Budget-friendly, tasty & hearty! This easy Asian-style Beef and Potato Stir-fry has it all and will even please the fussiest eaters!
One pan, cheap and tasty!
When you’re exhausted and cooking is not on the cards, this Asian-style Beef and Potato Stir-fry might just change your mind. You’re going to be glad that you’ve closed your food delivery app and put your phone away!
A no-fuss one-pan meal with affordable ingredients! This stir-fry is delicious, family-friendly and super hearty. The dark sauce comprises garlic, soy sauce, oyster sauce, kecap manis and beef powder. You’ll end up with a savoury sauce deep in flavours with a hint of sweetness.
As the sauce thickens into a gravy, most of it gets absorbed into the meat and potatoes, making them even tastier!
For this recipe, you could use all kinds of mince; beef, lamb, chicken or turkey or plant-based mince. Perhaps let that packet of mince you need to use up in your fridge or freezer choose for you!
This stir-fry is not only a win for the budget and effort, but it’s also a big win for the entire family. Place Beef and Potato Stir-fry on the table with steamed rice and watch in glee whilst the adults and children scoff this down!
More delicious and easy Asian recipes:
Thai Chicken and Pumpkin
Three Cup Chicken
Filipino Chicken Adobo
Poached Chicken in Soy
High expectations and a big fail!
Our bank helpfully divides our monthly spending by category to assist us with budgeting. My husband, Tomi, noticed our eating-out costs took a massive slice from the pie chart and couldn’t believe his eyes.
As much as I love to cook, I also love eating other people’s cooking! Tomi occasionally teases me about outing me to the public. ‘My talented wife is an amazing recipe blogger but she orders Uber Eats’. There you have it. I outed myself so he now has no more ammo!
If Tomi had his way he would always choose my cooking, but he doesn’t push me because it’s obvious to him how exhausted I am some days. Apparently, he tells whoever will listen to him that: ‘I hate spending money on mediocre food when my wife’s cooking is so much better!‘
Tomi talks me up and I often blush with embarrassment when he tells his friends and colleagues what a superb cook I am. Well, perhaps not when I was pregnant with our now toddler, Kai!
An old and dear friend of Tomi’s visited us for brunch when they came over from New Zealand. I suffered from severe morning sickness, and cooking was the last thing I wanted to do. So I got a large store-bought quiche and hoped for the best.
When it was time to serve the quiche, the pastry stuck to the foil, causing the quiche to fall apart in front of our guests. Tomi looked really embarrassed and everyone looked awkward except me. I laughed it off and told them the quiche was from the store and that perhaps I should’ve read the instructions before popping it in the oven.
Ingredients for Beef and Potato Stir Fry
Beef mince (ground beef) – Regular or lean mince will work in this stir-fry because it’s so tasty that little or no fat in the meat is okay. You could also swap with other minced meat such as pork, turkey, lamb and chicken or plant-based mince.
Potatoes – I used cheap all-rounder large white brushed potatoes. Starchy or all-rounder potatoes work best (not waxy potatoes). Desiree, Sebago, Dutch Cream, Maris Piper, or Russet potatoes are excellent choices.
Light soy sauce or regular soy sauce but not the dark or sweet soy sauce varieties, as these are not interchangeable.
Dark soy sauce – The dark soy sauce variety is mainly used to add colour to a dish. It’s less salty, but sweeter and thicker than regular or light soy sauce.
Kecap Manis is an Indonesian sweet soy sauce. It has a syrupy consistency with a molasses-like flavour from palm sugar. Supermarkets usually stock kecap manis in the international section of the supermarket or next to soy sauce.
Oyster sauce adds more depth to the savoury sauce, but it doesn’t have a strong oyster or fishy flavour. It’s actually more salty and sweet in taste. Supermarkets usually have it in their International or ‘sauces’ section.
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How to make Beef and Potato Stir Fry
Step-by-step guide with photos
Wash and peel potatoes, then slice them thinly lengthwise. Slice the potatoes again into strips. Transfer the potatoes to a large bowl and submerge them in water, then set it aside for 10 minutes.
Heat oil over medium-high heat in a wok or a large deep frying pan. Place in the garlic and onions and stir-fry quickly for a minute, then add the minced beef and stir regularly until the beef has browned. Drain all the water from the potatoes, then add them to the pan and continue to stir-fry for 3 minutes.
Pour in 1.5 cup of water along with the sauce and seasoning ingredients into the wok, then stir to combine. Bring the sauce to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and cover. Cook for 5-8 minutes or until the potatoes have softened. Check the potatoes occasionally so they don’t overcook or they’ll break. They’re ready when you can push a fork into them effortlessly.
In a small bowl, mix the cornflour and 1 tablespoon of water together, then pour it into the sauce. Cook for a further 2 to 3 minutes or until the gravy has thickened. Garnish with spring onions, then serve with steamed rice.
Leftovers – Allow the Beef and Potato Stir-fry to cool completely at room temperature, then transfer into a sealed container and store in the fridge. It’ll be good for up to 3 days.
I’ve used a third-party application to calculate the calories and nutritional information, so please use this as an approximate guide only.
Cooking measurements are in Australian standard spoon and cup measurements. For specific details and conversions, visit our Australian Cooking Measurements page.
I would love your feedback and support if you made this recipe. To do this, please rate this recipe and provide a comment by scrolling down this page or by clicking that green circle on the bottom left. An email address is required (for spam), but it won’t be published. I would also love to see your dish, so don’t forget to tag me on my Instagram account ‘3catsfoodie’
Cheers – Cat T
Beef and Potato Stir fry
Ingredients
- 700 gm potatoes (NOTE 1)
- 1 tbsp peanut oil (or canola, vegetable oil)
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 small to medium brown/yellow onion (thin wedges)
- 500 gm minced beef (ground beef) (NOTE 2)
- 1 tbsp cornflour or cornstarch
- 1 tbsp water
- ⅓ cup thinly sliced spring onion (green onion, scallions)
SAUCE AND SEASONING
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce (NOTE 3)
- 2 tbsp dark soy sauce (NOTE 4)
- 2 tbsp kecap manis (NOTE 5)
- 2 tbsp oyster sauce (NOTE 6)
- 1 tsp beef powder/stock cube (or chicken or vegetable powder/stock cube)
- ⅛ tsp ground white pepper
- 1½ cup water
Instructions
- Wash and peel potatoes, then slice them thinly lengthwise. Slice the potatoes again into strips. Transfer the potatoes to a large bowl and submerge them in water, then set it aside for 10 minutes.
- Heat oil over medium-high heat in a wok or a large deep frying pan. Place in the garlic and onions and stir-fry quickly for a minute, then add the minced beef and stir regularly until the beef has browned. Drain all the water from the potatoes, then add them to the pan and continue to stir-fry for 3 minutes.
- Pour in 1.5 cup of water along with the sauce and seasoning ingredients into the wok, then stir to combine. Bring the sauce to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and cover. Cook for 5-8 minutes or until the potatoes have softened. Check the potatoes occasionally so they don't overcook or they'll break. They're ready when you can push a fork into them effortlessly.
- In a small bowl, mix the cornflour and 1 tablespoon of water together, then pour it into the sauce. Cook for a further 2 to 3 minutes or until the gravy has thickened. Garnish with spring onions, then serve with steamed rice.
