Fengmi Niulijirou Hetaoren. Repeat 3 times in a row as fast as you can. That’s Chinese for “Chinese honey-glazed beef and walnuts.” Sweet and sticky beef with crunchy glazed walnuts – like eating candy. SO good. This dish comes from the Northern region of China. The beef is sliced ultra thin and marinated. It is then fried on high heat until it is crisp and golden. The beef is then left to cook in a delicious sauce, honey and Chinese five-spice powder are prominent ingredients, and then tossed with walnuts. An authentic and lesser-known Chinese classic, it’s not quite like anything you’ve tasted before and it will have you hooked.
This dish was created in the fall of 1772 in Northern China (that makes it 241 years old). Emperor Qianlong, on a tour of the northern reaches outside the Great Wall, went on a hunting trip and caught three deer. Back home in the imperial kitchens, he entrusted them to his head chef with the order to create something worthy of the imperial hunt. The tenderest meat was sliced finely, quick fried, and tossed in this special sauce. The delighted emperor declared it “sweeter than honey.” And so the dish was born. Honey-glazed meats continue to remain signature dishes in Northern China today.
Dig in!
The key is ensuring the meat remains crisp beneath its sweet glaze. Accomplish this by slicing the beef ultra thin and frying on high heat.
Make your own Chinese Five Spice Powder for ultimate flavor!
Asian food fans, don’t forget to check out this recipe for the Best Homemade Teriyaki Sauce!
- 10 oz lean beef, partially frozen, sliced ultra thinly (keeping the beef partially frozen enables you to slice it extra thin)
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons Chinese five-spice powder (storebought or homemade - see recipe at https://www.daringgourmet.com/2013/04/12/chinese-five-spice-powder/)
- Oil for deep-frying
- ¾ cup walnut halves
- ¼ cup honey
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice wine
- 1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger
- 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Sesame seeds for sprinkling on top
- Use a very sharp knife to cut the beef across the grain into ultra-thin slices, then stack the slices and cut thinly into matchsticks.
- In a bowl, combine 2 tablespoons of the cornstarch with the water, egg, soy sauce, and five-spice powder. Stir to combine thoroughly. Add the beef strips and toss to coat evenly.
- Pour some oil to the depth of about an inch in a wok or skillet. Heat to about 360 degrees F. Slowly add the beef strips and stir to separate them. Cook until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove the beef, allowing the oil to drip for a few moments, and transfer to a plate.
- Add the walnuts to the hot oil and fry for about a minute, until crispy. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the walnuts to the plate with the beef.
- In a bowl, combine the honey, rice wine, soy sauce, grated ginger, vinegar and salt.
- Carefully remove all but 2 tablespoons of the oil from the wok. Return the oil to high heat, then add the honey sauce. Simmer for 15 seconds to make a glaze. Add the beef and walnuts, reduce the heat to medium high, and stir until evenly glazed, about 3-5 minutes.
- To serve, place the beef and walnuts on a serving platter along with a serving bowl of rice. Sprinkle sesame seeds over the beef and serve at once.
- Makes 2 main or 4 side servings
Adapted from Williams Sonoma
Marian Lund says
Looks absolutely delicious! I need your opinion. Do you think it would spoil the dish if I halved the amount of honey? I’m diabetic and need to be careful with sugar.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thank you, Marian! That should be fine, the dish will still taste yummy :)
Joyce says
That really Soo yammy.. I have to try it on my own. Thanks a lot for the recipe.
Rosemary Nordstrom says
So…why does the glaze call for soy sauce, but there is no measurement given for it? (We only have the 1 Tbs for the meat sauce). And where does the extra tablespoon of corn starch go? I am guessing it would be added to the honey glaze to thicken it up, so will do that if that doesn’t look like it is happening, but would really like to know. Thank you.
Anonymous says
What beef do you use?
Anonymous says
I would like to know if i want to make it for a dinner party…
How many hours before i can keep the dish prepared?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
I wouldn’t recommend making this dish in advance or it will lose its crispiness. This dish is meant to be served immediately hot out of the wok.
Danelle Blaine says
I am so excited to make this! I ate this years ago at a restaurant in Kenya and have wanted to go back just for this! I could never find the recipe. Going to surprise my sister with this (her favorite meal) in December!! :) Thank you so much for the recipe!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
No kidding, Danelle, Kenya of all places! I’m happy you found this after so long and to image how thrilled your sister will be. Thank you and happy cooking!
Gale says
What kind of rice wine are you using here – is it shao xing or something else?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Gale! Shaoxing is a perfect option but if you don’t have any you can also substitute dry sherry or a Japanese sake.
Jennifer says
I made this tonight and it was fantastic! I served it with brown rice and steamed broccoli plus I used pecans instead since that’s what I had. I patted a lot of the oil off the meat and poured off all the oil before adding in the sauce. It was SO good!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
That’s awesome, Jennifer, I’m so glad to hear it – thank you!
Billynn says
I’m going to try this with venison! Thanks for the recipe!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Awesome, Billynn, let us know how it turns out!
Ellie says
I made this dish recently and absolutely LOVED it! It is now a favorite:)… Thank you so much for sharing the recipe. I posted the recipe on my blog as well… here is the link on case you’d like to see it.
http://homecookinginmontana.blogspot.com/2013/05/chinese-honey-glazed-beef-with-walnuts.html
The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Ellie! That’s great! I’ve had one other person get back to me about having made this and she said the same thing – that it was now a family favorite. It’s a fantastic dish and though it may look slightly intimidating at first, it’s really easy and quick to make. This is one of the few dishes I didn’t have the time to take step-by-step photos of, so that’s great that you did! Thanks for making it, for your feedback, and for visiting! :)