Calgary Ginger Beef Recipe

When I first moved to Alberta in the early 1990s, I worked in a Chinese restaurant in Lethbridge. One day I had a customer come into the restaurant and order ginger beef. When I asked how the meal was she said, "Well, it's not "Calgary Ginger Beef." 

At the time, I simply wrote her off as a 'big city snob.' At that point, I hadn't yet tried Calgary ginger beef and had no idea there was even a difference. However, that completely changed once I tried it. I was in LOVE and knew exactly what she meant! Calgary is the birthplace of ginger beef, after all. And this Ginger Beef Recipe is my copycat version (based on the Ginger Beef restaurant's recipe.)

🥘 Ingredient Notes

Ginger beef is made up of beef, a batter, and a sauce, with veggies. For this recipe, you'll need the following:

Beef:

• Flank steak or sirloin. Either type of beef will do. You don't need an expensive steak.

Batter:

• Eggs and cornstarch. Bind the batter together and allow it to stick to the beef. Constarch is much better than flour, as the end result is crispier and lighter.
• Vegetable oil . This is for deep frying. I just use an inexpensive oil or canola oil.

Vegetables:

• Carrot  and green bell pepper. These are the only veggies in ginger beef. It's important to julienne the carrots and thinly slice the green peppers or they won't cook through and ovewhelm the sauce if they're not cut thinly enough.
• Olive oil. Is ideal for sauteeing the vegetables and ginger and garlic.
• Fresh ginger. Is critical for authentic ginger taste of ginger beef so make sure it's fresh. The ginger balances the sweetness of the sauce. I keep my ginger frozen (whole) so it's there when I need it. When a recipe calls for fresh ginger, I use a vegetable peeler to peel away the skin on a section, then I grate it directly into my dish!
• Garlic. Fresh garlic is best - it adds a soft, sweet buttery flavor.

Sauce:

• Soy sauce. Adds a depth to the sauce and complexity, as well as a salty taste.
• Chinese red vinegar (red rice vinegar). It's very important you use this -Chinese red vinegar is used a lot in restaurants and it has a delicious tangy flavor that is unmistakeable . As it has it's own special taste that's unique and different from red wine vinegar or Chinese cooking wine, you want to get your hands on a bottle. It's not very expensive and lasts a long time. You can find it at various Asian markets (T & T in Calgary) but I've never come across it in a regular grocery store.
• Chinese cooking wine or dry sherry. Chinese cooking wine is often found in regular grocery stores, but it's less expensive at Asian markets.
• White granulated sugar. This is partly what gives ginger beef its sweet taste.
• Crushed chilies (red pepper flakes). Crushed red pepper flakes give ginger beef it's spice.
• Plum sauce. Plum sauce gives ginger beef sauce a delicious sweet complex flavor.
• Sesame seeds. I use these for garnishing and they lend a delicious sesame nutty taste! You can toast them for an even nuttier taste or simply buy them toasted.

*See recipe card for quantities

📖VARIATIONS & SUBSTITUTIONS

• Beef -you could also use skirt steak or beef tenderloin instead
• Oil- you can use sesame oil instead of olive oil for sauteeing.
• Garlic - you can use minced garlic in a jar in a pinch
• Addins - you can add in snow peas, broccoli florets, or hoisin sauce

🥟Chinese New Year Dishes

If you're looking for Chinese New Year Dishes, although ginger beef may not be a symbolic Chinese New Year dish, it will make a great addition to your meal. But if you're looking for symbolic Lunar New Year dishes, you might also like my Chinese Potstickers (Dumplings).

Chinese dumplings symbolize wealth because their shape is similar to ancient gold. However, this dumpling recipe is not a copycat. I was taught to make them by the cooks when I worked the Mandarin. However, the dipping sauce IS a copycat of my very favorite potsticker dipping sauce from, you guessed it, The Ginger Beef Restaurant!

🥗 Side Dishes

This Ginger beef recipe pairs perfectly with a simple steamed white rice, brown rice, or even minute rice!

🔪 How to Make Ginger Beef

1. Slice beef (against the grain- see VIDEO in notes for instructions on how to do this) into thin slices
2. Combine all batter ingredients and coat beef strips in batter.
3. Add oil to a deep large skillet and heat on medium heat. *NOTE: I prefer to use a deep fryer for safety, but for some reason, I couldn't get it to work with this recipe! Even when I sprayed the basket with Pam, the pieces still stuck. Deep-fry coated beef, about 6 pieces at a time, until crispy, about seven to ten minutes *
4. Remove meat with a slotted spoon. Set meat aside on paper towel to drain. Repeat with remaining meat, frying in small batches of 6-8 pieces (depending on the size of your frying pan.) Add sauce ingredients (except plum sauce) in a bowl and whisk together. Set aside. Julienne carrots and thinly slice green peppers.
5. In a wok, over medium-low heat, stir fry garlic, carrots, green pepper, sesame seeds and half the ginger in oil for about 3 minutes. Add sauce. Bring to boil over high heat for 1 to 2 minutes and then reduce heat to medium-high heat and cook until reduced for 5- 7 minutes. Add plum sauce, whisk, and cook for 1 additional minute. Add beef to sauce; stir to coat with sauce.
6. Sprinkle with additional sesame seeds and serve over white or basmati rice. Add additional plum sauce for extra sweetness, if desired. Garnish with green onions (optional)

🎥 Video: How to slice beef against the grain

How to slice beef against the grain

👪 Serving size

This ginger beef stir fry recipe serves 8, if you serve it with rice. You can half, double, or triple the recipe by clicking on the serving size on the recipe card and selecting the number of servings you'd like. The ingredient amounts will automatically adjust.

🌡️Storage

• This ginger beef can be stored with the sauce in the fridge in an airtight container for 2-3 days. If you make rice to go with this recipe, keep the rice stored in a separate container in the fridge.
• This recipe freezes well for up to 3 months.