Easy Spicy Kung Pao Beef Noodles

All About This Spicy Kung Pao Beef

• Savory and spicy. The kung pao sauce is simple to make with ingredients like tamari, rice vinegar, and chili sauce. It’s the perfect balance of salty, tangy, sweet, and spicy, and drenches this classic beef stir fry with so much flavor.
• Ready in 15 minutes. Whip up easy kung pao beef using one skillet in minutes. Busy weeknight meals don’t get much better, and even my local takeout spot can’t beat the speed!
• Adaptable. I love the spiciness of the sauce, but if you’re sensitive to heat, you can still enjoy a milder version of this recipe that goes easier on the chili. In fact, there are loads of ways to adapt this kung pao beef in terms of the veggies, garnishes, and whether you make it with noodles or rice.

Ingredients You’ll Need to Make This Recipe

Kung pao beef is a spicy, stir-fried Chinese dish made with sliced steak, peanuts, vegetables, and chili peppers. I’ve covered these and the other ingredients you’ll need to make this stir-fry and sauce below.

• Noodles – I use gluten-free spaghetti since I already had it in the pantry. You could also make this stir-fry with traditional rice noodles, egg noodles, or another type of long pasta, like linguine.
• Sesame Oil – There’s really no substitute for the flavor of sesame oil in Asian cooking. You can use plain or toasted sesame oil, whichever you prefer.
• Mushrooms – I like to use shiitake mushrooms, but button mushrooms, brown mushrooms, or any kind will work. Feel free to omit the mushrooms or swap them with another quick-cooking veggie, like extra bell pepper, if you aren’t a fan.
• Bell Pepper, Carrots, and Green Onion – Julienne the red bell pepper (cut it into thin strips), grate the carrots, and thinly slice the green onion. You can swap in your preferred stir-fry vegetables like snap peas, mini corn, water chestnuts, green beans, etc.
• Cilantro – Freshly chopped. Substitute parsley if you don’t eat cilantro.
• Steak – You’ll find pre-cut beef strips in grocery stores, or you can ask your local butcher to prepare them for you (ask for a stir-fry cut). Another option is to pick up a flank steak and cut it into thin slices.
• Cashews – For extra crunch. You could also use peanuts, or leave out the nuts for a nut-free dish.

Homemade Kung Pao Sauce

Kung pao beef is a bit milder than Hunan beef, another popular Chinese dish. Kung pao sauce has two layers of flavor. The first is from a balance of spices, soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar, which builds a salty, tangy, and sweet base. The second layer is from chili peppers. In this recipe, I used garlic chili sauce for that extra punch of heat. To make it:

1. Combine. Add tamari sauce, rice wine vinegar, honey, sesame oil, and garlic chili sauce to a saucepan.
2. Heat. Whisk the ingredients together and bring the sauce to a boil.
3. Thicken the sauce. Meanwhile, whisk water and cornstarch together to make a slurry. Stir the slurry into your stir-fry sauce and let it simmer for a couple of minutes, until thickened.

How to Make Kung Pao Beef With Noodles

Follow this quick step-by-step overview to make this mouthwatering kung pao beef dinner in under 20 minutes:

1. Prepare the noodles. Cook your choice of noodles according to the package directions, then drain and set them aside in a large bowl. If you’d like, toss the cooked noodles with a little sesame oil or cooking oil to keep them from clumping.
2. Sauté the mushrooms. Meanwhile, add the mushrooms and sesame oil to a skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté for about 5 minutes, until the mushrooms are nicely browned. Add them to the bowl with the noodles.
3. Cook the beef. Next, sear the beef strips for 1-2 minutes per side in the same pan you used to cook the mushrooms.
4. Put it all together. Add your cooked beef to the bowl with the noodles and mushrooms. Add the raw carrots, red peppers, green onions, cilantro, and cashews. Pour your prepared kung pao sauce on top and toss to coat, then serve!

Can I Serve This With Rice Instead?

Absolutely. You can swap the noodles in this recipe with any long-grain rice, such as jasmine or basmati. Cook the rice according to the directions on the package, or use a rice cooker if you have one. I also have an easy method for cooking jasmine rice in the Instant Pot that you can use.

For a low-carb option, serve your kung pao with zucchini noodles (zoodles) like this shrimp stir fry recipe, or roll the beef and veggies into lettuce wraps!

Frequently Asked Questions

Storing and Reheating Leftovers

• Refrigerate. Once cooled, store any leftover kung pao beef in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days.
• Reheat. To reheat, warm the beef and noodles in the microwave for 1 to 2 minutes. You could also reheat them on the stovetop.

You’re going to love this easy kung pao beef with noodles! Bon appétit, friends!

More Asian-Inspired Recipes

• Vegetable Stir Fry
• Asian Grilled Flank Steak
• Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry
• Asian Noodle Salad
• Teriyaki Salmon