Beef and Cabbage Stir Fry | Quick, Savory & Sweet

This kind of stir-fry? It’s the backbone of everyday cooking in many Chinese homes—fast heat, big flavor, not a lot of ingredients.

You take what you’ve got, toss it in a hot pan, and hope the sauce comes together. And somehow, it always does.

Here, beef gives you that deep, meaty bite. Cabbage softens just enough to catch the sauce in all the right places.

Garlic does its usual heavy lifting, and before you know it, you’ve got something cozy, salty, a little sweet, and honestly kind of addictive.

It’s nothing fancy. But it hits exactly the way you want a midweek dinner to hit. And the taste? It’s ridiculously good—bold and savory with just enough edge to keep you going back for another bite.

The kind of dish that makes you pause mid-chew and go, “Oh wow, this is really good.”

More recipes like this

• Indonesian Beef Rendang
• Soto Betawi Recipe
• Pepper Lunch Beef Rice
• Beef Pho Noodle Soup
• Martabak Telur (with Beef!)
• Beef Curry Coconut Milk
• Easy Ground Beef Tikka Masala
• Simple Black Pepper Beef Udon
• Soto Daging | Indonesian Beef Soup
• Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup (Rich, Spicy, Authentic!)

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

No thinking required – It’s the recipe you make when you’re hungry and tired and everything feels like too much.

Savory in a way that clings to your rice – The sauce hugs the beef and cabbage in all the best ways.

Familiar, but better – Like something you’ve had before, but somehow more satisfying.

Use-what-you-have friendly – Any cabbage works. Same with the protein.

One pan, no stress – Clean-up is minimal, and it reheats like a champ.

Faster than takeout – You’ll be sitting down before the rice cooker even finishes.

Ingredients

Stir Fry

500 g ground beef

500 g cabbage (Napa, green, or whatever you’ve got)

1 tbsp cooking oil

3 garlic cloves, smashed

1 dried chili (optional, but worth it if you like heat)

3 scallions, chopped

Sauce

1 tbsp dark soy sauce

1 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tbsp regular soy sauce

1 tsp brown sugar (or more, if you like things sweet)

Before You Cook

Chop the cabbage into thick-ish ribbons. If the stems are dense, throw them in first. They take longer than the leafy parts. Let them lead the way.

How To Make It

1. Mix the Sauce

In a bowl, stir together the dark soy, oyster sauce, regular soy, and brown sugar. That’s it.

2. Sear the Beef

Get your pan hot. Splash in the oil. Garlic goes in first. Chili too, if you’re in the mood.

Add the beef. Break it up as it cooks, and let it brown in spots—maybe 4 or 5 minutes total. You’ll know it’s ready when it smells like dinner.

3. Add the Cabbage

Toss in the cabbage. Stir it around. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes until it softens a bit but still holds texture.

4. Sauce It

Pour in the sauce. Stir everything until sticky and clingy in the best way.

Taste and tweak until it hits.

5. Finish It

Toss in the scallions. Kill the heat. Serve it how you like—on rice, in a bowl, off the stove. I’ve done all three.

Final Thoughts

Some meals are special because they’re complicated. This one? It’s special because it isn’t.

It shows up when you need food to be simple, good, and fast. And sometimes, that’s all it needs to be.