Super tender beef in a sweet and savory sauce of hoisin, soy, and sesame. Ready in a flash with a handful of ingredients, this will definitely become a regular in your house! And I have a trick for insanely tender beef every time!

What's the trick for creating tender beef? Adding baking soda! Baking soda raises the pH of the meat, helping to lock in moisture and produce melt-in-your-mouth, ultra-tender beef. It's such a simple step, but it changes the texture in the most incredible way. You probably have baking soda - so give it a go!

And the sauce is super easy too. It's made with a base of hoisin sauce, a thick, syrupy, store-bought sauce made with fermented soybeans and seasonings. Then, the sauce is ramped up by a adding a little more soy, some sweetness (sugar or honey), tanginess (from miring), and nuttiness (from sesame oil). 

Feel free to turn this into a spicy dish. I didn't add hot sauce to this sauce, but you can. I served the beef with crushed red pepper flakes on the side instead, but you can easily incorporate heat into the sauce by adding about 1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes, or 1 to 2 teaspoons of your favorite hot sauce. You can use regular hot sauce, sriracha hot sauce, and/or Asian chile garlic sauce. 

How should you serve your Asian beef bowls? I served the beef and sauce over fluffy jasmine rice. I love how the sweetness of the rice partners with the savory nuances in the sauce. You can choose your favorite rice or Asian noodles or, for a low-carb dish, serve the beef in lettuce leaves. 

Can you make this dish with poultry instead? Absolutely. Ground turkey and ground chicken would work just as well! 

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS 

1 pound lean ground beef

3/4 teaspoon baking soda 

1/3 cup hoisin sauce 

3 tablespoons soy sauce 

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 tablespoon Chinese cooking wine, or mirin, sake, or any rice wine

1 teaspoon granulated sugar or honey 

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper 

2-3 green onions, chopped, white and green parts separated

2 cloves garlic, minced 

2 cups cooked rice for serving, I used jasmine rice 

Crushed red pepper flakes for serving

INSTRUCTIONS

In a large bowl, combine the ground beef and baking soda and work the baking soda into the meat. Set aside for 15 to 20 minutes. 

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together the hoisin sauce, soy sauce, tomato paste, cooking wine, sugar, and sesame oil. 

After the meat has rested, brown it in a large skillet over medium-high heat, breaking up the meat as it cooks. Add the white part of the green onions and garlic and cook for 1 minute. 

Add the hoisin sauce mixture and bring to a simmer. Cook for 1 minute to heat through. 

Spoon the mixture over the rice and top with the green part of the green onions. Serve with crushed red pepper flakes.