopped against the grain into ¼” strips
- ½ medium yellow onion, sliced
- ½ medium red bell pepper, cut into strips
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- Cornstarch (for dusting the beef before frying)
- Salt-Sugar
BATTER INGREDIENTS
- 1 egg, beaten
- ½ tsp cornflour
- Dash of white pepper
- ½ tsp salt
BEIJING SAUCE
- 4 tbsp water
- 1 ½ tbsp ketchup
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 3 tbsp hoisin sauce
- 2 tsp light soy sauce
- 1 tsp oyster sauce
- 2 tsp sweet chili sauce
- 1 tbsp ACV
- 1 tsp chili peppers, crushed
Instructions
Preparing the Beef with Batter:
- In a bowl, mix together all batter ingredients until well combined.
- Place beef in the batter, making sure it’s fully immersed. Leave it for 15 minutes.
Preparing the Sauce: 3. In a separate bowl, mix all sauce ingredients together.
Coating the Beef: 4. Put cornflour in a bag or another bowl.
- Take out the beef from the batter and put it in the cornflour. Shake or toss to coat the beef evenly.
- Store the coated beef in the fridge for a short while.
Frying the Beef: 7. Pour a generous amount of oil into a deep pan or wok.
- Take the beef from the fridge and coat it again with cornstarch. Make sure each strip is evenly coated. Shake off any extra cornstarch.
- Heat the oil and fry the beef in small batches until golden brown (a few minutes should do).
- Place the fried beef on a dish lined with paper towels.
Stir-Frying the Veggies: 11. In a hot wok with some oil, stir-fry onions and bell pepper until they have a nice brown edge.
- Add garlic and stir-fry for just 10 seconds. Remove everything from the wok.
Combining Everything: 13. With the wok on medium-high heat, pour in the sauce mixture. Let it simmer until it thickens a bit.
- Add the fried beef, onions, garlic, and bell pepper to the sauce in the wok. Toss everything together for about a minute until the beef absorbs the sauce.
Serving: 15. Transfer everything to a serving plate.
- Serve warm, ideally with a side of steamed rice. Enjoy!
Beijing Beef Panda Express Recipe Copycat
Beijing beef is a best-selling dish at Panda Express, and many people have messaged me and asked me about making a Panda Express-like Beijing Beef recipe.
Before coming up with this recipe, I had to go first to Panda Express and try their Beijing beef. Following a thorough examination of the dish’s ingredients and a good taste of the sauce, I believe I have discovered a mock recipe for Beijing beef.
So, there you go, my delicious homemade version of Panda Express Beijing beef. And it tastes better than the one served at Panda Express.
How To Prepare Beijing Beef
Like most recipes at Panda Express, the meat is first dipped in batter and deep-fried. To replicate their famous Beijing sauce, I changed the recipe a few times to achieve the right blend of flavors and aromas.
Panda Express Beijing Sauce
This sauce has an overwhelming list of ingredients, but don’t let this stop you from making it as the final taste will totally win you over. It’s so nice that you’ll want to make it again and again.
Fortunately, you can prepare a big portion of the sauce and refrigerate it to use it later when you want to make any Beijing meat recipe (chicken, beef, etc). It’s a matter of preference.
What Does Beijing Beef Sauce Contain?
Beijing sauce features fermented ingredients that work in conjunction to yield a nice blend of sweet, sour, and savor flavors. The taste is incredibly versatile and you can even use it as a dip in side dishes.
