A very traditional and perhaps forgotten Chinese takeout dish is Pepper Steak, which is simply beef, green bell peppers, and yellow onions cooked in a brown sauce.
Honestly, this wasn’t one of my favorite dishes to cook in the restaurant, but I’ve since developed a lighter, tastier remake.
Using a colorful mix of peppers makes for a great presentation and substituting the yellow onion with fresh leek adds better flavor to this dish.
You can also substitute scallions for the leeks (we used a variety of giant scallion that they have here in China, since we can’t really find leeks around these parts).
Recipe Instructions
Slice the beef into thin 3-inch strips. One good trick is to slice the meat when it is still slightly frozen, when it’s easier to handle.
Mix the beef in a bowl with soy sauce, oil, and a teaspoon of cornstarch. Set aside.
Mix the last 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with a tablespoon of water and set aside. For more complete information on preparing beef, see Bill’s post on How to Slice and Velvet Beef for stir fries.
Wash the peppers and leeks thoroughly (paying special attention to the leeks, which can be quite sandy). Chop the peppers and leeks into 1 ½ inch pieces.
A lot of times, in Western cooking, people will discard the green part of the leek, which is a mystery to us. In this dish, we’re using the entire leek! Mince the garlic.
Heat the wok over high heat until smoking, and add 1 tablespoon of oil to coat the wok. Add the whole dried red chili peppers (if using).
Add the beef. The heated wok will give the beef a great sear and prevent sticking. Remove the beef and chilis from the wok and set aside in a small bowl.
Heat the wok to high again and add another tablespoon of oil. Toss in the bell peppers, leeks, and garlic.
Stir-fry for a minute and add the Shaoxing wine to deglaze the pan. Next, add the seared beef and chilis, the dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, sesame oil, salt, and sugar.
Mix well and stir-fry for another minute.
You should have a good sizzle going with some liquid at the bottom of the wok. If you like more sauce for your rice, add some chicken or beef stock.
Finally, add the cornstarch slurry you made earlier to thicken the remaining liquid into a rich sauce. Serve immediately with steamed rice.
Tri-Color Pepper Steak with Leeks
Ingredients
- 8 oz. flank steak
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce (for the beef marinade)
- 1 teaspoon oil (plus more for cooking)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch (plus 1 teaspoon)
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 green bell pepper
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 yellow bell pepper
- 1 small leek
- 1 clove garlic (minced)
- 2 to 4 whole dried red chili peppers (optional)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons shaoxing wine
- 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon light or regular soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon sugar
Instructions
- Slice the beef into thin 3-inch strips and mix well in a bowl with soy sauce, oil, and a teaspoon of cornstarch. Set aside. One good trick is to slice the meat when it is still slightly frozen, when it’s easier to handle. Mix the last 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with a tablespoon of water and set aside.
- Wash the peppers and leeks thoroughly (paying special attention to the leeks, which can be quite sandy). Chop the peppers and leeks into 1 ½ inch pieces. A lot of times, in Western cooking, people will discard the green part of the leek, which is a mystery to us. In this dish, we’re using the entire leek! Mince the garlic.
- Heat the wok over high heat until smoking, and add 1 tablespoon of oil to coat the wok. Add the beef and dried chili peppers (if using). The heated wok will give the beef a great sear and prevent sticking. Remove the beef and chilis from the wok and set aside in a small bowl.
- Heat the wok to high again and add another tablespoon of oil. Toss in the bell peppers, leeks, and garlic. Stir-fry for a minute and add the wine to deglaze the pan. Next, add the seared beef and chilis, the 2 kinds of soy sauce, sesame oil, salt, and sugar. Mix well and stir-fry for another minute. You should have a good sizzle going with some liquid at the bottom of the wok. If you like more sauce for your rice, add some chicken or beef stock. Finally, add the cornstarch slurry you made earlier to thicken the remaining liquid into a rich sauce. Serve immediately with steamed rice.
hi bill I wonder why you didn’t like the traditional pepper steak and did a make over. I will try this soon. I love tradition and am just wondering why you re made it
Hi Steve, good question. Traditional pepper steak is made only with onions and bell peppers. I’ll have to take another look and bring it back ;-)
Do you have any “ non-hot” recipes for chicken gizzards and chicken livers, not in same dish though
Hi Jane, we don’t have any chicken gizzard or liver stir-fry recipes currently.
OK, but I wouldn’t make it again as it didn’t have much flavor.
Hi nunu, thanks for your comment. I’ll have to take another look at the recipe and see if it needs some improvement.
Just made this. I used a regular onion instead of leeks and sirloin because it’s what I had. What a great weeknight quick meal. Another winner! Thank you!
Hi Eileen, onions are a good choice for this dish also!
I just made this for the second time and shared with friends. It was a big hit! I didn’t get any heat off of the chilies so I may try and use fresh or chop them next time to get some heat. Regardless, the flavor is great. The meat is tender. I never knew I was missing out on leeks! So delicious!! Another great recipe from woks of life!
Hi Michelle, glad you enjoyed it. If you like heat/peppers and want another similarly tasty recipe, try our Beef and Pepper Stir-fry – one of Judy’s and my favorite recipes.
Easy and delicious! Thanks
Glad you enjoyed it Angi!
This is the first time I’ve made a pepper steak dish that my family actually really liked. Thank you!
You’re welcome Nicoal!
Hi! I’ve tried your scallion beef (omitting tofu because I live in a jurisdiction where tofu is not exactly cheap) and my husband loves it! I just made this today with extra chilli (fresh birds eye) and I think it’ll be a great hit too. Thanks for the recipes. My husband loves authentic mainland China food and your food has been really quick and easy to prepare (:
Hi Seraphina, great to hear and thanks for the kind comments! Next time you see leeks in the market, give those a try instead of the scallions and you’ll be pleasantly surprised ;-)
This looks great, definitely going to try it out this week!
Thanks Yvonne, Make sure when you heat the wok real hot in the cooking process and keep the veggies at room temp and you’ll get that coveted wok hay flavor. It’s ok to scorch the scallion and peppers which adds great flavor. Enjoy!