Beef Tomato is a classic local Hawaii dish. This stir fry has Chinese origins and features juicy beef, tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, and celery cooked with plenty of garlic, ginger, oyster sauce, and soy sauce. Hearty and packed with vegetables, this super satisfying dish is a wonderful crowd pleaser. Serve with a big bowl of hot rice!
Why This Recipe Works
Beef Tomato is a local favorite in Hawaii! It is an easy to make stir fry dish.
We love this recipe for a quick lunch or dinner when we want a hearty homemade meal, but don't want to spend too much time preparing it.
The dish is packed with vegetables (tomatoes, celery, bell peppers!) and lots of flavor from ginger, garlic, and onions.
We season with stir fry sauce made from oyster sauce, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame oil. These are all pantry ingredients that all appear in many recipes on this site.
Use any kind of beef you have available. Slice it thin and quickly marinate in a cornstarch, soy sauce, and sesame oil mixture.
Many popular local dishes in Hawaii have Asian origins. Beef Tomato is originally a Chinese dish. It was introduced to Hawaii during the plantation era (1800s) and like many other dishes, got "Hawaii-ized" over time. So what we have today is essentially a Chinese dish with Hawaii influences.
Ingredients
Here's what you'll need to make this recipe:
- Beef (flank steak), thinly sliced
- Garlic cloves, minced
- Ginger, minced
- Onion, sliced
- Green pepper, sliced
- Celery stalks, diagonally sliced
- Tomato, sliced
- Green onion stalks, cut into 1-inch long pieces
Marinade (for the beef)
Stir Fry Sauce
Step by Step Directions
Let's get cooking!
Marinate the beef.
In a large bowl, combine the beef with the cornstarch, sesame oil, and soy sauce. Mix until the beef is evenly coated. Set aside and let marinate for 10 minutes.
Make the stir fry sauce.
In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch and water. Stir to dissolve the cornstarch. Then stir in the oyster sauce, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame oil. Set aside.
Pro Tip: If you mix the cornstarch with all the other sauce ingredients at the same time, the cornstarch will clump and have a hard time dissolving.
This is why you want to mix the cornstarch with the water first. Use cold or room temperature water (hot water will make the cornstarch clump).
Cook the beef.
In a large pan over high heat, add the marinated beef and cook for 2 minutes (until browned). Remove the beef from the pan when it is about 80% cooked. Set aside on a plate.
Cook the vegetables.
In the same pan over medium-high heat, add a little oil and the garlic and ginger. Saute for 2 minutes. Add the onion, green pepper, and celery. Saute for 2-3 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook for another 2 minutes.
Note: Some people like their vegetables more cooked, others like their vegetables less cooked. I like the vegetables on the more cooked side. Adjust the cooking time accordingly.
Add the beef back.
Slide the beef back into the pan, cook for 1 minute. Add the green onions and cook for 1 more minute.
Add the stir fry sauce and finish.
Add the sauce mixture to the pan. Stir to mix and bring everything to a quick boil. All finished! Turn off the heat. Plate and serve with a big bowl of rice.
FAQs and Tips
Leftovers keep 2-3 days in the refrigerator. Reheat in the microwave.
Yes! Sometimes we use boneless chicken thighs. It's not quite the same and the dish would be Chicken Tomato instead of Beef Tomato hehe, but still tasty.
Some local recipes also call for ketchup and Worcestershire sauce (mix these ingredients with the stir fry sauce). I've also tasted versions without celery, and other versions with both red and green bell peppers. Some call for many more tomatoes. When I try to make it a little "healthier," I use less beef and a lot more vegetables.
The cornstarch works as a thickener, turning the liquid sauce into a gravy. You can add more cornstarch if you want the sauce more thick. Or you can use less cornstarch (or omit entirely) if you'd prefer a more thin sauce. It's totally up to you.
I use flank steak or whatever looks good / is on sale at the market. Other good options are sirloin and round. If you want a *fancy* version, use boneless rib eye.
Beef Tomato Recipe
See below and enjoy ^_^
Beef Tomato
Beef Tomato is a classic local Hawaii dish. This stir fry has Chinese origins and features juicy beef, tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, and celery cooked with plenty of garlic, ginger, oyster sauce, and soy sauce. Hearty and packed with vegetables, this super satisfying dish is a wonderful crowd pleaser. Serve with a big bowl of hot rice!
Ingredients
- 1 pound beef (flank steak), thinly sliced
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 1-inch knob of ginger, minced
- 1 onion, sliced
- 1 green pepper, sliced
- 2 celery stalks, diagonally sliced
- 1 tomato, sliced
- 2 green onion stalks, cut into 1-inch long pieces
Marinade
Stir Fry Sauce
Instructions
- Marinate the beef. In a large bowl, combine the beef with the cornstarch, sesame oil, and soy sauce. Mix until the beef is evenly coated. Set aside and let marinate for 10 minutes.
- Make the stir fry sauce. In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch and water. Stir to dissolve the cornstarch. Then stir in the oyster sauce, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame oil. Set aside.
- Cook the beef. In a large pan over high heat, add the marinated beef and cook for 2 minutes (until browned). Remove the beef from the pan when it is about 80% cooked. Set aside on a plate.
- Cook the vegetables. In the same pan over medium-high heat, add a little oil and the garlic and ginger. Saute for 2 minutes. Add the onion, green pepper, and celery. Saute for 2-3 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook for another 2 minutes.
- Slide the beef back into the pan, cook for 1 minute. Add the green onions and cook for 1 more minute.
- Add the sauce mixture to the pan. Stir to mix and bring everything to a quick boil. All finished! Turn off the heat. Plate and serve with a big bowl of rice.
Notes
- You can replace the beef with chicken to make "chicken tomato."
- Cornstarch is to help thicken and turn the sauce into a gravy. If you prefer a thinner sauce, you can reduce or omit the cornstarch.
Hi Kathy: Another great, old-time dish! I love beef tomato too. Whenever I have an abundance of tomatoes, I make this dish. Other old-time dishes I make are Hawaiian chop steak, and canned corned beef and onions. Yup, I am an old school, old-timer that loves those olden days simple dishes that we made for our meals back in Hawaii.
Hi Alan! Corned beef recipe is coming up soon, that's a forever favorite 🙂 I'm not as familiar with chop steak, would love to learn more about it. Simple comfort food is always da best.
- Kathy
@Kathy, Hawaiian Chopped Steak is just stir fried beef slices with round onions, celery, bell peppers, and sometimes people add other veggies too. Some people make a corn starch slurry with shoyu to add to the dish, but I just use salt and pepper. I eat it with rice and worcestershire sauce and catsup. LOL! Very simple old style food.
Thanks, Alan! Sounds similar to Beef Tomato and also super ono. Simple old style always makes me so happy. Thank you for sharing 🙂
- Kathy