Hot and spicy beef is a mouthwatering stir-fried dish known for its irresistible blend of tender beef and bold, spicy flavors. This popular dish packs some serious heat and is a favorite for spice lovers around the world.
What Exactly is Hot and Spicy Beef?
Hot and spicy beef consists of thinly sliced beef stir-fried with chili peppers, garlic, ginger, and other aromatics, then coated in a sticky, chili-laden sauce The beef is usually a tender cut like flank steak or sirloin, sliced against the grain for tenderness. It’s cooked quickly over high heat and combined with crisp-tender vegetables like bell peppers, broccoli, and onions
But the real star is the spice blend The sauce mingles the numbing heat of Sichuan peppercorns with fiery chili flakes or paste, Sharp ginger and pungent garlic add layers of flavor Sweet soy sauce and dark Chinese rice wine balance out the heat,
The end result is a dish with some serious kick, but also complex layers of flavor. Each bite delivers a perfect storm of sweet, salty, umami, and spicy.
Origins and Regional Variations
Hot and spicy beef has its roots in Sichuan cuisine, where bold, tongue-numbing spice blends are a specialty. The Chinese name “xiang la fei niu” translates to “fragrant spicy fat beef.” Sichuan chefs excel at coaxing maximum flavor out of less prestigious cuts of meat.
But this dish isn’t limited to Sichuan. You can find regional spins all over China and Asia:
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Szechuan-Style: The OG, loaded with Sichuan peppercorns and chili bean paste.
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Hunan Style: Emphasizes fresh chilies and garlic for intense red heat.
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Taiwanese Style: Sweeter, with soy sauce, sesame oil, and oyster sauce.
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Thai Style: Fragrant lemongrass, fish sauce, basil and bird’s eye chilies add Thai zing.
No matter where you sample hot and spicy beef, one thing is constant: it will set your mouth ablaze.
Ingredients in Hot and Spicy Beef
While variations exist, a few key ingredients are essential for authentic hot and spicy beef:
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Beef: Flank steak, sirloin flap, or bavette sliced thin against the grain.
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Chili flakes/paste: Dried chilies or chili bean paste provide focused spicy heat.
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Fresh chilies: Jalapeños, Thai bird’s eye, etc. contribute fresh chili perfume.
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Sichuan peppercorns: Signature Sichuan ma la numbing spice. Toast and grind.
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Garlic and ginger: Pungent aromatics that pair perfectly with beef.
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Soy sauce: For salty umami and color. Dark soy preferred.
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Rice wine: Chinese Shaoxing wine adds sweetness and depth.
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Toasted sesame oil: Finishing touch of nutty aroma.
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Vegetables: Onions, bell peppers, broccoli and more.
Without the proper ingredients, especially the chili and Sichuan peppercorn blend, it just won’t taste right. Hunt down authentic ingredients from an Asian grocer for best results.
Step-By-Step Guide to Making Hot and Spicy Beef
Follow these steps to make restaurant-quality hot and spicy beef at home:
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Prep aromatics: Mince garlic and ginger, slice beef and veggies, make chili oil, toast Sichuan pepper.
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Velvet the beef: Marinate beef briefly in soy sauce, rice wine, and cornstarch.
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Stir fry beef: Cook over high heat until just done. Remove and drain off gray juices.
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Cook vegetables: Separately stir fry peppers, onions, etc. until crisp-tender.
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Return beef to wok: Add back beef and stir fry with chili flakes, paste, peppercorns.
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Season: Add garlic, ginger, soy sauce, rice wine. Stir fry briefly to combine.
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Finish and plate: Toss in sesame oil. Garnish with scallions and chili oil. Enjoy with rice!
Getting the velvety texture on the beef and retaining the crunch of the vegetables takes some wok skills. But the flavor payoff is worth the effort.
Serving Suggestions and Pairings
A plate of hot and spicy beef is incomplete without the right accompaniments:
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Steamed jasmine rice to soak up the spicy sauce.
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Stir fried greens like bok choy to balance the heat.
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Cooling salad of cucumber and lettuce to calm the burn.
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Chili oil and Sichuan pepper salt to adjust spice level.
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Ice cold beer to quench the inevitable thirst.
Beyond beer, off-dry Riesling and Gewurztraminer are excellent wine matches. The touch of sweetness counters the chilies.
Is Hot and Spicy Beef Healthy?
While hot and spicy beef isn’t exactly health food, it can be a moderately healthy choice with a few tweaks:
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Use lean beef and minimal oil for stir-frying.
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Load up on colorful vegetables like broccoli and red bell peppers.
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Balance with whole grains like brown rice and plenty of greens.
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Watch portion sizes, as even healthy ingredients add up calorically.
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Skip unhealthy deep-frying and enjoy the dish sparingly as a treat.
The anti-inflammatory compounds in chilies may also bestow some health perks. But most importantly, food should also taste good. Indulge wisely in this spicy pleasure.
Tips for Making Perfect Hot and Spicy Beef
Cooking up excellence with this dish requires attentive wok skills. Follow these tips:
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Use a heavy wok or skillet to withstand high heat. Cast iron works great.
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Cut beef thinly against the grain for tenderness. Slice no more than 1/4 inch thick.
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Dry marinade beef to velvet and seal in juices before stir-frying.
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Cook in batches for even, high-heat searing. Don’t crowd the pan.
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Keep the heat cranked up and stir-fry briskly to sear and seal.
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Toast spices briefly to release their oils and perfume without burning.
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Mix chilibean paste with oil before adding for even distribution.
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Taste and adjust seasoning at the end for your desired spice level.
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Work quickly once aromatics like garlic are added to avoid burning.
Mastering the basics results in the ultimate hot and spicy beef that dazzles and delights.
Frequently Asked Questions
What cut of beef is best?
- Look for thin, tender cuts like flank steak, flap meat, or bavette (hanger steak). Well-marbled beef holds up best to high-heat stir-frying.
Is hot and spicy beef spicy?
- Yes, it lives up to its name! The level of heat can vary though depending on the type and amount of chilies used. Let your spice tolerance be your guide.
What is the difference from Szechuan beef?
- Szechuan beef features numbing Sichuan peppercorns while hot and spicy beef emphasizes all-out chili heat. But they are similar boldly flavored stir-fries.
How do you temper the spice?
- For milder heat, reduce the amount of chili flakes/paste and fresh chilies. Or serve with cooling yogurt or chopped cucumber to counter the burn.
Can I make it ahead?
- Absolutely! Store leftovers in the fridge up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop while adding a splash of water to restore sauciness.
What do I serve with it?
- Beyond steamed rice, good accompaniments are a cooling salad, stir-fried greens, and an icy cold beer or off-dry wine.
Hot and spicy beef is a stellar showcase of big, bold Asian flavors. Tame the flame and cook up this lauded dish at home for a thrilling taste experience like no other. Just have plenty of beer ready to tame the inevitable fire!
Chengdu Challenge #6: A Spicy Beef Challenge in More Ways Than One
“This is the only dish that’s spicy enough for girls’ night,” said my 15-year-old daughter, Fongchong, as she dove into Hot and Spicy Beef.
She may be right. Though I’ll be working hard in this blog to disabuse readers of the notion that all Sichuan food is spicy, some dishes are indeed fiery. And out of all the spicy Sichuan dishes I regularly cook, this one is the spiciest. As a result, we generally save it for Wednesday nights, when Dad is out hosting his live/radio music show and it’s just Fongchong and I for dinner. Dad actually likes spicy food, but he’s not into killer spicy food like we are. So we snicker as we eat it, picturing Dad with his mouth on fire while we enjoy the burn.
Even I was worried, however, when I first made the spicy beef and was setting out the mise en place. Looking at the three heaping tablespoons of dried chili flakes portioned out in a bowl, I thought, No way, that has to be too much. But I’ve cooked enough from Sichuan Cuisine in Both Chinese and English—and second-guessed it one too many times to my regret—to know that you don’t doubt this cookbook, the definitive collection of Sichuan recipes straight out of Sichuan. So I used the whole amount.
The recipe also calls for Sichuan pepper, Sichuan pepper oil and chili oil. Oh, and hot green chilies (I use serrano, seeds and all). Is it hot and spicy and numbing? Yes. Is it delicious? Double yes.
Update 2023: All of the above was written in 2014. Fifteen-year-old Fongchong is now 24! And we have in fact changed up the recipe over the years, making it our own, as home cooks can and should do. We eventually did dial back the ground chilies to 2 tablespoons instead of 3. The Chinese name for this dish, 香辣肥牛 (xiānglà féiniú), is literally translated as “fragrant and hot fat beef,” and the ground chilies we now import from Sichuan for The Mala Market are also xiangla, which denotes a wonderful flavor and fragrance along with the heat.
Most noteably, we changed how the beef is cooked. The original recipe instructed you to quickly deep-fry the beef as the first step, because that’s how it’s done in professional Chinese kitchens. I liked the result, because the oil blanching draws out some of the fatty gray juices that beef exudes, leaving a cleaner look and taste in the final stir-fry. But no one really wants to use a cup of oil to deep-fry beef at home in what is merely the first step of cooking, right?
I didn’t, so I looked to other beef stir-fry recipes, particularly in Grace Young’s classic Breath of a Wok, where she collects recipes and tips from Chinese cooks near and far. One cook’s recipe called for removing the beef after an initial stir-fry and draining it in a colander to rid it of the sludgy juices. But I’ve found that another approach works almost as well as deep-frying, and that is merely marinating the meat in a corn starch mixture, which first helps to seal in the juices and then thickens as you cook, making the liquid that remains more appetizing. There will still be some beef fat, so I then drain the beef in a bowl lined with paper towels, patting the meat to remove most of it. You can, of course, skip this step if it doesn’t bother you.
So while this recipe did not originally call for a marinade with corn starch, I have added one. But other than that first step and a bit less ground chilies, I have left the recipe alone, because I want 24-year-old Fongchong to like it as much as 15-year-old FC did.
Xiangla feiniu, or fragrant hot fatty beef, starts with well-marbled meat like this bavette. Cut very thinly across the grain.
Your mise en place includes ma and la in the form of ground chilies, spicy fresh chilies, onions, huajiao, Sichuan pepper oil and your favorite chili oil
After you’ve stir-fried the beef, clean the wok and make a simple chili oil in which to finish the stir-fry. This dish smells even spicier than it tastes, so you’ll want to add the chilies in a well-ventilated room, with exhaust fan on or doors open.
Return beef to wok along with the chilies and onion, adding the finishing oils at the end.
Not as scary at the multiple types of chilies and huajiao would lead you to believe, this hot and spicy beef is just right, if you like spice!
If you love Sichuan’s spicy beef, try my Mala Beef Jerky (Mala Niurougan) recipe inspired by Houston’s Mala Sichuan Bistro!
Why this recipe is just so good….
- If you like Szechuan Beef, you will love this recipe! It is very similar using the spicy chili peppers, ginger and the garlic. And of course it is nicely balanced with the sweet from the brown sugar and savory oyster sauce.
- When you use thinly sliced beef and quickly stir fry it, you guarantee that it will be fall apart tender. Stir fries are a delicious way to prepare dinner fast!
- The heat level in this recipe is determined by how many dried chili peppers you use. Left whole in the sauce, you will have a mild to medium spicy meal. If you cut open a few of the peppers and stir them into the sauce, you will increase the spiciness. But it will always lean towards the spicy/savory side. It wont make your eyes water or burn your tongue!
- If you like savory beef with a a bit of spice, try my Skillet Pepper Steak and Onions , General Tso Beef or Moo Shu Beef.
- We are using flank steak in this recipe. I find that even though it is lean, it is still very tender. You can use skirt steak, but I would avoid a London Broil or Top Round steak because they will be tougher.
- There is a little bit of brown sugar in the sauce.
- The spiciness in this recipe will be determined by how much ginger, chili pepper and the Chinese 5 spice you use. Taste your sauce and add a bit more of these to make it spicier. To tone it down, add some water, a few additional tablespoons of soy sauce and a bit more sugar.