This post is a collaboration with Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. on behalf of the Beef Checkoff. I received compensation, all opinions are my own.
Thai Peanut Beef – These tasty, melt-in-your-mouth-tender beef strips are sautéed in a creamy 5-ingredient peanut sauce!
Serve this dish with a Chopped Asian Salad or an Asian Spaghetti Salad With Sesame Ginger Dressing for an unforgettable, sneakily simple meal!
Chinese takeout is great, isn’t it? It’s one of our most favorite things to order when the weather is cold and snowy. It’s also one of our go-to’s when it’s nice and sunny out. Or, when it’s rainy, humid, dry, spring-like…okay so we like to get takeout pretty much year-round. And sometimes, if I’m being honest, we find ourselves heading to our favorite Chinese restaurant several times a month, just because we can, I suppose.
Our love for Asian food (particularly anything with beef and a creamy peanut sauce) doesn’t stop when our wallets run dry, however. It just means we change our game plan and cook at home. I think we can all admit no other protein does it quite like beef. Beef tastes amazing, and that taste always has a place at our table.
I also find it fun to recreate our favorite takeout meals at home and I like that I can control the ingredients I cook with. There’s something so satisfying about getting that recipe right and knowing you can have a healthier version of your favorite meal on your dinner table in just 20 short minutes. Plus, when you start with a high-quality protein like beef, the culinary possibilities are endless. I’ve seared it, grilled it, roasted it, used it as an ingredient and made it into an entree. (I could go on and on!)
Cue this oh-so-tasty Thai Peanut Beef recipe — the beef is absolutely delicious and comes together so quickly, you’ll wonder why you haven’t made it before. I mean, who couldn’t resist tender juicy beef sautéed in a sweet and spicy peanut sauce? Not this girl!
WHAT SIDES CAN I MAKE WITH THAI PEANUT BEEF?
Sometimes I like to go into a meal “on-theme” and sometimes I wing it. But, I’ve made all these sides with this Thai Peanut Beef recipe before and all go along spectacularly. Mix-and-match your own combo to suit your mood or your meal.
WHAT CUTS OF BEEF GO WELL WITH THIS DISH?
I suggest making this Thai Peanut Beef with Flank Steak or stir-fry beef strips that you can find already pre-cut in your grocer’s meat case. Since this dish is meant to come together quickly, you want to go with cuts of meat that cook up fast without becoming chewy. Flank Steak works great in marinades and cooking at high temperatures.
Another option is to get Skirt Steak. It also marinades well and cooks up just fine over high heat. This is the type of meat often found in fajitas, which have a similar preparation to this Asian beef dish.
TIPS & TRICKS FOR COOKING WITH BEEF
- If you’ve purchased a whole Flank or Skirt Steak, remember to slice it thinly and against the grain to ensure it cooks up nice and tender.
- Because you’re cooking the beef already sliced, it will cook up in 8-10 minutes. If you were cooking a bigger piece of meat, such as a steak or a roast, you should use a meat thermometer to check for doneness. Beef’s tender, juicy texture is optimum when cooked to medium rare (145°F) to medium (160°F) doneness. (For steaks insert an instant-read thermometer horizontally from the side, so it penetrates the thickest part of the center of the steak not touching the bone or fat.)
- Raw steaks keep in the fridge for up to 3 to 5 days if purchased and refrigerated before their sell-by dates.
- Any leftovers will store for up to 3 to 4 days in the fridge.
- Raw beef can be stored in the freezer for 6 to 12 months if stored in an airtight container.
- Cooked beef leftovers can be kept in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Thai Peanut Beef
These tasty, melt-in-your-mouth-tender beef strips are sautéed in a creamy 5-ingredient peanut sauce!
-
1
pound
Flank or Skirt Steak
thinly sliced across the grain -
2-3
teaspoons
oil
Sauce
-
1/2
cup
creamy peanut butter -
2
teaspoons
soy sauce -
1
tablespoon
brown sugar -
2
teaspoons
Sriracha hot sauce -
1/4
cup
peanuts, chopped
optional -
3-4
tablespoons
water, to thin
if needed
Whisk together all sauce ingredients excluding peanuts. Add water 1 tablespoon at a time until sauce is a smooth, pourable consistency.
Add oil to large pan or skillet and heat over medium high heat until hot. Add beef strips and cook 8-10 minutes, stirring throughout to ensure even cooking.
When beef has browned around edges and cooked to desired doneness. Add 1/2 of the sauce to the pan. Stir and cook 1-2 minutes longer. Top with remaining sauce and chopped peanuts. Garnish with sliced green onions or cilantro if desired and serve.
If using more than 1 pound beef, double the sauce recipe.
Alternative cooking option: if you prefer your steak cooked medium or rare, sear steak whole (not sliced) for 5-8 minutes on each side until browned and cooked to desired doneness. (145°F for medium rare, 160°F for medium) Thinly slice, return to pan with the sauce and saute 1-2 minutes.
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