Hunan Beef is made of thinly sliced beef, loaded with colorful veggies and tossed in a hot and spicy sauce. Not only is it addictive, it’s also made in one pan!
We partnered with Beef. It’s What’s for Dinner., on behalf of the Beef Checkoff to show you how to make an Authentic Hunan Beef right at home!
Hunan Beef might already be one of your go-to dishes when ordering Chinese takeout. If it isn’t, be ready to be swept off your feet.
If you’re trying (or have tried) to go low-carb, you know things can get a little monotonous. Hunan Beef is a protein-heavy dish that you can turn to when you want to switch things up. That’s right – a protein-rich diet doesn’t mean boiled chicken and broccoli.
Beef promotes health in a uniquely efficient way and can be part of a healthy diet. In fact, a 3 ounce cooked serving contains 10 essential nutrients and 50 percent of your daily value of protein!
What is Hunan Beef?
Hunan Beef is a hot and spicy beef dish that hails straight from the Hunan province of China. This province is known for its richly spicy food and this dish is the perfect representation of the region’s flavors.
Both the Hunan and Szechuan provinces are known for their spicy food. But what’s the big difference? Hunan-style cooking tends to utilize more dry chiles, resulting in a more dry and plain heat.
Szechuan, on the other hand, is made of a combination of both sweet and spicy sauces. Typically, Szechuan cooking is a teensy bit less spicy than Hunan.
Hunan Sauce
Hunan Sauce is made out of beef broth, low-sodium soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar and chili paste. To thicken it up, you’ll also add a bit of cornstarch.
Tips for The Best Hunan Beef
- Slice beef against the grain into very thin slices. Flank Steak is my preferred cut because it always comes out tender.
- Hot tip: You can freeze your beef for 30 minutes beforehand for easier slicing.
- Pre-slice all the ingredients ahead of time. This will make the cooking process that much easier! Stir-fry cooks extra fast, so having all your ingredients prepped and ready will help prevent burning and overcooking.
- Get creative with your veggies. Switch out the ones you don’t like and add more of the ones you prefer!
- Cut all the vegetables in a similar size to ensure even cooking.
- Use a large 11-inch pan or a wok. Avoid overcrowding the pan when you’re cooking beef. You want each slice to get a nice, golden brown color and outer crust.
- Adjust the spice as needed! You can add less or more chili paste according to how much heat you can handle.
More of Asian Beef Recipes
Love Hunan Beef? Try out some of our other favorite Asian-inspired beef dishes:
- Beef Lo Mein – A close cousin to chow mein, lo mein is another great Chinese noodle dish to sink your teeth into.
- Korean Beef Bulgogi – Sweet, salty, and spicy, this ground beef is delicious served over rice.
- The Best Beef Stir Fry – One of the easiest weeknight dinners on my rotation. Put on a pot of rice and whip this one-pan stir fry up in less than 30 minutes.
- One-Pan Broccoli and Beef – Nothing hits the spot quite like a steaming plate of broccoli and beef tossed in that signature sweet and savory sauce.
- Easy Korean Spicy Noodles – If you have never had japchae before, this Korean noodle dish is going to become your new favorite. It’s made with sweet potato glass noodles that have the perfect bite!
Recipe
Ingredients
Hunan
- 1 lb Beef Flank Steak thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 cup broccoli florets
- 1 medium red bell pepper
- 1 medium green bell pepper
- 5 green onions
- 1 medium onion
- 1 1/2 tsp minced garlic
Hunan Sauce
- 1/2 cup beef broth
- 3 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
- 2 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 tsp chili paste Sambal Oelek is a great option
- 2 tsp cornstarch
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk all the sauce ingredients together and set aside.
- Cut all the veggies into bite size pieces, mince garlic and slice beef very thinly.
- Preheat a large, oiled skillet and cook beef until it gets golden brown, for about 7 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- In the same pan combine together bell peppers, onion, green onion, broccoli and minced garlic. Cook until veggies soften, for about 7 minutes.
- Add beef back to the skillet with veggies.
- Pour the prepared sauce over the beef and veggies. Toss everything together and allow it to cook for 5 more minutes. Stir the ingredients occasionally.
- Serve this protein dish with your favorite grain or on its own.
how much is considered a serving
Hi Carla, This recipe makes 4 servings. The the nutrition calculator doesn’t provide us with weight. Hope this helps.
Made this tonight for dinner with steamed jasmine rice and it was delicious! Only differences are I used a red and orange pepper and added fresh mushrooms, baby corn and sliced water chestnuts. I had a 3/4 pound ribeye and 1 pound of chicken tenderloins and I doubled the sauce. I will definitely be making it again!
Hi Bob, You made my mouth water! That sounds amazing! Thank you very much for taking the time to share your experience. Enjoy!
Hi Natalya, Just made this tonight and it was really good. I did not have chili sause, so I added chili powder, red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper and smoked paprika, in little doses. Ialso didn't have oyster sause, do used Worcestersyre sause instead. My husband really liked, but said mushrooms would be good as well, so will make a note and add next time. Your recipe is a keeper!!!
Hi Laurie- so glad your family enjoyed it, thank you for sharing!
Hi
I wondering if In instead use the chili pasta sauce could be something else, my family do not like hot sauce or spicy 🌶
Hi Maggie- I'm not sure what you could use instead of the chili paste, but you can definitely reduce the amount or omit it entirely if you don't want any spice!
Hi I was wondering instead of beef can I make this with chicken ? My husband is allergic to beef thanks sapna
Hello, Sapna. Yes, I think you could use chicken instead. Enjoy!
Hi how can I cut the sodium?
Hi Doreen, This is a bit of a tricky one, sodium comes from the sauce. I would use low sodium beef broth and soy sauce. Enjoy
Is it spicy hot?
Hi Mj, it is not spicy but you can add some red pepper flakes to add some spice to it. Enjoy
This is not low carb with sugar and cornstarch!
Hi Timothy - Thanks for your feedback. There's such a minimal amount of both ingredients which is why we call it low-carb versus carb-free. But you are correct, it's not a strictly carb-free dish. Happy New Year!
This recipe turned out so good. My 3 year old asked me to make it again. That’s how I judge if it’s a keeper. It for sure is! Thank you
Hello Kristina, I am so glad to hear you guys loved the recipe, it is true our kids are the biggest critics, I am so glad your kid enjoyed it too!
This is amazing. The flavour is delicious. Very easy to make and the outcome will be a hit.
Hi Paulette, I am so glad you were happy with the results of this recipe! It really makes for the best meal, full of flavor and texture!
Absolutely delicious! We will be hosting Fathers Day dinner (Asian theme). This will be one of our entrees. Expecting about 20 guests. Wish me luck!
Good luck, Liz! You will do great! Enjoy your celebration 🙂
Great Article. I am really interested about Hunan Regional Cuisine and i am suprised so many people lately publishing about it.
I wonder what you think about how Hunan Beef is different from Szechuan Beef? Love your Blog, keep the good job going!
Hey Eli, I don't know enough about Szechuan Beef. Thank you for all the sweet words!
how many serving is this recipe?
This recipe makes 4 servings. Enjoy
Can I substitute the Oyster sauce for something else?
Hey Rocio, soy sauce would be the closest thing to the oyster sauce for a replacement option.
Can I omit the sugar?
Yes, it does add sweetness to the sauce but you can skip out on it.
Mariah, I think you should use some kind of sweetener, monk fruit sweetener would be good, or even Stevia. I don't think it would have the balance of flavor without it.
Thank you for the tip, Gary!
With love from Zimbabwe l loved and tried this receipe it came out nice
Hey, I am so happy you loved it! Thanks for sharing!
Awesome loved the recipe!!!
This is so good to hear. Thank you for sharing!
This recipe was delicious. The flavor was amazing.
So good to hear. Thank you!
My whole family LOVED this one - THANK YOU!
Wow, this makes me so happy. Thank you for sharing!
This is my kind of recipe! Adding this to my dinner line up for the week; looks too good to pass up!
Thank you Sara, so good to hear that you love Hunan Beef 🙂