Hands-down better than your local Chinese take-out, this Chinese pepper steak recipe is a quick and easy stir-fry loaded with tender beef, peppers and onions in a luscious brown sauce. It hails from “The Woks of Life” by the Leung family.
Most of the time required for this recipe is in the preparation, but it’s not actually difficult to pull off. So long as you have everything prepared and within reach, things will go smoothly at the wok. The active cooking time in your wok or pan is less than 15 minutes before it’s ready to be served with steamed white rice.
Avoid any “pre-cut beef for stir-fry” that your grocery store sells. It usually looks like long rectangular beef sticks, cut from lean beef. These are too thick and chunky, and generally turn out tough. So what IS the best cut of beef for stir-fry?
The original recipe called for beef tenderloin. At nearly $35 per pound, we decided to go for something more reasonably priced and chose sirloin. Another option is flank steak, but we don’t advise using chuck roast which was listed as a substitute.
With several different pepper spices, we opted to use the lower amount, 1 1/2 tablespoons of ground black pepper. Using a full 2 tablespoons will likely be too much. While black pepper is a constant companion for salt in American kitchens, you don’t see it very often in Chinese cooking (it’s almost always white pepper.)
Black Pepper Beef
Ingredients
- For Velveting the Beef:
- 1 lb. flank steak, (or sirloin steak)
- 2 Tbsp. water
- 1 tsp. cornstarch
- 1 Tbsp. neutral oil
- 1/4 tsp. table salt
- For the Sauce:
- 1/2 cup beef stock or water, warmed
- 1 Tbsp. oyster sauce
- 1 Tbsp. light soy sauce
- 1 tsp. ketchup
- 1/2 tsp. sugar
- 1/4 tsp. sesame oil
- For the Pepper Seasoning:
- 1 1/2 to 2 Tbsp. coarsely ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp. white pepper
- 1/2 tsp. ground Sichuan peppercorns
- For the Rest of the Dish:
- 1 green bell pepper, cut into 1″pieces
- 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1″pieces
- 1 medium red onion, cut into 1″pieces
- 4 oz. cremini or button mushrooms, quartered
- 2 Tbsp. neutral oil
- 1/2 tsp. ginger
- 2 cloves garlic (chopped)
- 2 Tbsp. Shaoxing wine
- 2 tsp. cornstarch
- 1 Tbsp. water
Directions
- Slice the beef into 1 1/4-inch cubes. Then velvet the beef: in a medium bowl, mix the beef with 2 Tbsp. water, 1 tsp. cornstarch, 1 Tbsp. neutral oil, and 1/4 tsp. table salt. Toss to coat, then set aside for at least 30 minutes.
- Make the sauce by mixing together the beef stock, cornstarch, oyster sauce, Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, ketchup, sugar, and sesame oil. Set aside.
- Make the pepper seasoning in a small bowl by combining black pepper, white pepper, ground Sichuan peppercorns, and salt. Season the beef cubes with 2/3 of the pepper mix, pressing the spices into the beef. Reserve the rest for later.
- Cut the bell peppers and onion into 1-inch pieces. You can also cut them into thin strips if you like. Just make sure that the pepper and onion pieces are all about the same size, so they cook evenly.
- Heat the wok over high heat until smoking. Add 1 tablespoon of oil to coat the wok. Sear the beef on both sides, about 30 seconds per side. Give everything a final stir, transfer it to a plate, and set aside. The beef should be about 80% cooked.
- Reduce the heat to medium-high. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil. Toss in the ginger, and caramelize for about 10 seconds. Then add the garlic, bell peppers, and onions. Stir-fry for 1 minute. Pour the Shaoxing wine around the perimeter of the wok, then stir-fry for 1 minute.
- Add the sauce mixture, and stir it around to deglaze, loosening any browned bits in the wok. Combine 2 tsp. cornstarch and 1 Tbsp. water in a small bowl to make a slurry. Drizzle half the slurry into the wok, stirring constantly until it is thick enough to coat a spoon.
- Add the beef along with any juices. Gently toss with the sauce and vegetables until combined.
- At this point, if the sauce is not thick enough, add the remaining cornstarch slurry and stir-fry for another 10 to 15 seconds to thicken. Once the sauce is simmering and thickened to your liking, transfer it to a serving plate, and serve it with steamed rice!
Recipe from The Woks of Life by Bill Leung
Accounting for Taste 