Crispy Honey Beef with Snow Peas

Crispy Honey Beef with Snow Peas is the best way to get takeout, at home! Crispy beef sirloin is coated in cornstarch, pan-fried and tossed with an easy soy and honey sauce. Served with crisp snow peas, plenty of garlic, and green onion. 

Crispy Honey Beef with Snow Peas

Crispy beef. Sweet, spicy, sticky sauce. Crunchy snow peas.  Garlic. 

Gang’s all here! And it’s a very cozy gang. One that gets along harmoniously, sings to the fakeout takeout heavens, and is begging for you to dig in. 

Here’s the thing. In life, I’m not really a beef gal on the regular. I love the occasional filet. Adore a well-dressed burger a few times a month. And I will get down on some beef stroganoff once or twice a year.  However, when it comes to Chinese or any Asian food, I’m all about it. An order of takeout isn’t complete without an order of crispy Mongolian beef, I could easily inhale an entire order by my lonesome. 

I’ve been meaning to try and make my own version of crispy Asian beef at home, and now I’ve done it! And it’s perfect. 

The key to crispy beef is two-fold. 

1. You must slice the beef super thin. In order to do this, I pop the whole steak in the freezer for five minutes or so until it’s really firm, and then use a  sharp knife to cut it thin. 
2. Use cornstarch. Coating the beef in cornstarch before cooking it, create this really light, thin layer that crisps up perfectly. 
3. Pan fry. You could deef fry the beef, but I find this makes it almost too crispy. Crisping it up in a very minimal amount of peanut or canola oil is all you need. 

How to make Crispy Honey Beef with Snow Peas

• Put the steak in the freezer until firm, about 5-7 minutes. Pull out and cut into thin slices. 
• While the steak freezes, whisk soy sauce, agave, cornstarch, sriracha, rice vinegar, and water together in a small bowl. Set aside. 
• Line a baking sheet with a cookie cooling rack. 
• Season the beef with salt and pepper. Add half of the beef and half of the cornstarch to a large ziplock bag. Shake until evenly coated. Store coated beef on the cooling rack. Repeat with remaining cornstarch and beef. 
• Heat a large skillet over a medium-high heat. Add enough oil to coat the Botton of the pan, it should come up about 1/8-inch. Once the oil is hot, add beef in batches. Do not crowd the pan. Cook until brown and crisp, about 1-2 minutes per side. Repeat with remaining beef. 
• Once all the beef is crisp, store on cookie cooling rack.
• Remove oil and wipe the pan clean. Add 2 teaspoons of sesame oil to the pan. Turn the heat on medium and add snow peas. Cook for 1-2 minutes and then add garlic. Cook another 1-2 minutes until garlic is softened. Reduce the heat to low. Add beef back to the pan, along with the sauce. Simmer for 1-2 minutes until thickened. 

What kind of steak do I use? 

I use a beef sirloin, but ribeye, filet, or anything relatively tender will work! 

Do I have to use agave? 

No. Honey will work as a great substitute. 

What if I like my Crispy Honey Beef spicy? 

Easy! Add more sriracha.

Substitutions and Tips and Tricks for Recipe Success

• Feel free to swap out broccoli, bell peppers, or any other veggie for the snow peas. Adjust the cooking time accordingly. 
• Use honey instead of agave
• If you have chicken stock on hand, swap that out for the water. 
• Tamara is a great substitute for soy sauce
• If your pan gets too brown after the first or second batch of cooking, wipe it clean before starting the next one. 
• You can always add a little bit more water or chicken stock to thin the sauce out.

What to serve with Crispy Honey Beef with Snow Peas?

• Quinoa Fried Rice
• Copycat Kona Grill Fried Rice
• Easy Asian Potstickers

Crispy Honey Beef with Snow Peas

Yield: 4

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

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Ingredients

• 1 lb. beef sirloin
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 tbsp. agave
• 1/2 tsp. sriracha
• 1 tsp. rice vinegar
• 1/4 cup water or chicken stock
• 1/2 cup + 2 tsp. cornstarch, divided
• Canola oil for cooking
• 2 tsp. sesame oil
• 8 oz. snow peas
• 1 large green onion, sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced

Instructions

1. Place the steak in the freezer until firm, about 5-7 minutes. Pull out and cut into thin slices. 
2. While the steak freezes, whisk soy sauce, agave, 2 teaspoons cornstarch, sriracha, rice vinegar, and water together in a small bowl. Set aside. 
3. Line a baking sheet with a cookie cooling rack. 
4. Season the beef with salt and pepper. Add half of the beef and 1/4 cup of the cornstarch to a large ziplock bag. Shake until evenly coated. Store coated beef on the cooling rack. Repeat with another 1/4 cup of cornstarch and remaining beef. 
5. Heat a large skillet over a medium-high heat. Add enough canola oil to coat the bottom of the pan, it should come up about 1/8-inch. Once the oil is hot, add in half of the beef. Do not crowd the pan. Cook until brown and crisp on both sides, about 1-2 minutes per side. Repeat with remaining beef. 
6. Once all the beef is crisp, store on cookie cooling rack. Remove oil and wipe the pan clean. Add 2 teaspoons of sesame oil to the pan. Turn the heat on medium and add snow peas and green onion. Cook for 1-2 minutes and then add garlic. Cook another 1-2 minutes until garlic is softened. Season with salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to low. Add beef back to the pan, along with the sauce. Stir to coat the beef and snow peas. Simmer for 1-2 minutes until thickened. 

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 387Total Fat: 19gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 106mgSodium: 1047mgCarbohydrates: 16gFiber: 2gSugar: 9gProtein: 36g