I don't know about you, but I love a good steak stir fry recipe. They're always quick and easy to make, with endless possibilities for flavor combinations. This garlic ginger version is one of my favorites. It hits the same Asian-inspired notes as my Rice Noodle Salad with Steak or a weeknight plate of Sticky Glazed Pork Rice Bowls, but comes together in under 30 minutes. And if you're a fan of my Crispy Rice Salad with Ginger-Sesame Dressing, consider this the hot, weeknight-ready cousin. Tender beef, lots of ginger, and enough sauce to spoon over rice.
Garlic Ginger Steak Stir Fry at a Glance
- 🕒 Total Time: 30 minutes (10 min prep + 20 min cook)
- 👪 Servings: 6
- 🍝 Cuisine Type: Asian Fusion / Weeknight Dinner
- 🧂 Flavor Profile: Garlicky, gingery, savory and a little sweet, with a hit of sambal heat and a silky butter finish
- 📖 Dietary Info: Contains beef, soy (wheat) and dairy (butter); easily made gluten-free with tamari
- 📦 Storage Notes: Refrigerate in an airtight container for 3–4 days; freeze up to 3 months; reheat in a hot skillet to refresh the texture (microwave will turn it rubbery)
- ⭐Why You'll Love It: Restaurant-style stir fry with crispy seared beef, snappy bok choy and snow peas, and a glossy garlic-ginger butter sauce. On the table in 30 minutes, no wok required.
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Why I Love This Recipe
This Garlic Ginger Steak Stir Fry recipe is one of those quick and easy weeknight meals that you'll want on the weekly rotation. We've been on a steak stir fry kick over here because it's FAST and I am in love with these flavors!
Talk about incredibly flavored beef that's on the table fast! This Garlic Ginger Steak Stir Fry is truly perfection. We've got tons of flavor from the freshly cracked black pepper, soy sauce, sesame oil, sambal, garlic and ginger and it's truly an insane flavor bomb on your plate!
This garlic ginger steak stir fry recipe is a delicious and easy way to get a healthy meal on the table in no time. The next time you are looking for a flavorful and delicious recipe, this one should definitely be at the top of your list!
Jump to:
- Garlic Ginger Steak Stir Fry at a Glance
- Why I Love This Recipe
- Ingredients & Substitutions
- Substitutions & Swaps
- How to Make Garlic Ginger Steak Stir Fry
- How to Store Steak Stir Fry
- How to Freeze Steak Stir Fry
- Tips & Tricks
- 🥩🌿✨ Tips & Tricks for the Best Garlic Ginger Steak Stir Fry
- FAQs
- Similar Recipes
- Garlic Ginger Steak Stir Fry
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Flank or Flat Iron Steak
- Salt and Pepper
- Soy Sauce
- Sesame Oil
- Cornstarch
- Canola Oil
- Snow Peas
- Baby Bok Choy
- Unsalted Butter
- Sambal
- Beef or Chicken broth
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Green Onions
- Parsley
- Rice
*For a full list of ingredients and instructions please see recipe card below.
Substitutions & Swaps
🥩 Steak
- Skirt steak - Cooks even faster, just slice extra thin against the grain
- Top sirloin - Leaner option, pat dry well so the cornstarch adheres
- Boneless chicken thighs - Cut into ½-inch strips, marinate the same way
- Extra-firm tofu - Press 30 minutes, cube, dust in cornstarch and sear hard
🍯 Sauce Base
- Tamari - 1:1 swap for soy, naturally gluten-free
- Coconut aminos - Slightly sweeter and lower sodium
- Hoisin (1 tablespoon + reduce soy by half) - Adds rounded sweetness and depth
🌶️ Heat
- Gochujang - Korean fermented chili paste with deeper umami than sambal
- Chili crisp - Spoon on top instead of stirring in for a crunchy finish
- Sriracha - Sharper, more vinegar-forward kick
- Skip entirely - Recipe still works for kids or heat-averse eaters
🥬 Vegetables
- Broccolini - Bigger bite, blanch 2 minutes first
- Asparagus - Cut into 2-inch pieces, swap for bok choy in spring
- Sugar snap peas - Sweeter than snow peas, same cook time
- Baby spinach - Add at the very end, wilts in 30 seconds
🍚 Serving Base
- Cauliflower rice - Low-carb option, sauté quickly with sesame oil
- Lo mein noodles - Toss straight into the pan with the sauce
- Brown rice - Nuttier, holds up to all that sauce
How to Make Garlic Ginger Steak Stir Fry
Step 1: Season the Strips of steak with salt and pepper.
Step 2: In a medium sized bowl mix together soy sauce, sesame oil and cornstarch until combined.
Step 3: Add in steak and toss until all of the meat is evenly coated with the marinade. Set aside.
Step 4: Heat oil in a large cast iron skillet (or wok) over high heat. Once oil is smoking add steak in small batches at a time to avoid crowding. Cook the steak until slightly crispy (about 2-3 minutes per batch) stirring frequently then remove from pan. Once all steak is cooked allow the pan to cool.
Step 5: Add in the broth, butter, garlic, ginger, and sambal over medium heat bringing the garlic butter sauce to a simmer.
Step 6: Allow to cook for 2-3 minutes until garlic and ginger are fragrant. Add in bok choy and snow peas and cook for 2 minutes.
Step 7: Return steak to pan and toss everything together along with green onions and fresh parsley.
Step 8: Serve the steak stir fry warm as is or over steamed rice.
How to Store Steak Stir Fry
You can store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. Make sure to reheat it till its warmed through, whether you are using the stove or the microwave.
How to Freeze Steak Stir Fry
You can freeze stir fry, yes! You can freeze it in portioned out freezer bags or containers for about 3 months. Make sure to thaw before you plan to eat it and warm it through well.
Tips & Tricks
🥩🌿✨ Tips & Tricks for the Best Garlic Ginger Steak Stir Fry
Crispy seared beef in glossy garlic-ginger butter sauce, faster than takeout
- Freeze the steak for an hour before slicing. A semi-frozen steak slices into uniform paper-thin ribbons. Soft steak shreds and tears no matter how sharp your knife is.
- Always slice against the grain. Look for the parallel muscle fibers and cut perpendicular to them. This single move turns a tough cut into a tender bite.
- Coat in cornstarch right before cooking, not in advance. Cornstarch holds onto moisture if it sits, which steams the meat. Toss, then straight into the pan.
- Get the pan smoking before the steak goes in. "Hot" is not enough. You want visible wisps of smoke off the oil. Anything less and you're braising, not searing.
- Cook in batches no bigger than a single layer. Crowding drops the pan temp 100°F instantly. Sear in two or three rounds, even if it feels slow.
- Don't stir the meat for the first 60 seconds. Let it form a crust, then toss for the final minute. That's where the crispiness comes from.
- Build the sauce in the same pan you seared in. Those browned bits at the bottom (the fond) are flavor gold. Hit them with broth and scrape.
- Add the garlic and ginger off the direct heat. Drop the burner to medium when they go in. Both burn in seconds and turn bitter.
- Finish with butter at the end, not the beginning. Cold butter stirred into a hot sauce off the heat creates that glossy, restaurant-style coating.
- Toss the veggies in last for 90 seconds, max. Snow peas and bok choy should still squeak when you bite them. Past two minutes they go limp.
FAQs
What kind of steak do you use for stir-fry?
I'm all about that flank or flat iron steak life. Grab a beautiful piece of meat from the butcher and put it into the freezer for 15 minutes before you slice it. Freezing it for those few minutes will make thinly slicing it even easier!
How do you keep steak tender in stir-fry?
Be sure to cut your steak against the grain to keep it tender while stir-frying.
Similar Recipes
If you tried this recipe, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting today
Garlic Ginger Steak Stir Fry
Ingredients
- 2½ pounds flank or flat iron steak cut into ¼ inch thin strips
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 1 cup snow peas
- 1-2 baby bok choy bunches
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon sambal
- ¼ cup beef or chicken broth
- 4 large garlic cloves minced
- 1-2 inch piece of ginger peeled and minced
- green onions thinly sliced (optional)
- fresh parsley finely chopped (optional)
- Rice to serve
Instructions
- Season the Strips of steak with salt and pepper.
- In a medium sized bowl mix together soy sauce, sesame oil and cornstarch until combined. Add in steak and toss until all of the meat is evenly coated with the marinade. Set aside.
- Heat oil in a large cast iron skillet (or wok) over high heat. Once oil is smoking add steak in small batches at a time to avoid crowding. Cook the steak until slightly crispy (about 2-3 minutes per batch) stirring frequently then remove from pan. Once all steak is cooked allow the pan to cool.
- Add in the broth, butter, garlic, ginger, and sambal over medium heat bringing the garlic butter sauce to a simmer. Allow to cook for 2-3 minutes until garlic and ginger are fragrant. Add in bok choy and snow peas and cook for 2 minutes. Return steak to pan and toss everything together along with green onions and fresh parsley. Serve warm warm as is or over steamed rice.
Notes
- Freeze the steak for an hour before slicing. A semi-frozen steak slices into uniform paper-thin ribbons. Soft steak shreds and tears no matter how sharp your knife is.
- Always slice against the grain. Look for the parallel muscle fibers and cut perpendicular to them. This single move turns a tough cut into a tender bite.
- Coat in cornstarch right before cooking, not in advance. Cornstarch holds onto moisture if it sits, which steams the meat. Toss, then straight into the pan.
- Get the pan smoking before the steak goes in. "Hot" is not enough. You want visible wisps of smoke off the oil. Anything less and you're braising, not searing.
- Cook in batches no bigger than a single layer. Crowding drops the pan temp 100°F instantly. Sear in two or three rounds, even if it feels slow.
- Don't stir the meat for the first 60 seconds. Let it form a crust, then toss for the final minute. That's where the crispiness comes from.
- Build the sauce in the same pan you seared in. Those browned bits at the bottom (the fond) are flavor gold. Hit them with broth and scrape.
- Add the garlic and ginger off the direct heat. Drop the burner to medium when they go in. Both burn in seconds and turn bitter.
- Finish with butter at the end, not the beginning. Cold butter stirred into a hot sauce off the heat creates that glossy, restaurant-style coating.
- Toss the veggies in last for 90 seconds, max. Snow peas and bok choy should still squeak when you bite them. Past two minutes they go limp.
Hi! Could you use ground beef instead of sliced steak? Curious only because we have a freezer full of ground beef and looking for new recipes to try. Thank you!
absolutely
My family loved this recipe! It even got a “best stir fry ever”. It was super easy to make. The tips above the recipe were so great. I put the steak in the freezer before I sliced it- super easy. The flavor was great, and the steak was tender. I added extra veggies (broccoli & zucchini & carrots) so I doubled all of the sauces. I know my family will ask for this again. Thank you!
Incredible! The buttery sambal sauce was to die for. Our new favorite beef stir fry recipe!
Five stars, fantastic! I love that most ingredients are pantry staples and I could add whatever vegetables I had on hand, which happened to be broccoli. My teen son asked if this could be added to the weekly rotation.
I LOVE every single one of these flavors!!
Oh. My. Gosh. This is in heavy rotation now. The tip about putting the steak in the freezer in order to slice it thin was a GAME CHANGER! Learning so much from you. This is delish!
Prepared exactly as recommended and it was excellent. Actually I doubled the Bok Choy and it was perfect.
Perfection. This is amazing! We can’t believe how flavorful the steak is. Can’t wait to serve it to our daughters. I wasn’t clear on the amount of ginger. Went a little light on the ginger as I don’t love it. It was delish. I made the suggested ginger noodles as a side dish. Again not clear on amount of ginger to use but it was really good!
The recipe calls for snow peas but in the photo, they look like sugar snap peas. I suppose either would work...or both!
correct!
So good and so easy! Flank steak turned out so tender