Sha Cha Beef

This sha cha beef recipe combines seasoned sirloin steak, spicy sha cha sauce, and bold flavors to create a beef dish that explodes with flavor in each and every bite.

What is Sha Cha Beef?

If you’ve never had sha cha beef, then you’re in for a treat. If you love a great beef stir fry with bold flavors and tender steak, then you need this recipe in your life.

This Chinese dish is native to the Gansu province of China and is made with tender strips of beef and sha cha sauce. The traditional sauce is made from chilies, a type of Chinese fish, shrimp paste, garlic, and shallots. It sometimes goes by the name Chinese barbecue sauce.

It’s one of our favorites and I suspect will be one of your favorites too. Our homemade sha cha sauce or Chinese bbq sauce will knock your socks off! It’s that tasty!

This was inspired by my Asian-inspired beef roast recipe on Kitchen Divas and pairs well with this amazing chicken fried rice recipe and a batch of air fryer egg rolls.

Ingredients

This recipe uses basic ingredients that you can easily find at your local grocery store. Even the powdered shrimp should be easy to find.

• Beef: I prefer using sirloin steak which works perfectly for a thinly sliced, tender steak for this dish. You can also use round steak or flank steak.
• Smoked paprika: Gives a slightly smoky flavor to the beef.
• Veggies: Green onion stalks, shallots, carrots, and cabbage are added to the beef stir fry.
• Red chile peppers: Used in the Chinese bbq sauce to add some spiciness.
• Aromatics: Shallot, garlic cloves, and ginger root.
• Powdered shrimp: An authentic ingredient used to make sha cha sauce.
• Soy sauce and rice wine vinegar: Simple pantry staples used in much Asian cooking.

See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full list of ingredients and exact quantities.

How to Make Sha Cha Beef

This recipe made have complex flavors, but making it is anything but complicated. It’s a simple recipe that comes together easily.

Step 1: Prep

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Allow the sirloin steak to come to room temperature while you prep the vegetables.

Roughly chop the seeded red chile peppers, shallot, cloves, and ginger. Peel the carrots and cut them into thin 1 to 2-inch sections. Cut the green onions at an angle into 1 to 2-inch sections.

Trim the fat from the sirloin and cut it into 1 ½-inch-wide sections, then thinly slice each section into ¼-inch thick pieces.

Step 2: Make the Chinese BBQ Sauce

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Heat vegetable oil in a saucepan over medium heat. When hot add the chopped red chile peppers, shallot, garlic, and ginger.

Cook for 5 minutes, then transfer the mixture to a food processor and blend into a paste.

Return the paste to the pan and add the powdered shrimp, rice wine vinegar, flour, and sugar. Stir and bring to a boil. Then, reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Whisk and set aside.

Step 3: Cook the Steak

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Add the prepared steak to a bowl and toss it with vegetable oil, cornstarch, black pepper, salt, and smoked paprika.

Next, add oil to a wok and heat over medium-high heat. Cook beef slices for 1 minute per side, then remove the beef from the wok and set aside.

Step 4: Cook the Vegetables

Add the green onions, carrot, cabbage, and shallot to the wok and stir fry for 3 minutes.

Step 5: Finish the Dish

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Add the beef or sirloin back to the wok. Followed by the mixed sauce.

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Toos to coat the meat and veggies with the sauce. Cook for 5 to 10 minutes on low heat. Garnish with chopped green onions and sesame seeds. Serve on a bed of rice. Enjoy!

Hint: It’s important to let the steak come to room temperature for even cooking.

Substitutions

Don’t have the correct ingredients on hand or want to change something up? Here are some helpful tips for you to change this spicy beef stir fry recipe.

• Oil: You can use any oil with a high smoke point for this recipe including peanut oil.
• Use store-bought Sha Cha Sauce: A great way to save some time when you’re making this recipe.
• Swap the Sha Cha Sauce: Use XO Sauce, a spicy seafood sauce that works as a replacement for homemade sauce if you want to save some time.

Variations

Want to personalize this beef sha cha recipe? Here are some of my tried and true tips for changing up this recipe.

• Extra Spicy: If you love heat, leave the seeds in the chile peppers. That’s where most of the heat is or add your favorite hot sauce, hot pepper powder or sriracha sauce.
• Favorite Asian Vegetables: Try adding baby corn, bok choy, chinese broccoli or bamboo shoots to this dish.
• Chicken or Pork: You can make this dish with chicken or pork as well.
• Add Cilantro: As a garnish, it adds wonderful flavor.

If you love recipes like this, you may also enjoy this steak or chicken and peppers stir fry.

Equipment

It only takes a few simple pieces of kitchen equipment to make this recipe.

• Measuring cups and spoons
• Wok
• Spatula or wooden spoon
• Knife
• Cutting board

Storage

Refrigerator: Store leftovers in the refrigerator in an air-tight container for up to 4 days.

Freezer: For longer storage, you can freeze it in an air-tight, freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.

Reheat: Return the cooked beef and veggies to a wok over medium-high and cook until heated through about 6-8 minutes.

Tips

This is actually a very simple recipe despite how it looks. Even so, I have some tips to help you make it as easy as possible and as delicious as it can be.

• Always bring your steak to room temperature for even cooking.
• Unless you really love heat, remove the seeds from the chile peppers. That’s where most of the heat is found.
• Don’t overcook your beef. If you cook it longer than specified, it will get tough.

FAQ

Do you have questions about making this recipe? Here are some of the most commonly asked questions about this Chinese beef sha cha recipe.

More Easy Chinese Recipes

Do you like Chinese food? Here are some recipes you may also like to try.

Ready to get cooking? Remember that you can print this recipe if you would like.