Homemade Beef Teriyaki: A Quick & Flavorful Stir-Fry Recipe Better Than Takeout
Say goodbye to greasy takeout and overly sweet, store-bought sauces! This incredible beef teriyaki recipe brings the authentic, sweet, tangy, and savory flavors of a restaurant-quality dish right to your kitchen. Featuring tender strips of beef perfectly stir-fried and generously coated in a rich, homemade teriyaki sauce, this recipe is designed for maximum flavor and minimal effort. You can whip up this delightful meal from scratch in about 30 minutes, without needing any lengthy marinating time. It’s an ideal choice for busy weeknights or when you crave something truly satisfying and delicious.
Why This Homemade Beef Teriyaki Recipe Is a Must-Try
Our beef teriyaki stands out for its perfect balance of sweet, tangy, and salty notes, creating a symphony of flavors that will tantalize your taste buds. At its heart, this dish features succulent, thinly sliced beef enveloped in a luscious, made-from-scratch teriyaki sauce. The beauty of preparing it at home lies in the control you gain over the ingredients, allowing you to avoid artificial additives and adjust the taste precisely to your preference. This also makes it a more wholesome and often more budget-friendly alternative to ordering in.
Beyond its fantastic taste, this recipe is incredibly practical. It’s a superb option for meal prepping, as it reheats beautifully without losing its texture or flavor. This convenience makes homemade stir-fries a favorite in many households. Furthermore, this dish offers immense versatility; you can easily incorporate your favorite vegetables, transforming it into a complete and colorful meal. Serve it alongside vibrant broccoli florets, hearty noodles, or classic white rice to complete your culinary creation. The possibilities are endless, allowing you to customize each serving to suit individual tastes and dietary needs.
Essential Ingredients for Perfect Beef Teriyaki
Crafting exceptional beef teriyaki begins with selecting quality ingredients. While you’ll find a detailed list of all measurements, ingredients, and step-by-step instructions in the printable recipe card towards the end of this post, let’s highlight some key components that make this dish truly special. Using fresh, high-quality ingredients ensures the best possible flavor and texture, elevating your homemade meal far above typical restaurant fare.
Ingredient Spotlight & Expert Substitution Tips
Understanding your ingredients and their potential substitutions is key to culinary success. Here’s a closer look at what goes into our Beef Teriyaki and how you can adapt it to your pantry or preferences:
BEEF – We highly recommend using flank steak for this recipe. It’s an excellent choice for stir-fries due to its affordability, lean profile, and rich flavor. The trick to tender flank steak is to slice it very thinly and always against the grain. This technique shortens the muscle fibers, making a naturally tougher cut incredibly tender and less chewy. If flank steak isn’t available, other fantastic substitutes include skirt steak (also benefits from slicing against the grain), sirloin tip, tri-tip, or even flat iron steak. Each of these cuts will absorb the teriyaki flavors beautifully and cook quickly on high heat.
SAUCE – The heart of this recipe is our Homemade Teriyaki Sauce. We typically prepare this sauce in larger batches and store it in the refrigerator, making weeknight meals a breeze. Having a pre-made batch means you’re always just minutes away from a flavorful meal. However, if you prefer to make it fresh for each dish, we’ve included the precise measurements for the appropriate amount of sauce directly within the recipe card below. This homemade version surpasses any store-bought bottle in terms of freshness, balanced flavor, and lack of preservatives. Key components like low-sodium soy sauce, sesame oil, oyster sauce, honey, rice vinegar, fresh ginger, and minced garlic come together to create that signature sweet and savory umami profile.
CORNSTARCH & WATER – These two ingredients are crucial for creating a “slurry,” which acts as a thickening agent for the teriyaki sauce. The cornstarch not only ensures your sauce coats the beef perfectly but also contributes to the glossy, appetizing finish of the dish. It also helps to tenderize the beef slightly when tossed with the strips before cooking.
OLIVE OIL – Used for stir-frying the beef. You can also opt for other high-smoke-point oils suitable for stir-frying, such as vegetable oil, canola oil, or avocado oil.
Step-by-Step Guide to Making Delicious Beef Teriyaki
These step-by-step photos and detailed instructions are provided to help you visualize the process of making this recipe. For a complete, printable version of this recipe with all measurements and instructions, you can easily Jump to Recipe at the bottom of this post.
- Prepare the Beef: Begin by slicing your flank steak into thin, bite-sized strips. The key here is to cut against the grain; this is paramount for achieving maximum tenderness, as it breaks down the tough muscle fibers. Once sliced, toss the beef strips thoroughly with cornstarch. This coating will help tenderize the meat further and create a slight crust when stir-fried, which aids in sauce adhesion later.
- Whip Up the Teriyaki Sauce: In a separate bowl or container, combine all the teriyaki sauce ingredients: low sodium soy sauce, sesame oil, oyster sauce, honey, rice vinegar, chopped ginger, minced garlic, and brown sugar. Use an immersion blender to quickly blend these ingredients until the sauce is smooth and well combined. This ensures all the flavors are evenly distributed.
EXPERT TIP – For ultimate convenience, you can skip this step entirely if you have a batch of our homemade teriyaki sauce already prepared. Simply use 1/2 cup of your pre-made sauce.
- Stir-Fry the Beef: Heat olive oil in a wok or a large skillet over medium-high heat. Wait until the oil is hot and shimmering, but crucially, not smoking, which indicates the oil is burning. Add the cornstarch-coated beef strips to the hot wok and stir-fry them quickly. Cook just until the beef is no longer pink on the outside, about 2-3 minutes. Avoid overcrowding the pan, as this can steam the beef instead of searing it; cook in batches if necessary to ensure a good sear.
- Add Sauce and Thicken: Once the beef is lightly browned, pour the prepared teriyaki sauce directly into the wok with the beef. Simultaneously, prepare a cornstarch slurry by mixing 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with ¼ cup of cold water until smooth. Pour this cornstarch mixture into the wok. Stir everything together immediately to prevent lumps and ensure even thickening.
- Simmer to Perfection: Reduce the heat to low and allow the beef and sauce to simmer gently. Continue stirring occasionally until the sauce thickens to your desired consistency, usually within a few minutes. It should be glossy and cling nicely to the beef strips. Once thickened, turn off the heat immediately to prevent overcooking the beef and keeping it tender.
Frequently Asked Questions & Expert Tips for Beef Teriyaki
Leftover beef teriyaki is excellent! To store it, transfer the cooled dish into an airtight container and keep it in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. For reheating, the best method is to warm it gently in a wok or skillet over medium-low heat until it’s warmed through. This helps maintain the beef’s tenderness and prevents the sauce from becoming too dry. Alternatively, you can reheat it in the microwave in short bursts, stirring occasionally.
For virtually any beef stir-fry, including beef teriyaki, flank steak is often the most popular and recommended cut. Its lean nature and robust flavor make it ideal, especially when sliced thinly against the grain. However, you have several other excellent options that work well: sirloin (top sirloin or sirloin tip), tri-tip, flat iron steak, or skirt steak. All these cuts are relatively lean and benefit from quick, high-heat cooking to remain tender.
Absolutely! Adding vegetables is a fantastic way to boost the nutritional value and visual appeal of your beef teriyaki. Great options include broccoli florets, sliced bell peppers (red, yellow, or green), snow peas, thinly sliced carrots, mushrooms, or bok choy. For best results, stir-fry denser vegetables like carrots and broccoli first until crisp-tender, then add quicker-cooking ones like bell peppers and snow peas. You might want to prepare a little extra teriyaki sauce to ensure all the added vegetables are nicely coated.
The beauty of homemade sauce is customization! If you prefer a sweeter teriyaki, add a touch more honey or brown sugar. For a saltier kick, a splash more low-sodium soy sauce will do the trick. If you enjoy a bit of heat, a pinch of red pepper flakes or a dash of sriracha can be added. For a deeper umami, consider a bit more oyster sauce. Always taste and adjust as you go!
While some teriyaki recipes call for marinating, this particular recipe is designed to be quick and delicious without that extra step. The cornstarch coating helps tenderize the beef and allows the sauce to cling beautifully. The high-heat, quick stir-fry method also ensures the beef remains tender and absorbs flavor efficiently. However, if you have extra time and wish to marinate, a simple marinade of soy sauce, a little ginger, and garlic for 15-30 minutes can further infuse the beef with flavor before cooking.
Delicious Serving Suggestions for Your Beef Teriyaki
Once your delectable beef teriyaki is ready, the possibilities for serving are endless! For a classic pairing, serve it over a bed of fluffy white rice, which perfectly soaks up the rich teriyaki sauce. If you’re a fan of noodles, our homemade teriyaki noodles or a side of chow mein or lo mein make for an incredibly satisfying meal. For a lighter, yet equally flavorful option, steamed or roasted broccoli florets are a vibrant and healthy addition, offering a nice textural contrast to the tender beef.
To further enhance your dish, consider adding other colorful vegetables. Crisp snow peas and thinly sliced bell peppers (any color!) are wonderful for both flavor and crunch. You could also include sautéed mushrooms, water chestnuts, or even baby corn. If you choose to add a significant amount of vegetables, remember that they will absorb some of the sauce, so you may want to prepare a slightly larger batch of teriyaki sauce to ensure everything is generously coated and flavorful.
Finally, garnish your beef teriyaki with a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds and thinly sliced green onions for an extra layer of flavor and a touch of visual appeal. These small additions truly complete the authentic experience.
More Irresistible Beef Recipes to Explore
If you loved this Beef Teriyaki, be sure to check out these other fantastic beef-centered dishes:
- Beijing Beef
- Szechuan Beef
- Kung Pao Beef
- Mongolian Beef
- Instant Pot Beef and Broccoli
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Beef Teriyaki
IMPORTANT – There are often Frequently Asked Questions within the blog post that you may find helpful. Simply scroll back up to read them!
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Ingredients
- 1 pound flank steak
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
- ¼ cup water
Homemade Teriyaki Sauce
- ¼ cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1 Tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 Tablespoons oyster sauce
- 1 Tablespoon honey
- ¾ Tablespoon rice vinegar
- ¾ teaspoon chopped ginger
- ½ Tablespoon minced garlic
- ¾ teaspoon brown sugar
Things You’ll Need
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Wok
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Wooden spoon
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immersion blender
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Vinyl gloves
Before You Begin
- Flank steak is our top recommendation for this stir-fry due to its lean nature and rich flavor, and it’s also very affordable. Remember to slice it thinly and *against the grain* to ensure maximum tenderness and a less chewy bite. Excellent substitutes include skirt steak, sirloin tip, or tri-tip.
- The homemade teriyaki sauce is a game-changer! We often prepare a larger batch of our Homemade Teriyaki Sauce and keep it refrigerated. This makes meal prep incredibly convenient. If you prefer to make it fresh, the measurements provided above in the recipe card are perfectly portioned for this dish.
- Any leftovers can be stored efficiently. Place your cooled beef teriyaki in an airtight container and refrigerate for 3-4 days. When you’re ready to enjoy it again, reheat gently in a wok or skillet over medium-low heat until thoroughly warmed to maintain its delicious texture and flavor.
- Feel free to add your favorite stir-fry vegetables like broccoli, bell peppers, or snow peas for added color and nutrition. If adding a significant amount of vegetables, consider making a little extra sauce to ensure everything is well-coated.
Instructions
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Slice the flank steak into thin strips, making sure to cut against the grain for tenderness. Toss the beef strips thoroughly with 1 Tablespoon of cornstarch until each piece is lightly coated. This step helps tenderize the meat and contributes to a crispier exterior when stir-fried.
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In a bowl, combine all teriyaki sauce ingredients: low sodium soy sauce, sesame oil, oyster sauce, honey, rice vinegar, chopped ginger, minced garlic, and brown sugar. Use an immersion blender or whisk until the sauce is smooth and well blended.
TIP: For a quicker option, simply use 1/2 cup of our homemade teriyaki sauce if you have a batch pre-made.
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Heat 2 Tablespoons of olive oil in a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat until it is hot and shimmering, but not smoking. Add the coated beef strips to the wok in a single layer (cook in batches if necessary to avoid overcrowding) and stir-fry until the beef is no longer pink, typically 2-3 minutes.
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Pour the prepared teriyaki sauce over the browned beef in the wok. In a small separate bowl, mix ¼ cup of water with 1 Tablespoon of cornstarch to create a smooth slurry. Add this cornstarch slurry to the wok, stirring constantly to integrate it evenly with the sauce and beef.
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Reduce the heat to low and let the mixture simmer gently. Continue to stir occasionally until the sauce thickens to a glossy consistency that coats the beef strips beautifully. Once thickened, immediately turn off the heat to ensure the beef remains tender. Serve hot with your favorite sides.
Nutrition
The recipes on this blog are tested with a conventional gas oven and gas stovetop. It’s important to note that some ovens, especially as they age, can cook and bake inconsistently. Using an inexpensive oven thermometer can assure you that your oven is truly heating to the proper temperature. If you use a toaster oven or countertop oven, please keep in mind that they may not distribute heat the same as a conventional full sized oven and you may need to adjust your cooking/baking times. In the case of recipes made with a pressure cooker, air fryer, slow cooker, or other appliance, a link to the appliances we use is listed within each respective recipe. For baking recipes where measurements are given by weight, please note that results may not be the same if cups are used instead, and we can’t guarantee success with that method.