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Hawaiian Beef Teriyaki is tender, juicy, and so flavorful! Thinly sliced beef drizzled with a simple homemade teriyaki sauce, this dish is a family favorite!
This Hawaiian Beef Teriyaki is one of my favorite teriyaki recipes, and one that reminds me of my time living in Hawaii. Tender beef strips soak up the homemade teriyaki sauce and creates a sweet, almost candy-like flavor. Served with a simple side of rice or a traditional Hawaiian plate lunch, this beef is my family’s favorite!
Ingredients in Hawaiian Beef Teriyaki
This recipe really only need a few ingredients, ones you probably have on hand right now! It’s a terrific weekend meal when you want to throw something delicious together without a lot of fuss. Here’s all you need:
- A pound of skirt steak or carne asada – make sure it’s thinly sliced.
- Can of pineapple chunks with juice – you’ll use the juice in the sauce and serve the pineapple chunks alongside the meat.
- Soy sauce – you can also add a tbsp of rice vinegar into the marinade.
- Brown sugar – dark brown sugar gives the marinade a deep color and delicious flavor.
- Garlic cloves – mince with a knife or grate into the marinade.
- Minced ginger – buy fresh ginger and store it in the freezer for maximum freshness.
- Sesame seeds – optional for garnish
- Red pepper flakes – a tiny pinch adds a ton of heat to the stir-fry recipe, so you can add just a bit if you want it spicy.
- You can add all sorts of veggies to this dish too: green onions, sliced carrot, zucchini, green bell peppers, mushrooms, sliced red bell pepper, snow peas, asparagus, onion, or broccoli florets .
Tips for Tender Beef Teriyaki
- In a small bowl, marinate thinly sliced flank steak or Carne Asada in the homemade teriyaki sauce for at least six hours in the fridge to really get the meat nice and tender. If you can marinate it overnight that’s even better, but no longer than 24 hours.
- Make sure the meat is stored in an airtight container or a Ziplock bag while marinating.
- Because the beef is so thin, you can even cook this on the stove top instead of a grill. It’ll cook up in just a couple of minutes!
- You can even use sirloin steak and make this recipe into kabobs. Skewer chunks of meat and marinate as directed. Then throw on the grill with some fresh pineapple. So yummy!
Simple Homemade Sauce
- Ditch the bottled teriyaki sauce for this teriyaki beef stir fry and make your own! All you need are a few simple pantry ingredients like soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, ginger and cornstarch. Mix with pineapple juice and you have a flavorful marinade and sauce that you’ll want to drizzle over just about anything!
- Use the simple teriyaki sauce as a marinade for chicken, shrimp, burgers, stir fry or vegetables.
- To thicken extra marinade for a sauce whisk a cornstarch mixture into the sauce. Bring to a boil, then drizzle over meat, veggies or rice.
How to Store Leftovers
- Leftovers make a delightful lunch the next day! You can store beef tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to three days.
- Freeze leftover meat too! Keep it in a freezer-safe container for up to two months. Thaw in the refrigerator then microwave or toss on the grill once more, just to warm it up.
- Use leftovers to create a delicious stir-fry! Just chop up any kind of veggies you like, then sauté meat with the vegetables in a frying pan, then serve alone or over rice. Delicious!
Frequently Asked Questions
Something smaller, like a Foreman grill or a grill pan on top of your stove works great. Or you can use a large frying pan, wok, or skillet. You just won’t have the smoky grilled taste.
We generally use a can of pineapple along with the juice. But fresh pineapple would absolutely work and taste delicious.
This exact recipe serves 4-6 people. I often double the sauce recipe for extra dipping and drizzling.
We like to use flank steak, skirt steak, or carne asada.
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More Authentic Hawaiian Recipes:
Loco Moco
Chicken Long Rice
Hawaiian Teriyaki Chicken
Kalua Pork
Authentic Hawaiian Mac Salad
Haupia
Malasadas
Chocolate Haupia Pie
How to Make Hawaiian Beef Teriyaki
Hawaiian Beef Teriyaki
Video
Equipment
Ingredients
- 15 ounces pineapple chunks with juice
- 1 cup soy sauce
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon minced ginger
- 1 pound skirt steak sliced very thin (carne asada works GREAT)
Instructions
- Mix together all ingredients, excluding beef. Set aside about ½ cup of the sauce, cover and refrigerate.
- Place beef in a Ziploc bag and pour marinade over. Press out all the air, seal, and marinate for at least 6 hours (overnight works great).
- Over prepared grill on medium-high heat, grill steak a minute or two on each side until cooked to your desired doneness. With the steak being so thin, you don't have to grill it for too long.
- Place beef in a large bowl, pour the reserved ½ cup of sauce over the cooked beef and stir until well covered.
- Serve with rice and/or grilled fresh pineapple.
Notes
- You can also use sirloin steak, cut into chunks. Thread marinated beef onto skewers and grill.
- Use this same marinade for amazing teriyaki burgers.
- Nutrition information does not include rice.
Sounds like it is amazing — hoping to try this soon for adult children — BIG thing for me is the recipe for the teriyaki sauce — allergies mean I need to make much of what I use — keeping the chemicals/preservatives out of my diet.
In this dish, “ Hawaiian beef teriyaki “ I don’t think you used skirt steak as you stated in the listings. Is seems like from what I see, it’s rather a sirloin steak.
So which one is it?😂
We used skirt steak!
Do you use fresh pineapple or canned?
We use canned most of the time, out of convenience, but fresh pineapple can also be used. Thanks for asking!
Fresh when available
Great Teriyaki recipe. I doubled it and modified slightly:
20oz crushed pineapple
2 cups low sodium soy sauce
1-1/2 cup brown sugar
5 garlic cloves, microplaned
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, microplaned
Combine ingredients in bowl and whisk until combined. Put beef into large plastic baggie and pour just enough of the teriyaki over beef to marinade. Pour remaining teriyaki into a large pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce to medium and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until desired consistency is achieved. Remove from heat and strain in to a storage bottle and refrigerate.
Thank you for sharing this!
My family loved this recipe and they keep begging me to make it again, thank you so much for sharing!
This came out so juicy. A new addition to my dinner rotation.
Wish I was back in Hawaii!! This is so mouthwatering! The flavors are incredible & the meat is so tender!