Beef Shawarma DIY Recipe

My friend, who is roughly at the same level of cooking skills as me (so let’s call her a beginner haha) recommended this Shawarma Recipe to me. In her words – it is ridiculously simple but very yummy. Well, those are the two magic words for me! So today, I decided to whip up Beef Shawarma. And let me tell you, it’s really really good.

DELECTABLE DISH FOR THE DAY: BEEF SHAWARMA

DIFFICULTY: Easy

SERVING SIZE: Good for 5 people

PREP TIME: 30 minutes (the chopping takes up so much of my time!! I need a faster way to mince garlic)

COOK TIME: 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS FOR BEEF SHAWARMA

For the beef toppings and pita

• 1kg ground beef (I suspect you can make do with less, but my family is made up of hungry eaters)
• 12 cloves chopped garlic
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 4 tbsp oyster sauce
• 6 tbsp brown sugar
• 20 pcs tortilla wrap

For the vegetable toppings

• 1 cucumber, sliced
• 6 tomatoes, sliced
• 2 onions, sliced

For the garlic mayo sauce

• 220ml mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp white vinegar
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup water

STEP-BY-STEP PROCESS TO MAKE BEEF SHAWARMA

Cook the beef

• Mince 16 cloves of garlic (12 cloves for the beef, 4 cloves for the sauce). This took me 20+ minutes to mince. How to speed things up, seriously?!

• Add a dash of oil to the pan, then sauté the 12 cloves of garlic over medium high heat until lightly toasted

• Add 1kg ground beef and set flame to high heat. Sauté until the ground beef is cooked (no longer pink)

• Then, add 2 tbsp soy sauce, 4 tbsp oyster sauce, 6 tbsp brown sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp ground black pepper. Mix thoroughly
• Continue sautéing the beef until fully caramelized. It is incredibly tempting to stop mid-way but resist temptation and don’t stop until the beef has caramelized…

• Once caramelized, strain the excess oil from the beef, because otherwise it’s a bit disgusting to be honest. Waaay too much oil

Prepare the vegetables, garlic mayo sauce, and tortilla

• Slice the cucumbers, tomatoes, and onion
• In a bowl, add 220ml mayonnaise (essentially the equivalent of 1 Lady’s Choice mayonnaise), 1 tbsp white vinegar, 4 cloves minced garlic, 1 tbsp brown sugar, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp ground black pepper, 1/4 cup water. Then, mix thoroughly

• Supposedly, afterwards, you should strain out the garlic bits. BUT, I spent such a long time mincing those garlic, I decided to hell with it. We are eating those garlic! So I didn’t bother straining haha! Whatever, it was still pretty good.

• As you’re preparing the vegetables and garlic mayo sauce, toast your tortilla wrap in the toaster so it’s nice and warm

Bon Appetit!