Orange Beef

Orange Beef
Rikki Snyder for The New York Times
Total Time
30 minutes
Rating
5(3,314)
Comments
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This recipe for takeout-style orange beef is a variation on one the Brooklyn chef Dale Talde included in his new cookbook, "Asian-American: Proudly Inauthentic Recipes From the Philippines to Brooklyn," with a slightly more intensely flavored orange-flavored sauce. Mr. Talde's key insight is protected, however: Use very good steak, and cook it fast, so that below the lovely crust of its egg-white-and-cornstarch batter, the meat remains rare and luscious. Serve with steamed broccoli and white rice. And make it a few times. What appears difficult the first time through — the coating of the beef, the making of the sauce, the stir-frying of the aromatics, the stir-frying of the beef — is in fact fast and easy work, and much, much better than takeout.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

    For the Sauce

    • 1tablespoon neutral oil
    • 11½-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced
    • 1jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
    • 2tablespoons orange zest, plus the juice of one orange
    • 3garlic cloves, peeled and minced
    • ¼cup light brown sugar
    • ¼cup rice vinegar (do not use seasoned rice vinegar)
    • ¼cup soy sauce
    • 1tablespoon fish sauce

    For the Beef

    • 1large egg white
    • 1tablespoon cornstarch
    • 1pinch kosher salt
    • 1boneless rib-eye steak, approximately 1 to 1½ pounds, cut into 1-inch pieces
    • ¼cup neutral oil
    • 6scallions, white and green parts cut into inchlong pieces and separated
    • 2 to 4dried red chiles, or to taste
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

450 calories; 35 grams fat; 9 grams saturated fat; 1 gram trans fat; 19 grams monounsaturated fat; 6 grams polyunsaturated fat; 16 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 10 grams sugars; 19 grams protein; 1293 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Make the sauce: Heat oil in a small sauce pan set over medium-high heat. When it begins to shimmer, add ginger, jalapeño and orange zest and stir to combine. Sauté mixture until ingredients soften, approximately 2 to 3 minutes, then add garlic and continue cooking until it softens, approximately 1 to 2 minutes longer.

  2. Step 2

    Add orange juice, brown sugar, rice vinegar, soy sauce and fish sauce to pan and stir to combine. Allow mixture to come to a boil, then lower the heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until it thickens and reduces by half, approximately 10 to 15 minutes.

  3. Step 3

    Meanwhile, prepare the meat: Combine egg white, cornstarch and salt in a bowl. Add steak, tossing to coat the meat with the batter.

  4. Step 4

    In a large skillet or wok set over high heat, heat oil until it shimmers and is about to smoke. Add beef to the pan or wok in a single layer and cook without stirring until the bottoms of the pieces are crisp and golden, approximately 60 to 90 seconds. Add white pieces of scallion and chiles to the pan, then turn the beef pieces over and cook the other sides, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes more for medium-rare. Transfer to a platter.

  5. Step 5

    Pour orange sauce into the hot pan or wok, let it boil and stir it as it thickens. Add meat and white scallions and stir to coat with the sauce. Return meat and sauce to the platter and scatter green scallions over the top. Serve with steamed broccoli and white rice.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
3,314 user ratings
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Comments

The recipe was delicious and I will make it again -- but what does the "30 minutes" refer to? The whole process? If I had a sous chef doing all the prep while I cooked, perhaps! It took me about and hour and a quarter, but hopefully familiarity with the steps will cut that next time I make it. I'd like to see a prep time and an actual cooking time on recipes.

This was terrific. Here's an idea: after u cook the meat, throw in some veggies and cook them for 3-5 min in hot wok. I did snap peas, red and yellow peppers and some mushrooms. It balances out the meal for us. Also, this is a busy recipe the first time you make it. Lots of steps but manageable. Worth your time.

I read the notes before making this and added a tablespoon of cornstarch mixed in with more orange juice. I used sirloin, cut in 1/4 strips across the grain. I cooked the meat. but removed it from the pan. I poured off some of the oil and added sesame oil, in which I stir-fried red pepper with the scallions and chilies. Before serving I sprinkled a few tablespoons of toasted sesame seeds.
I will make this again and again!

Flipping in orange marmalade for the citrus and sugar components Adding after the garlic sizzles.

I have been using this orange sauce recipe for many other things - including tofu - and is delicious.

Delicious but I added 1/8 teaspoon orange oil to amp up orange flavor in sauce. Added 1/2 red bell pepper. Also, I wanted more veggies in it (not just on the side) so I halved the beef and sautéed broccoli after I fried the beef. Delicious recipe, but for me way too sweet. I’d half the sugar next time. I highly recommend. And yes, took more like an hour as other reviewers have said.

@Mary McDowell. I should add that there were only two of us. For four, yes add all the beef. I found the sauce sufficient.

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