Beef Tomato Stir-fry is an incredibly delicious, comforting dish that we especially like to make when tomatoes are in season and bursting out of the garden.
You can sometimes find it at restaurants in Chinatown, as one of the staple “rice plate” dishes that Cantonese people love to have for a quick meal. Outside of old school joints, however, it’s increasingly becoming a rarity on menus.
While you may not find it at a restaurant near you, it is a common dish in Chinese home cooking. Let your kitchen become the restaurant! We put our version up there with the best.
Vegetarian?
If you’re looking for a vegetarian/vegan alternative to this dish, check out Kaitlin’s Tomato Tofu!
A Dish from the Garden
Here at The Woks of Life HQ (i.e. our house), our tomato plants are going totally bonkers, which means more tomatoes than we sometimes know what to do with! (See also: How to Freeze Tomatoes.)
Vine ripe tomatoes definitely call for special recipes, and this classic Cantonese beef tomato stir-fry is one of my favorites.
I grew up with a large backyard garden managed by my mother’s super green thumb. Aside from juicy vine-ripe tomatoes, we had loads of snow peas, string beans, spinach, squash, choy sum, bok choy, and all kinds of peppers.
I shared some of the best quality time with my mom in the garden. It would start with tilling the garden in the spring, watering and weeding it daily, and of course, the best part: harvesting the crops.
At the end of the summer, when we were picking tomatoes on a daily basis, my mother often made this beef tomato stir-fry over a plate of hot steaming rice. My sisters and I loved the beef and the mellowed sweetness of the tomato sauce mixed with rice. In fact, the combo of flavors was my favorite growing up.
When you make this dish, you’ll see why!
While this dish brings back memories of childhood for me, it’s just a tasty way to use up those tomatoes and, if you’re a tomato lover, satisfy those cravings! All across America, home gardens are busting out ripe tomatoes, and people are eating salads, tomato sandwiches, roasted tomatoes in their ratatouille pasta, and making sauces to jar.
This year, make this your end-of-the-summer dish. If you don’t have tomatoes in your garden, head to your local farmer’s market! Trust me, you will make this recipe more than once.
More Thoughts on the recipe
In this recipe, I start with a base sauce mixture of soy sauce and ketchup. I simmer it until thick, and then round things out with the juicy tomato wedges. It really hits the spot!
An Aside:
You’d be surprised at how many Cantonese dishes use a touch of ketchup. My mother’s Ketchup Shrimp also comes to mind.
This beef and tomato recipe is also a seriously saucy stir-fry, which I think makes it kid-friendly (it worked for me!) and clearly puts it in the comfort food category. (It’s a Cantonese version of gravy.)
Rice is mandatory. You’ll need it to soak up all that delicious sauce!
Recently, our grandson Ethan, who is starting to go full steam ahead solid foods now, had some rice, vegetables, and a drizzle of this beef tomato stir-fry sauce, and he couldn’t bring that spoon to his mouth fast enough!
But best of all, it is definitely a 30-minute meal. Let me show you how to make it.
Video: Watch us make it!
Beef Tomato Stir-fry Recipe Instructions
In a medium bowl, add the sliced beef, water, cornstarch, baking soda, oil, and oyster sauce. Mix well, and set aside for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
For more detailed information on preparing beef for stir fry just like restaurants do it, see our post on How to Prepare Beef for Stir Fry.
Also, combine all the ingredients for the sauce base—the soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, and white pepper—in a separate bowl. Set aside.
Add 1 tablespoon of oil to coat the wok and heat until just smoking. Spread the beef around the wok and sear for 1 minute until 80% done and remove from the wok. Set aside.
Heat another tablespoon of oil in the wok over medium heat. Add the ginger slices, and let caramelize for 10 seconds. Turn the heat up to high, and add the minced garlic, shallot, and the white portions of the scallion. Toss for 10 seconds. Add the ketchup, and fry for 30 seconds, until fragrant.
Next, add the tomato wedges to the wok. Spread them around the wok in an even layer, and let sear for 15 seconds. Add the Shaoxing wine, and stir-fry the mixture for another 10 seconds. Now push everything to one side of the wok.
On the cleared space of the wok, add the sauce base. Stir until bubbling to meld the flavors together.
Now it’s time to add the beef (along with any beef juices) back to the wok. Stir–fry everything on high heat until mixed well and sizzling (about 20 seconds). Be sure not to overcook the tomatoes, or they will disintegrate into the sauce!
Toss in the remaining scallion greens. Add the cornstarch slurry a little at a time until the sauce is thickened to your liking.
Let the sauce cook for 15 seconds after adding the last bit of the cornstarch slurry to ensure the starch is cooked. Plate and serve immediately with steamed rice!
For more detailed information on the many ways to use cornstarch to get authentic results at home with our recipes, see our post on How to Use Cornstarch in Chinese Cooking.
Plate and serve your beef tomato stir-fry immediately with steamed rice!
[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”Uy5aht43″ upload-date=”2024-08-23T23:18:30+00:00″ name=”Beef Tomato Stir-fry” description=”This Cantonese beef tomato stir-fry recipe comes from old memories of the backyard garden, late summer tomatoes, and a hot wok! It’s a delicious combination—give it a try! ” player-type=”static”]
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Recipe
Beef Tomato Stir-fry
Ingredients
For the beef marinade:
- 1 pound flank steak (sliced into ¼-inch/6mm thick pieces)
- 1 tablespoon water
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon neutral oil (such as vegetable, canola, or avocado oil)
- 2 teaspoons oyster sauce
For the sauce base:
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sugar (or to taste)
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/8 teaspoon white pepper
For the rest of the dish:
- 2 tablespoons neutral oil (such as vegetable, canola, or avocado oil; divided)
- 2 slices ginger (1/8-inch/3mm thick; 2 slices = about 4g)
- 1 clove garlic (finely minced)
- ¼ cup shallot (sliced)
- 1 scallion (cut on an angle into 2-inch/5cm pieces at an angle; white and green parts separated)
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 2 pounds ripe tomatoes cut into bite-size wedges (2 pounds/900g = 4 to 5 large tomatoes)
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch (mixed with 1 tablespoon water)
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, add the sliced beef, water, cornstarch, baking soda, oil, and oyster sauce. Mix well, and set aside for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Also, combine all the ingredients for the sauce base—the soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, and white pepper—in a separate bowl. Set aside.
- Add 1 tablespoon of oil to coat the wok and heat until just smoking. Spread the beef around the wok and sear for 1 minute until 80% done and remove from the wok. Set aside.
- Heat another tablespoon of oil in the wok over medium heat. Add the ginger slices, and let caramelize for 10 seconds. Turn the heat up to high, and add the minced garlic, shallot, and the white portions of the scallion. Toss for 10 seconds. Add the ketchup, and fry for 30 seconds, until fragrant.
- Next, add the tomato wedges to the wok. Spread them around the wok in an even layer, and let sear for 15 seconds. Add the Shaoxing wine, and stir-fry the mixture for another 10 seconds. Now push everything to one side of the wok.
- On the cleared space of the wok, add the sauce base. Stir until bubbling to meld the flavors together.
- Now it's time to add the beef (along with any beef juices) back to the wok. Stir–fry everything on high heat until mixed well and sizzling (about 20 seconds). Be sure not to overcook the tomatoes, or they will disintegrate into the sauce!
- Toss in the remaining scallion greens, and add the cornstarch slurry a little at a time until the sauce is thickened to your liking. Let the sauce cook for 15 seconds after adding the last bit of the cornstarch slurry to ensure the starch is cooked. Plate and serve immediately with steamed rice!
