Calgary ginger beef
40 min · 36 g protein · 356 cals / serving
Alberta's own Chinese-Canadian classic: thin strips of beef with a crisp, crackly coating, tossed in a glossy, sweet-hot sauce loaded with fresh ginger, garlic and chili, with julienned carrots, peppers and green onion. The beef is crisped in the air fryer instead of the deep fryer, so it stays crunchy under the sauce without the grease.
Ingredients
Crispy beef
- 600 g (1 1/3 lb) top round steak, top round or flank, sliced very thin across the grain
- 1/3 tsp salt
- 45 ml (3 tbsp) cornstarch
- a few sprays cooking spray
Ginger sauce
- 45 ml (3 tbsp) reduced sodium soy sauce
- 30 ml (2 tbsp) rice vinegar
- 37 ml (2 1/2 tbsp) brown sugar, packed
- 125 ml (1/2 cup) water
- 15 ml (1 tbsp) cornstarch
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
Stir-fry
- 2 tsp canola oil
- 2 large carrots, cut into thin matchsticks
- 2 red bell peppers, in thin strips
- 1 medium onion, sliced
- a 6 cm (2 1/2-inch) piece ginger, peeled, half in thin matchsticks, half grated
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 green onions, in 3 cm (1-inch) lengths
Steps
- Toss the beef strips with the egg white and salt until coated, then sprinkle over the cornstarch and toss again until every strip is dry and dusty.
- Heat the air fryer to 400°F. Spread the beef in the basket in a single layer, in batches, spray well and air-fry 8–10 minutes, shaking halfway, until crisp and browned at the edges.
- Stir together the soy sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, water, cornstarch and chili flakes until the sugar dissolves.
- Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan over high heat until smoking. Stir-fry the carrots, peppers and onion 3–4 minutes, until browned in spots but still crunchy.
- Add the ginger and garlic and stir-fry 30 seconds, until fragrant. Stir the sauce, pour it in and let it bubble 1 minute until thick and glossy.
- Take the wok off the heat, add the crisp beef and green onion and toss quickly to coat. Serve right away, before the coating softens.
Good to know
How do I slice beef that thin?
Put it in the freezer for 20–30 minutes until firm but not frozen, then slice across the grain with your sharpest knife, about 1/8 inch thick.
No air fryer?
Spread the coated beef on a parchment-lined sheet, spray well and bake at 450°F for 10–12 minutes, turning once. Or shallow-fry in batches in 2 tbsp of oil, which makes it richer: a score of about 60 instead of 66.
What to serve it with?
Steamed rice is the Calgary way. Steamed broccoli or bok choy on the side makes it a fuller plate.
Per
- Calories
- 103
- Protein
- (42%)
- 10 g
- Fat
- (22%)
- 2 g
- Carbohydrates
- (36%)
- 9 g
- of which sugar
- 4 g
- Fiber
- 1 g
- Sodium
- 201 mg
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Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. General guidance, not medical advice. Talk to your prescriber. How
As written, 1423 kcal goes into the pot and 1591 g of ingredients comes out as about 1380 g of food: 103 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.