Beef With Oranges and Spices
⏲ ~105 min total · prep 15 · cook 90 · 4 servings
Lunch⏱ 65 min total🔥 6.0g net carbs⚡ ≈575 kcal/serving~10% of calories from carbs
By the KFI Test Kitchen · Tested & approved by Jason Lieu, KFI recipe editor
Published Sep 15, 2026 · Updated Sep 15, 2026
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lb chuck steak, sliced 1/4 inch thick against the grain
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 onion, thinly sliced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 tsp equal parts ground cumin and ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 1/2 cups beef broth stirred with 1 tbsp tomato paste and 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 large navel orange, zested and cut into segments
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Instructions
- Toss the beef strips with the baking soda and 1/2 tsp salt and leave while you prep — this quick velveting keeps chuck silky in a short braise.
- Warm the olive oil in a wide 12-inch skillet with a lid over medium, add the onion and cook 8 minutes to soft golden at the edges.
- Push the onion aside, drop in the cinnamon stick, cumin, coriander, and pepper flakes, and toast 30 seconds until the spices smell nutty.
- Raise the heat to medium-high, add the beef in one layer, and sear 2 minutes undisturbed before stirring; cook 2 minutes more until the pink is mostly gone.
- Stir in the garlic, ginger, and tomato paste for 1 minute, then pour in the broth and vinegar, scraping the fond up and dropping to a bare simmer.
- Cover and simmer gently 30 minutes, until a fork slides into the strips with no resistance, then simmer uncovered 8 minutes until the sauce is thick enough to coat a spoon.
- Off the heat, fold in the orange segments and zest, let stand 3 minutes so the citrus warms without cooking bitter, and scatter cilantro over the top.
Why this recipe works
- Baking soda velveting A half teaspoon tossed with the beef strips while you prep keeps chuck silky through a short braise. It is the trick restaurant kitchens use on cheap cuts, and it costs nothing.
- Orange off the heat Segments and zest fold in after the pan comes off the burner, standing three minutes so the citrus warms without cooking bitter. Boiled orange turns harsh; warmed orange turns fragrant.
- Spices bloomed in oil Cinnamon, cumin, coriander, and pepper flakes toast in the fat for thirty seconds before the beef goes in. Thirty seconds is enough for the whole kitchen to notice.
Tips for making this recipe well
Slice against the grain first
Quarter-inch strips cut against the grain, before marinating, is what the method asks for. Once the beef is coated in baking soda, slicing gets harder to do cleanly.
Give the onion its eight minutes
Soft golden at the edges, not rushed. The onion sweetens the sauce base the same way it does in a stew.
One layer, two minutes undisturbed
The beef needs contact with the hot pan before you stir. Moving it early releases steam and slows the sear.
Two-stage simmer
Thirty minutes covered until a fork slides in with no resistance, then eight uncovered to thicken the sauce to a spoon-coating consistency. The second stage is what makes it a dish instead of a soup.
Fold the orange in last
Segments and zest go in off the heat for a three-minute stand. The citrus should be warm at the table, not cooked into the sauce.
Serving suggestions
Scatter the cilantro over the pan and bring it to the table directly, sauce and all, with the orange segments sitting bright on top. Sixty-five minutes from knife to table, and a serving costs 6 net carbs. The sauce is spoon-coating thick and wants something underneath to catch it. Cauliflower rice does that work well and stays out of the way of the cinnamon and citrus.
Storage and meal prep
The beef keeps 3 to 4 days covered in the fridge, and like most braises it is better the next day once the spices have settled into the sauce. Warm it gently over low heat, adding a splash of water if the sauce has tightened past spoon-coating. It freezes for 2 to 3 months. Fold fresh orange segments into the reheated dish rather than freezing them with the stew, since cooked segments go soft and bitter in the freezer.
Variations worth trying
- Lamb instead The same slices and velvet treatment work with lamb shoulder cut thin. Expect a gamier, richer pot that likes a little extra cilantro.
- More citrus Zest a second orange into the sauce with the broth. It deepens the aroma without adding sugar the way more juice would.
- Milder version Drop the pepper flakes to a pinch. The cinnamon and cumin carry enough warmth on their own for cautious palates.
- Greens at the end A handful of spinach stirred in with the uncovered eight minutes wilts into the sauce. It fits the spice profile and stretches the dish.
Frequently asked questions
What does the baking soda do?
It raises the surface pH of the beef so the proteins hold water instead of squeezing it out during cooking. That is why cheap chuck strips stay silky after thirty minutes of simmering.
Can I skip the velveting?
You can, and the dish still works, though the chuck will be chewier. The half teaspoon costs nothing and the difference is noticeable.
Why add the orange off the heat?
Orange segments turn bitter when boiled. Three minutes of residual heat warms them through and keeps the flavor bright instead of cooked.
How spicy is this dish?
Mildly warm. A half teaspoon of pepper flakes spread across a whole pot registers as background heat, and the cream-free sauce keeps everything else forward.
Can I use pre-sliced stir-fry beef?
Yes, and it saves the hardest prep. Check that the slices are cut against the grain, since with-the-grain strips stay stringy no matter how long they simmer.
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