Give Beef A Sesame Seed Coating For Stir Fry With Flavorful Crunch

Sesame beef is a menu staple in most Chinese-American eateries across the country, along with other go-to dishes like deep-fried egg rolls, steamed rice, and scallion pancakes. You don't need to walk to your local Chinese restaurant or pick up the phone for delivery to enjoy sesame beef. It's a rather easy dish to make at home, like with Tasting Table's spicy sesame beef from recipe developer Jennine Rye.

When you add sesame seeds to beef, it provides an upgrade in both taste and texture. Sesame seeds are nutty and mildly sweet, which contrasts the meat's richness. You can even roast the sesame seeds to enhance those flavors further. Like other seeds, they also provide a nice crunch to give the beef dish more texture since the meat should be soft and tender when cooked properly. In Rye's version specifically, you'll also use toasted sesame oil in the marinade to infuse the meat with more of the flavor along with soy sauce for umami and a few other ingredients.

Once the meat is finished marinating, it's time to add the sesame seeds. To ensure the sesame seeds stick to the sliced beef, mix it with cornstarch first to create a breading. Our recipe, which makes four servings, calls for 3 tablespoons each of cornstarch and sesame seeds. You can always add a few more sesame seeds to the mixture if you want more crunch but don't overdo it. If you want to toast the sesame seeds first, put them in an oven set at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 10 minutes or in a pan on the stovetop for around five minutes.

To turn this sesame beef into a complete meal, Rye suggests rice, egg noodles, soba noodles, or rice noodles — but why not turn it into a complete Chinese-takeout-inspired meal? For some appetizers to hold over any dinner guests until the beef is ready to eat, consider our homemade crab rangoon, light and fresh spring rolls, or veggie potstickers. And to complete the main meal with a dose of vegetables, cook our lotus root stir-fry or roasted butternut squash Sichuan stir-fry recipes perhaps paired with an easy fried rice — and finish it all off with a garnish of sesame seeds for serving.