Cumin Beef Stir Fry

You’ll like this flavorful, incredibly simple-to-make homemade cumin beef. Tender, thinly sliced steak abundantly fragrant with cumin and bursting with umami flavor, stir-fried with onion, garlic, chiles, scallions, and more. Serve this recipe with rice and/or vegetables for a luscious dinner that tastes better than takeout!

When winter gives way to spring, there’s that weird shift that makes you wonder, huh. Or am I the only one? We move from stews and soups to anything bright and lemony, you guys. Please understand that I’m all for it; I just need a little time, you know. You know, this is actually just me quietly making a comeback after not posting a new recipe for a little while, hehe. The focus of today’s new dish is taste and sheer delight.

Yes, indeed, this is it! We’ve got flavorful, expertly marinated beef that’s been stir-fried with a ton of seasonings. The main ingredient in this dish is cumin, which gives it a flavorful, earthy, and nutty warmth. Even though it’s homemade, this cumin beef stir fry is really simple to make and has all the glamor of takeout. Combine with your preferred sides to create a satisfying supper that you will like.

Ingredients

meat: Without dat meat, we just can’t cook cumin beef stir fry. For this dish, I use flank steak, and I heartily suggest it. Sirloin or any other tender steak cut is an excellent substitute. Well, let’s focus on the tender steak cut.
Shaoxing wine: This variety of rice wine from China is utilized in cooking and gives food a real taste with loads of depth. It is available online and in your neighborhood Chinese market. I am aware, however, that this substance might not be readily available. You may thus use ordinary rice wine or dry sherry.
Cumin with pepper or salt: Salt/pepper, ground cumin, and the primary spice.
Cornstarch: This thickens the stir-fry sauce and gives the beef an attractive, golden brown crisp on the outside. It also gives the meat a glossy shine. For people with gluten intolerance or other dietary restrictions, additional choices including potato, arrowroot, and tapioca starches are excellent.

✆️ That’s all you need to prepare the meat and marinade it. Let’s now discuss the ingredients you’ll need to finish making this cumin beef stir fry.

Oil: Stir-frying requires the presence of oil. Any high-heat oil, such as grapeseed, canola, avocado, or olive oil, is what I suggest.
Additional flavorings and aromatics: ginger, brown sugar, soy sauce, fish sauce, rice wine, scallions, onion, garlic, ground cumin, fresh chilies (completely optional), and ground cumin.

How To Make Cumin Beef Stir Fry:

Cut up meat. Thinly slice the meat into little pieces. Add the cornstarch, ground cumin, salt and pepper to taste, and shaoxing wine (or dry sherry/rice wine) to a large bowl with the steak. Mix everything together thoroughly by tossing. After that, leave the steak to marinade for a minimum of half an hour.
Cook the meat. Heat two tablespoons of oil in a wok or big pan over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add the meat after it’s heated. Sear steak until it turns golden brown and begins to crisp up. After that, place the grilled steak on a fresh dish and reserve. If your skillet is getting dry between batches, add extra oil and repeat the process until all of the steak is seared.
Construct the stir-fry. If necessary, add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil to the pan after setting aside all of the seared meat. When the onion is tender and starting to caramelize, add it and simmer. Next, include the ground cumin, Szechuan peppercorns, garlic, and red chilies (if using). Keep heating until the spices are beautifully toasted and the garlic is aromatic. After that, thoroughly whisk in the ginger and brown sugar.
Add the steak and stir-fry until done. After adding the soy sauce, fish sauce, rice wine, and scallions to the pan with the meat, stir-fry the mixture until it is thoroughly mixed and aromatic. Keep cooking until the sauce has become thicker and coats the steak in a coating.
Assist. Take off the heat. For a fully substantial supper, you can choose to add your preferred rice to shallow bowls, top with cumin beef stir fry, or serve with steamed vegetables. Have fun!

Ingredient Spotlight Spices: Cumin & Szechuan Peppercorns!

Sure thing, cumin. This spice is a common ingredient in a wide variety of international cuisines. We use freshly roasted whole cumin seeds to make the ground cumin we use here. A few more locations include China, Africa, the Mediterranean, South America, and the Caribbean.On its own, cumin has a strong, spicy, nutty, savory, and somewhat bitter flavor. It takes on a more earthy and fragrant flavor when cooked, which gives this cumin beef stir fry a significant taste boost. One of my holy grail spices 🫶🏾 is this one! Additionally, Szechuan (Sichuan) peppercorns are needed for this dish.

These are actually the berries of the prickly ash tree, a citrus shrub, not really “peppercorns” at all. They smell pleasant and leave your mouth feeling tingling and numb. In Sichuan cuisine, this peppercorn is highly valued.