Quick Cumin Beef Stir-Fry
Cumin beef is a quick Chinese stir-fry featuring tender, juicy beef with aromatic cumin and chilies. With this easy recipe, whip up a delicious beef dinner at home in under 20 minutes!

When you think of cumin, you don’t usually link it with the idea of a Chinese stir-fry. However, this aromatic cumin beef stir fry is quite a popular dish in China.
If you are looking for the authentic Asian dinner ideas that are easy to make and affordable, this recipe might be your weekly routine.
What is Cumin beef?
Although cumin is not a typical spice in Chinese cooking, this cumin beef is influenced by the ethnic Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang, the northwest region of China, who use cumin in their kebabs ands stews.
Chinese cumin beef uses pre-fried beef which is then stir fried with cumin spice with fresh chilies, garlic, and ginger to create a very aromatic beef stir-fry.
Many parts of China, like Sichuan and Hunan, have their own version of cumin beef. While Sichuan cumin beef uses an abundance of tongue-numbing Sichuan peppercorns, Hunan cumin beef, instead, often incorporates chili pickles that provide a slightly sour taste.
This cumin beef recipe is tasty and satisfying. The beef is very tender with a hint of smokiness from the dried red pepper flakes and cumin, without being overpowering.
You can add vegetables like sweet peppers to make it more hearty. I made it without the addition of veggies this time so that I can enjoy the savory beef all by itself.
Cumin beef ingredients
- Beef – Sirloin is the best cut for stir-frying, or try another tender steak cut.
- Light soy sauce – for saltiness
- Dark soy sauce – provides the dark color with caramelized taste.
- Shaoxing wine – adds depth to the taste. You can substitute with dry sherry or plain rice wine
- Potato starch (or cornstarch) – crisps up the beef and adds a sheen. It also help thicken the sauce.
- Baking soda – tenderize the beef
- Dried red pepper flakes – adds more spiciness and smoky flavor
- Cumin – aromatic spice and a key ingredient. Use ground cumin powder
- Additional aromatics – Fresh chilies (either green or red, or both), ginger, garlic, sesame oil, and cilantro (optional)
How to make cumin beef
Step 1. In a bowl, mix thinly sliced beef sirloin with Shaoxing wine, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, baking soda, and potato starch. Toss until the beef is evenly coated, then let it marinate for 5 minutes.
Step 2. In a wok or skillet, heat 3 tablespoons of oil over high heat. Add the beef and cook, stirring, until it’s browned and crispy on the outside. Remove and set aside on a plate.
Step 3. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil to the pan, then toss in the ginger and garlic. Stir-fry for a few seconds until fragrant, then add the chilies and cook, stirring, for about 1 minute.
Step 4. Return the browned beef to the pan, then add the cumin and dried chili flakes. Cook, stirring, until the beef is well coated and aromatic.
Recipe Tip: If you are adding bell pepper, try stir-frying with the aromatics in step 3. Then proceed to step 4.
Step 5. As a final step, drizzle in the sesame oil and add the chopped green onion and cilantro (if desired). Give everything a good toss, then serve the cumin beef hot with rice.
If you’re a fan of beef stir fry, give our Chinese crispy beef or beef and pepper stir-fry a try. Both are ready in under 30 minutes and are sure to be a hit!
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Quick Cumin Beef Stir-Fry
Ingredients
For beef marinade
- 1 lb beef sirloin, thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp shaoxing wine (Chinese rice wine)
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 2 tsp dark soy sauce
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp potato starch, or cornstarch
For stir-fry
- 4 tbsp oil, divided
- 1 tbsp finely minced fresh ginger
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 fresh red chili, seeded and chopped
- 2 fresh green chili, seeded and chopped
- 1 1/2 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp red chili flakes
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 2 stalks green onion, chopped
- 4 tbsp chopped cilantro, optional
Instructions
- Combine thinly sliced beef sirloin, shaoxing wine, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, baking soda, and potato starch in a bowl and toss well to coat. Let the beef marinade in the seasoning for 5 minutes.
- Heat 3 tbsp oil in a wok or skillet over high heat. Add the beef and stir fry until slightly browned and crisp on the outside. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
- Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil, add ginger, garlic and stir-fry few seconds until fragrant. Add chilies and keep stirring for about 1 minute.
- Add the browned beef, cumin, dried chili flakes and continue cooking until the beef is coated with the aromatics and fragrant.
- Lastly, add sesame oil, chopped green onion and cilantro (if using) and toss through. Serve hot with rice.
This was absolutely amazing!
Me and my husband loved it so much!
The measurements were spot on.
How can I know which kind(s) of chilis to use? It seems like there are several varieties of red and green peppers that are used in Korean cooking, having very different levels of heat and other properties.
Thank you for clear directions and trustable, delicious recipes.
Hi Karen
For red chilies, I recommend using red finger-long chilies, named for their size, which you can easily find in Korean grocery stores. These are far less spicy than the small red chilies typically used in Southeast Asian dishes, making them a great choice for this recipe. If you can’t find them, a good alternative would be Mexican red chilies known as Fresno peppers, available in many local US grocery stores. Remove the seeds if you prefer milder taste.
For green chilies, I used Serrano chilies. You can also use other kinds of mild green chilies, such as green finger-long chilies. I hope this information is useful, and thank you for your kind comment. I appreciate it.
I found the nutrition breakdown. Can you offer low cal and fat recipes to make at home please.
Hi Sheila
Thanks for the suggestion. I will keep that in mind when I plan on the recipes. Thank you.
Please we need calories and nutrition breakdown on recipes!