It’s perfect for marinating and cooking up quickly either in a hot pan or on the grill. Because it is so thin, it cooks up in minutes, making it perfect for quick and easy weeknight meals. Like this particular recipe - pepper steak. I love a good Chinese pepper steak. You may have enjoyed this recipe at your local Chinese restaurant or take out. It’s essentially a classic steak stir fry made with sautéed steak, lots of cooked bell peppers, all tossed together in a simple yet highly flavorful sweet and savory brown sauce. Sometimes it is called pepper steak and rice, as it’s a Chinese-American dish popularly served over white rice or sometimes brown rice. This homemade version is so much better. You’ll never want to order take out again.
Soy Sauce - Low sodium soy sauce is good. Rice Vinegar Sesame Oil - Or vegetable oil.
For the veggies and seasoning:
Vegetable Oil - Olive oil is good, though I prefer a more neutral oil like canola oil or peanut oil. Sesame Oil - I love the flavor of sesame oil. Green Bell Pepper Red Bell Pepper - You can use other color bell peppers, too, like orange or striped. Jalapeño Peppers - Optional - use serrano peppers for even spicier pepper steak! White Onion Garlic Powder - Or fresh garlic. Fresh Ginger
For the pepper steak sauce:
Soy Sauce Rice Vinegar Cornstarch Brown Sugar - Or use honey. Paprika - Or use cayenne for more heat. Ground Black Pepper - To taste.
Marinate. Marinate in the refrigerator at least 10 minutes. You can marinate longer if you’d like, even overnight. I usually start my marinade in the morning, if I’ve planned ahead. Sauté the peppers and onions. Heat the sesame oil and vegetable oil in a large skillet to medium-high heat and add the peppers and onions. Cook them for 5 minutes to soften. Use other chili peppers as desired. I toss in jalapeños or serranos for extra heat for me. Garlic and ginger. Add the garlic and ginger and cook another minute, stirring, until you can smell that gorgeous garlic. Remove from heat and set the vegetables into a bowl. Save the oil in the pan. Cook the steak. Heat the same pan to high heat. Add the beef to the skillet and cook for 1-2 minutes per side, until cooked to your liking. Cook time can vary. Return the vegetables. Add the cooked vegetables into the pan and stir. Make the sauce. In a small bowl, whisk together the sauce ingredients until well combined. Stir in the sauce. Stir the sauce into the pepper steak and heat, stirring, until it thickens in the pan, about 1 minute. Cook and stir. Be sure to keep stirring lightly, as this will help thicken the sauce more evenly, and also helps to coat everything nicely. Big flavor here! Serve! I serve mine over white rice with chili flakes and scallions, maybe some sesame seeds. Pepper steak and rice is so good. Reheat for 30 seconds at a time in the microwave, stirring each time it stops, until warmed all the way through.
