Servings
Font
Back
0 from 357 votes

Firecracker Beef

Recipe video above. This is a thrifty yet excellent dinner for all those times you need to scratch your Spicy Asian Food itch, fast! Seared beef mince gets tossed through a fiery Firecracker Sauce, tastes a bit like a spicy beef version of the much-loved Vietnamese Caramelised Pork Mince. Sweetness & spice level - Fairly spicy! See notes to reduce. Firecracker sauce is supposed to be a bit sweet to offset spice, also see notes.

Prep Time
3 mins
Cook Time
3 mins
Servings: 4
Calories: 326 kcal
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Asian

Ingredients

  • 1½ tbsp oil (vegetable, canola, peanut)
  • 500g / 1 lb beef mince / ground beef (Note 1)
  • 2 garlic cloves , finely minced
  • 1 tsp chilli flakes / red pepper flakes (adjust to your taste)
  • 3 tbsp water
Firecracker sauce:
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce , light or all-purpose (Note 2)
  • 2 tbsp rice vinegar (Note 3)
  • 4 tbsp Sriracha sauce (Note 4)
  • 4 tbsp brown sugar (tightly packed)
To serve (optional!):
  • Rice, soba or vermicelli noodles
  • 1 green onion , finely sliced
  • 1 tsp sesame seeds
  • Diced cucumber, julienned carrot, finely sliced red radish
  • Extra sriracha sauce , if you dare!

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. Sauce: Mix Firecracker sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
  2. Cook beef: Heat oil in a large frypan over high heat. Add beef and cook, breaking it up as you go, until you can no longer see raw meat (2½ minutes). Add garlic and chilli flakes and cook for 1 minute.
  3. Caramelise beef: Add Firecracker sauce ingredients, stir to coat the beef. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring only every minute or so initially, then more towards the end, until the sauce reduces and you can see the beef caramelising. Caramelise well for good flavour!
  4. Water: Add the water and cook for 1 minute (the water makes the beef saucier!)
  5. Serve over rice, sprinkled with sesame seeds, green onion and a squirt of extra sriracha if you're feeling brave! Add a pile of vegetables of choice on the side. Dive in!

Notes

  • Spiciness - Fairly spicy but not blow-your-head-off levels. Reduce spiciness firstly by reducing or omitting the chilli flakes. Then reduce the sriracha, if need be. Try not to reduce sriracha because it's a key flavouring.
  • Sweetness - I use minimum sugar to be able to get good beef caramelisation and balance the spiciness/tang of siracha. If you reduce the sugar the spice comes through a quite a bit more and is not the typical Firecracker sauce flavour, albeit still very tasty!
  • Other proteins - This recipe will work well with pork, chicken and turkey mince. Crumbled tofu - reduce sugar by 1 tbsp.
  • Soy sauce - Use light or all-purpose soy. Don't use dark soy sauce, the flavour will be too intense. More on different types of soy sauce here.
  • Rice vinegar - Substitute with apple cider vinegar.
  • Sriracha - A Thai chilli sauce found everywhere these days. Adds more than just spiciness, it adds flavour too as it's flavoured with garlic, vinegar, sugar and salt.
  • Storage - Leftover cooked beef will keep for 3 to 4 days in the fridge, or freezer for 3 months. When reheating, add a splash of water to juice it up!
  • Nutrition per serving, beef only (ie not rice or vegetables).

Nutrition Information

Calories 326cal (16%) Carbohydrates 13g (4%) Protein 26g (52%) Fat 18g (28%) Saturated Fat 6g (30%) Polyunsaturated Fat 2g Monounsaturated Fat 9g Trans Fat 1g Cholesterol 81mg (27%) Sodium 934mg (39%) Potassium 472mg (13%) Fiber 0.3g (1%) Sugar 12g (24%) Vitamin A 51IU (1%) Vitamin C 11mg (12%) Calcium 38mg (4%) Iron 3mg (17%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 4Serving

Amount Per Serving

Calories 326

% Daily Value*

Calories 326cal 16%
Carbohydrates 13g 4%
Protein 26g 52%
Fat 18g 28%
Saturated Fat 6g 30%
Polyunsaturated Fat 2g 12%
Monounsaturated Fat 9g 45%
Trans Fat 1g 50%
Cholesterol 81mg 27%
Sodium 934mg 39%
Potassium 472mg 10%
Fiber 0.3g 1%
Sugar 12g 24%
Vitamin A 51IU 1%
Vitamin C 11mg 12%
Calcium 38mg 4%
Iron 3mg 17%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.