Chinese Ground Beef Cabbage Stir-Fry (Printable Version)

Quick stir-fry with ground beef, cabbage, and rich umami sauce. Low-carb, dairy-free, ready in 25 minutes.

# What You Need:

→ Proteins

01 - 1 lb lean ground beef

→ Vegetables

02 - 1 small head green cabbage, cored and thinly sliced
03 - 3 green onions, sliced
04 - 2 cloves garlic, minced
05 - 1 inch piece fresh ginger, grated
06 - 1 medium carrot, julienned

→ Sauces & Seasonings

07 - 3 tbsp soy sauce
08 - 1 tbsp oyster sauce
09 - 1 tbsp rice vinegar
10 - 1 tbsp sesame oil
11 - 1 tsp Sriracha or chili garlic sauce
12 - 0.5 tsp ground white pepper
13 - 0.5 tsp sugar or sweetener

→ Oils

14 - 1 tbsp vegetable oil

# Directions:

01 - Combine soy sauce, oyster sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, Sriracha, white pepper, and sugar in a small bowl. Set aside.
02 - Heat vegetable oil in a large wok or skillet over medium-high heat. Add ground beef and cook, breaking it up with a spatula, until browned and cooked through, approximately 4 to 5 minutes.
03 - Add minced garlic, grated ginger, and white part of green onions to the beef. Stir-fry for 1 minute until fragrant.
04 - Add sliced cabbage and carrot to the wok. Stir-fry for 5 to 7 minutes until cabbage is tender but still crisp.
05 - Pour prepared sauce over the mixture and toss well to coat. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes until heated through and sauce is slightly reduced.
06 - Remove from heat and garnish with green part of green onions. Serve immediately while hot.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • Everything cooks in one pan, and you're eating in twenty-five minutes flat, no joke.
  • The cabbage gets sweet and savory at the same time, which somehow makes it feel indulgent even though it's basically a vegetable.
  • It reheats beautifully, so leftovers for lunch the next day actually taste better.
  • You can skip the rice entirely and still feel completely satisfied.
02 -
  • Don't crowd the pan or the beef will steam instead of brown, which makes everything watery and bland.
  • Slice the cabbage as thin as you can manage, fat ribbons take forever to cook and won't absorb the sauce properly.
  • If your wok isn't big enough, cook the cabbage in two batches and combine at the end.
  • Taste the sauce before adding it to the pan, some soy sauces are saltier than others and you might want to dial it back.
03 -
  • Let your wok or skillet get really hot before you add the oil, that's what gives you the slightly charred, restaurant-style flavor.
  • If you want deeper color and flavor, add a tiny splash of dark soy sauce along with the regular soy sauce.
  • Prep all your ingredients before you start cooking, stir-fries move fast and there's no time to chop garlic mid-recipe.
  • Don't skip the sesame oil at the end, it adds a nutty aroma that makes the whole dish smell like takeout.
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