Beef Chilli Dry Recipe with Garlic Fried Rice (Gul Shinwari Style)
Beef chilli dry is a Pakistani Chinese restaurant favourite: thin strips of beef coated in egg and cornflour, fried, then tossed with capsicum, green chillies and a dark, tangy sauce. We filmed it at Gul Shinwari Restaurant in North Nazimabad, Karachi, where it is served with garlic fried rice. This page covers both.
Serves: 3–4 people | Prep: 20 min + marinating | Cook: 25 min
Difficulty: Medium | Best for: weekend dinners, Chinese night at home
Heat level: Medium to hot, from green chillies and white pepper
Watch the Beef Chilli Dry Video
The full video plays inside the recipe card below. To jump straight to one step, open it on YouTube:
What Makes Restaurant Beef Chilli Dry Different
Undercut, sliced like chicken. The cook uses tender beef undercut and slices it thin, the same way chicken is cut for chilli dry. Thick or tough beef will not cook in the short frying time.
Egg and cornflour coating. The coating seals the beef while it fries and helps the sauce cling to it later.
Fried on medium, not high. The oil should be hot but the flame moderate, and the strips stirred so each one stays separate.
A short, dark sauce. Chicken powder, white pepper, a pinch of sugar, oyster sauce, dark soy sauce and lemon juice are mixed in a bowl first and added all at once, so nothing burns in the hot wok.
Ingredient Notes
- Beef: undercut (tenderloin) is best. Half-freeze it for 30 minutes to slice it thin.
- Chicken powder: a stock powder used in Pakistani Chinese cooking. A crumbled chicken stock cube works too; reduce the salt.
- Oyster sauce: gives the sauce its body and gloss. If you skip it, add a little more soy sauce and a pinch more sugar.
- Rice: boil it the day before and chill it, so the grains stay separate when fried.
Beef Chilli Dry and Garlic Fried Rice Ingredients
| Ingredient | Amountserves 3–4 | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Beef marinade | ||
| Beef undercut, thinly sliced | 500 g* | cut like chicken strips |
| White pepper powder | ½ tsp | |
| Salt | ½ tsp | |
| Chicken powder | 1 tsp | |
| Cornflour | 2 tbsp* | |
| Egg | 1 | |
| Oil for frying | for deep or shallow frying | medium heat |
| Chilli dry | ||
| Cooking oil | 2 tbsp | |
| Garlic, chopped | 1 tbsp | |
| Onion, cubed | 1 small | |
| Capsicum, sliced | 1 | |
| Green chillies, slit | 6–8 | |
| Spring onion greens | a handful | |
| Sauce | ||
| Chicken powder | ½ tsp | |
| White pepper powder | ¼ tsp | |
| Sugar | ¼ tsp | |
| Oyster sauce | 1 tbsp | |
| Dark soy sauce | 1 tbsp | |
| Lemon juice | 1 tsp | |
| Garlic fried rice | ||
| Boiled rice | 2 cups | day-old rice works best |
| Cooking oil | 2 tbsp | |
| Garlic, chopped | 1 tbsp | sauteed light brown |
| Green capsicum, chopped | ¼ cup | |
| Salt | ¼ tsp | |
| White pepper powder | ¼ tsp | as said in the video |
The spice and sauce amounts follow what the cook says in the video. *The beef weight and cornflour amount are not stated, so they are our estimate for these spice amounts.
Step-by-Step: How Beef Chilli Dry Is Made
1. Slice and marinate the beef
Slice the undercut thin. Add the white pepper, salt, chicken powder and cornflour, then the egg, and mix well. Let it rest so the flavour sets in.
2. Cut the vegetables
Slice the capsicum and green chillies, cube the onion and cut the spring onion greens.
3. Fry the beef on medium heat
Heat the oil, then fry the beef on a medium flame, stirring so the pieces do not stick together. Lift out and drain once golden.
4. Toss with vegetables and sauce
Mix the sauce ingredients in a bowl. In a hot wok with a little oil, fry the garlic, add the fried beef for a minute, then the vegetables. Pour in the sauce and toss until everything is coated.
5. Make the garlic fried rice
Saute the garlic in oil for 30 seconds to a minute until light brown. Add the capsicum and boiled rice, season with salt and white pepper and toss well.
6. Plate and serve
Put the garlic rice on one side of the plate and the beef chilli dry beside it. Serve hot.
The Complete Beef Chilli Dry Recipe
Beef Chilli Dry with Garlic Fried Rice
Ingredients
Method
- Mix the beef with the white pepper, salt, chicken powder, cornflour and egg. Rest for about 30 minutes.
- Fry the beef in hot oil on a medium flame, keeping the pieces separate. Drain.
- Mix the sauce ingredients in a bowl.
- Heat 2 tbsp oil in a wok, fry the garlic, add the beef for 1 minute, then the vegetables.
- Pour in the sauce and toss until coated.
- Saute the garlic in oil until light brown.
- Add the capsicum and rice, season with salt and white pepper and toss well.
- Serve with the beef chilli dry.
Video
Beef Chilli Dry Problems and How to Fix Them
- Chewy beef: the slices were too thick or the cut was tough. Use undercut and slice thin.
- Coating falls off: the oil was not hot enough, or the pieces were crowded. Fry in batches.
- Sticky rice: the rice was freshly boiled and still wet. Use cooled, day-old rice.
Beef Chilli Dry FAQs
Which beef cut is best for chilli dry?
Undercut (tenderloin), as used in the video. It stays tender with quick frying.
Can I make chicken chilli dry the same way?
Yes. Use boneless chicken strips and the same marinade and sauce.
What sauces go into beef chilli dry?
Oyster sauce, dark soy sauce and lemon juice, with chicken powder, white pepper and a little sugar.
Can I skip the egg?
You can, but the coating will be thinner. Add a little water to the cornflour so it still sticks.
More Restaurant Recipes
- Mutton Rosh: also filmed at Gul Shinwari Restaurant.
- Cholistani Chicken Karahi: a fast street-style karahi.
