This quick and easy Chinese Orange Beef boasts perfectly balanced flavors and can be whipped up in less than 30 minutes on the stove top with basic pantry ingredients. It’s a great week-night dinner that’s even faster than take-out! Serve it with white rice or another favorite grain and a vegetable side for an easy dinner everyone will love.
Ingredients Needed
- zest of one orange
- fresh orange juice
- dark brown sugar
- rice vinegar
- soy sauce
- Asian chili sauce
- fresh ginger
- cornstarch
- vegetable oil
- flank steak – one steak that weights about 1.5 pounds. We’re using flank steak here and since we need it cut super thin, it really helps to pop it in the freezer for 15-20 minutes before you cut it. You don’t want it completely frozen through, just firm enough to add some resistance so you can slice it as thin as possible. Make sure to cut your steak “across the grain” for a tender bite. See this post if you’d like a more detailed description of that process.
- green onions
- hot white or brown rice – for serving
How to Make Quick and Easy Chinese Orange Beef
This is a simple overview of the recipe, you’ll find a full printable recipe below!
- Whisk together the sauce ingredients and set aside.
- Brown the beef in batches in a lightly oiled skillet, then transfer to a bowl.
- Add the sauce to the skillet and cook until thickened.
- Return beef to the pan, toss to coat, and serve over rice with green onions.
Storage & Other Tips
- Allow any leftovers to cool briefly, then store in an airtight container within two hours. It stays safe and flavorful in the fridge for 3 – 5 days.
- To reheat, you can pop it in the microwave, but for best results, I love to reheat it on teh stovetop. I find it has a better texture!
Frequently Asked Questions
We highly recommend it. It’s lean but filled with flavor, takes to sauce well, and cooks quickly. We know it’s more pricey, but this meal is worth it.
Cooking in batches ensures the beef browns properly and prevents the pan from steaming. It also gives you room to reduce the sauce without over-crowding.
We recommend fresh, as nothing can match it’s brightness. Bottled juice can work, just keep in mind the flavor may be sweeter and less vibrant.
Yes, somewhat. You can mix the sauce and thin the beef ahead of time to make sure it comes together as quickly as possible. If you’re preparing it fully ahead, reheat it gently on the stovetop to keep a nice texture to the sauce.
Quick and Easy Chinese Orange Beef
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2-3 teaspoons grated orange zest I just zest 1 whole orange
- ½ cup fresh orange juice
- ¼ cup dark brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons Asian chili sauce
- 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- vegetable oil for pan
- 1 ½ pounds flank steak trimmed and sliced thin across grain and lightly sprinkled with salt and pepper (to clarify: that’s one steak, that weighs about 1.5 pounds)
- 3-4 green onions sliced
- hot white or brown rice for serving
Instructions
- Whisk orange zest and orange juice, brown sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, chili sauce, ginger, and cornstarch together in a bowl.
- Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Drizzle pan with oil and tilt to coat. Add half of beef, breaking up any clumps and let cook without stirring for one minute. Stir beef and continue to cook until browned, about 2 minutes; transfer to a bowl and cover. Repeat with remaining beef and transfer to bowl.
- Whisk sauce to recombine, add to now-empty skillet, and cook over medium heat until thickened, about 2-3 minutes. Return cooked beef, with any accumulated juices, to skillet and toss to combine. Serve over rice and garnish with green onions.
Questions & Reviews
Sweet Chili sauce….FREAKING YUM!!!! I use that for my salad dressing quite a bit. There’s only one kind I really like that is a different kind but similar.
This looks absolutely amazing!
I was so excited about this recipe because I had no idea what i was making for dinner then I saw this and was thrilled that I already had all of the ingredients. I have never found a recipe of yours that I didn’t like (I have tried a ton of them) and I especially love Asian chili sauce so I thought for sure this recipe would be amazing. Unfortunately however, this was not a hit with me. My husband loved it so obviously there is just something wrong with my taste buds. I’m not sure what it was maybe something about the orange flavor?
This was a total hit for me and my hubby! Thanks!
Oh I so want to get the ATK Quick Family Cookbook. Have you liked it? If the recipes in it are all like this delicious looking one, I’ll have to get it soon.
Yep- one of my favorite books!
Wow–this was amazing and so easy to make! We liked it so much, I am going to make it again next week! 🙂 The only changes I made were: I added minced garlic and I reduced the amount of chili sauce.
I made this for dinner last night and it was DELICIOUS! I’m a busy lady so the easy to follow pictures and the instructions on the blog made this a breeze. Thanks so much!
any holiday BUT christmas thyme means lots of sweets to make
This was AWESOME! We really enjoyed it. Recommend adding a healthy dose of siracha (to taste) to the sauce if you like spicy like us.
I just made the Quick and Easy Chinese Orange Beef for dinner and it is the best I have ever tasted, my husband loved it as well. As stated, it was very easy. We will surely make it again and again.
Hmm, I hate to ask this since the name of the recipe IS Chinese *Orange* beef, BUT – do you think anything else would do the trick besides orange? Would lemon just be wrong?
Ha! You’d have to experiment with anything other than orange- I think that’s the best option!
Yes, I definitely think orange would be best, but my poor hubby had to go and be all allergic to orange on me…. haha.
The recipe does look amazing though!