This Chinese pepper steak recipe is a quick and easy stir-fry loaded with tender beef, peppers and onions in a brown sauce. It’s a must-try restaurant classic!
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.
Best Cut of Beef for Stir-fry
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?
- Flank steak: We prefer flank steak for our beef stir-fry recipes like this one and Beef and Broccoli. Flank steak is both tender (as long as you cut it against the grain) and has a nice beefy flavor. The one downside is that it can be expensive.
- London Broil: For a lower-priced option, London Broil (also known as top round steak or top round roast) is easy to slice and economical, but be aware—it is quite lean, which means it will be a bit drier and need a longer time to marinate/tenderize.
- Chuck Steak or Roast: This is probably the cheapest cut you can use. This is the same cut you’d use for a pot roast, and it is a decent option because you can pick a marbled piece with some nice streaks of fat. Chuck does take more time to prepare (you’ll need to let it tenderize longer—more on that in our post on how to prepare beef for stir-fry) but it can rival more expensive cuts like flank steak, which is almost twice the price.
Why is my beef stir-fry tough?
If you have made beef stir fries like this before, you may have had the problem of tough beef. You may ask yourself, “What am I doing wrong? The pepper steak I get at Chinese restaurants is so tender and juicy!”
The answer is velveting your beef. You’ll notice our recipe includes directions for preparing the beef before cooking. These few extra steps go a long way.
For our complete guide on selecting and preparing beef for stir-fry, see our popular post on How to Velvet Beef. The general instructions there vary slightly from this recipe, but you can follow the directions below.
More of Our Favorite Beef Recipes:
In addition to this pepper steak recipe, here are some of our other top beef recipes!
- Beef and Broccoli – so good that you’ll be amazed you made it in your own kitchen!
- Mongolian Beef – one of our most popular blog recipes
- Hunan Beef – crispy and delicious
- Kung Pao beef – everybody likes a good kung pao!
- Beef Chow Fun – just like in Chinatown
- Beef Fried Rice – a takeout favorite
- Beef Lo Mein – one of our go-to orders!
Substitutions:
Using trusted brands of Chinese soy sauces, oyster sauce, and Shaoxing wine will help you achieve delicious results at home, but don’t fret if you don’t have everything!
You can make some substitutions, like using dry cooking sherry if you can’t find Shaoxing wine. Read more about dark soy sauce substitutions if you can’t find it.
If you’re wondering about oyster sauce, it makes all stir fries tastier and is highly recommended as one of our 10 Chinese pantry essentials. We like Lee Kum Kee Premium Oyster Sauce, but if you’re gluten-free, they also make a gluten-free version (look for the green panda label).
We recommend using a low sodium chicken stock for extra flavor in the pepper steak sauce. You might think that beef broth would be best, but chicken stock adds another dimension to the dish!
Using a wok will get you the best wok hei flavor at home, but you can also use your preferred large skillet.
To thicken the sauce, instead of cornstarch you can also use potato starch or tapioca starch. All three are gluten-free!
Pepper Steak Recipe Instructions:
Step 1: Prepare Your Beef
Slice the beef into 3-inch (7.5cm) strips, about ⅛” to ¼” (about 4-5mm) thick. To make slicing easier, do it when the beef is still slightly frozen and firm. Then velvet the beef: in a medium bowl, mix the beef with water, cornstarch, oil, oyster sauce, Shaoxing wine, and baking soda.
Set aside for at least 30 minutes or overnight in the refrigerator. (Longer marinating time is ideal for tougher cuts like London broil or chuck roast.)
Step 2: Make the Pepper Steak Sauce:
Make the sauce by mixing together the chicken stock, cornstarch, oyster sauce, Shaoxing wine, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, and white pepper. Set aside.
Step 3: Prep the vegetables
Cut the bell peppers and onion into 1-inch (2.5cm) 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.
Step 4: Pre-cook the beef
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 back to your marinating bowl, and set aside. The beef should be about 80% cooked.
Step 5: Cook the rest of the dish
Reduce the heat to medium-high. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil. Toss in the ginger (if using), and caramelize for about 10 seconds. Then add the garlic, bell peppers, and onions.
Stir-fry for 1 minute.
Then add the beef along with any juices. Stir-fry for 15 seconds until combined.
Increase the heat to high. Stir up the sauce to re-incorporate the cornstarch, and add it to the wok.
Stir-fry to coat everything in the sauce, which should thicken from the cornstarch. (Add more stock or water if the sauce looks too thick, or let the sauce cook down further if it is too thin.)
Once the sauce is simmering and thickened to your liking, transfer to a serving plate, and serve your pepper steak with rice!
Pepper Steak
Ingredients
- 12 ounces flank steak (or London boil or chuck roast)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons water
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons neutral oil
- 2 teaspoons oyster sauce
- 2 teaspoons Shaoxing wine
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
For the rest of the dish:
- 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 1/2 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/8 teaspoon white pepper (or to taste)
- 1 green bell pepper
- 1/2 red bell pepper
- 1 medium onion
- 2 tablespoons neutral oil
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger (minced, optional)
- 2 cloves garlic (chopped)
Instructions
- Slice the beef into 3-inch (7.5cm) strips, about ⅛” to ¼” (about 4-5mm) thick. To make slicing easier, do it when the beef is still slightly frozen and firm. Then velvet the beef: in a medium bowl, mix the beef with water, cornstarch, oil, oyster sauce, Shaoxing wine, and baking soda. Set aside for at least 30 minutes or overnight in the refrigerator. (Longer marinating time is ideal for tougher cuts like London broil or chuck roast.)
- Make the sauce by mixing together the chicken stock, cornstarch, oyster sauce, Shaoxing wine, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, and white pepper. Set aside.
- Cut the bell peppers and onion into 1-inch (2.5cm) 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 back to your marinating bowl, 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 (if using), and caramelize for about 10 seconds. Then add the garlic, bell peppers, and onions. Stir-fry for 1 minute.
- Then add the beef along with any juices. Stir-fry for 15 seconds until combined. Increase the heat to high. Stir up the sauce to re-incorporate the cornstarch, and add it to the wok.
- Stir-fry to coat everything in the sauce, which should thicken from the cornstarch. (Add more stock or water if the sauce looks too thick, or let the sauce cook down further if it is too thin.) Once the sauce is simmering and thickened to your liking, transfer to a serving plate, and serve with steamed rice!
