This crispy Orange Beef tastes so much better than Chinese takeout. Since it'south made fresh in your kitchen, there's no soggy beefiness, and information technology has tons of flavor.

If you love Chinese nutrient and value using quality ingredients and knowing what'southward in your nutrient, this recipe is for you lot.

Orange Beef - On a Green and White Platter with Orange Rind Strips

I love Chinese food, merely accept grown a bit wary of virtually Chinese restaurants. Many accuse rock bottom prices and use low quality ingredients.

The good news is that many of the Chinese dishes are actually very achievable at home if you take the right ingredients.

I've done Kung Pao Craven, Beefiness and Broccoli, and Honey Walnut Shrimp on the web log, to name a few!

This crispy Orange Beef is i of my favorite Chinese food recipes.

Orange Beef Recipe - Served On a Green and White Platter with Orange Rind Strips

It'due south incredibly fragrant with the primary flavour being orange, but likewise has sesame oil, jalapeno, garlic, and ginger too.

Not to mention the irresistible texture of the thin and crispy slices of beefiness.

I first made this recipe in 2013 after seeing it in Cook's Illustrated, and tweaked it a bit as I made it again and once more. I recollect it'due south such a treat and worth the effort.

How to Brand Orange Beefiness:

The first thing y'all're going to practise is prep the beef, which is going to "dry out" in the freezer while you lot prepare the other ingredients.

Thinly slice some sirloin steak, toss information technology with soy sauce and cornstarch, then lay it out on a rack:

Slices of Raw Beef on a wire Rack

Placing the beef into the freezer volition dry out the surface moisture on the slices, giving us even crispier orangish beef later.

This is a play a joke on that works for all sorts of meat and seafood. The freezer is very dry, and helps get rid of that wet.

Next whisk together the sauce, which combines orangish juice, soy sauce, brandy, rice vinegar, and sesame oil:

Orange Beef Sauce Mixed in a Glass Bowl

For the orange part of this dish, using the fresh fruit is absolutely essential since almost of the season actually comes from the rind.

A close up of an Orange

The original Cooks Illustrated recipe says to include the white bitter pithy part to meliorate mimic the dried tangerine peel normally used in this dish, but I plant it to be too bitter.

I prefer to only use the fragrant colored orange role. Simply remove strips of it with a vegetable peeler, and so julienne information technology with a knife:

Slices of Orange Peel In a bowl

That's it for prep!

Heat a skillet over medium estrus, then sauté the orange strips with some jalapeño:

Sauteed Orange Peel and Jalapeno In a Skillet

And then add garlic, freshly grated ginger, and some red pepper flakes.

Briefly wake upward those flavors with the heat, then deglaze the pan with the reserved sauce from before.

Orange Rind Slices Simmering In Beef Sauce in Skillet

Now turn off the heat and let the sauce sit while y'all cook the beefiness. Since you lot desire the orangish beef to be crispy at the time you serve it, it'southward all-time to practice this at the very end.

Fry the beefiness in batches direct from the freezer, and then toss to coat in the sauce. The cornstarch from the beef will thicken the sauce slightly as yous toss it all together.

Crispy Orange Beef - Served on White Plate with Orange Rind

Serve with steamed rice or my favorite Fried Rice Recipe.

Oh, and if you're turned off by the deep frying, the Cooks Illustrated folks measured the amount of oil earlier and after frying, and the beef only absorbed ii tbsp of oil. Corking if y'all inquire me!

If your oil is at the proper high temperature and the beefiness has been properly dried, deep frying doesn't have to exist greasy.

You can also practise Orange Chicken, and I recommend Pork Lettuce Wraps every bit some other favorite meal. Enjoy!

Orange Beef On a Green and White Platter with Orange Rind Strips

Orangish Beef

Servings: four

Prep Fourth dimension: 10 mins

Cook Time: 15 mins

Full Time: 55 mins

This homemade Crispy Orange Beef has tons of flavour, and is simple to brand at domicile. Information technology's Chinese takeout in your kitchen!

  • one.5 lbs sirloin steak
  • three tbsp soy sauce
  • six tbsp cornstarch
  • ane navel orange
  • 3 tbsp molasses
  • two tbsp brandy or red wine
  • one tbsp rice vinegar
  • 1.5 tsp dark sesame oil
  • 1 jalapeño, inner seeds and ribs removed, thinly sliced
  • 3 garlic cloves minced
  • one tsp freshly grated ginger
  • ane/two tsp scarlet pepper flakes
  • vegetable oil for frying
  • recommended side dish: fried rice or steamed rice

  • Thinly piece the beef about i/4 inch thick, then toss with one tbsp of the soy sauce.

  • Sprinkle the beefiness evenly with the cornstarch and mix well.

  • Evenly spread the beefiness out on a wire rack ready atop a sheet pan, and place the beefiness in the freezer for 30 minutes.

  • Use a vegetable peeler to peel the orange zest from the orange, taking intendance not to get whatever of the bitter white pithy part. Only peel off the orange colored office.

  • Thinly slice the orange peels into long strips.

  • Cut the orange in half and juice it, measuring out 1/4 cup of juice.

  • Place the juice in a basin and add together the remaining 2 tbsp of soy sauce, molasses, brandy or red wine, rice vinegar, and sesame oil, and whisk to combine.

  • Heat a large skillet over medium rut, and add a tablespoon of vegetable oil. Add together the orange strips and jalapeño and sauté for two minutes.

  • Add together the garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes, and stir for 30 seconds until aromatic.

  • Add together the sauce mixture to the pan, and so turn off the heat.

  • Heat a deep fryer to 375 degrees F and set up a sail pan lined with paper towels.

  • Once the fryer has reached the proper temperature, fry almost ane/4 to 1/three of the beefiness at a time for virtually two minutes, making sure to stir gently so the beef doesn't stick together. After three minutes the beef should be golden chocolate-brown and crispy.

  • Remove the beef to the paper towels to bleed, and cook the remainder of the beef.

  • Reheat the sauce over medium loftier heat for a minute or two until bubbling once more, then add together all of the beef, stirring to coat in the sauce for well-nigh 2 minutes. The cornstarch from the beefiness should thicken the sauce slightly.

  • Serve immediately, preferably with rice. Enjoy!

 Recipe adapted from the Feb 2013 upshot of Cooks Illustrated.

Calories: 363 kcal , Carbohydrates: 28 g , Protein: 39 one thousand , Fatty: 9 g , Saturated Fat: 3 thou , Cholesterol: 103 mg , Sodium: 862 mg , Potassium: 897 mg , Fiber: 1 g , Carbohydrate: 14 g , Vitamin A: 160 IU , Vitamin C: 21.four mg , Calcium: 100 mg , Atomic number 26: 3.9 mg

Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is simply intended to exist used as a guideline for informational purposes.

Class: Main Course

Cuisine: Chinese

Post updated with photos, writing, and more tips in August 2018. Originally published March 2013.