Pepper Steak

Don't get me wrong, I love a good stir-fry, but sometimes I find myself picking out those little trees ( (sorry, beef & broccoli!). When I'm just not feeling it, I turn to one of my favorite easy dinners: pepper steak. Instead of broccoli, this tender steak stir-fry is loaded with plenty of bell peppers and a classic, simple sauce that brings everything together with very little effort. I think it’s perfect as is, but like most of our stir-fry recipes, this recipe is also ripe for variations and additions depending on what you have on hand. Here's what you need to know to make this 30-minute dinner:

What People Are Saying:
“This was deeeeeelicious!! Even times were perfect for cooking. Followed recipe exactly as written. My hubby and son said it was better than restaurant! Thanks for easy and delicious recipe!” - RedBug

How To Make Pepper Steak

INGREDIENTS

• Soy Sauce: This classic sauce is going to act as the base for our sauce, adding plenty of salty, umami flavor. For this recipe I suggest using reduced-sodium soy sauce to cut down on the saltiness just a bit, but in a pinch whatever soy sauce you have on hand will work (just be mindful when you season).
• Rice Wine Vinegar: Stir-fry needs a little bit of acidity to balance out all the rich and salty flavors, and rice wine vinegar is the perfect way to achieve this. Made from fermented rice, rice wine vinegar takes all of the starches and sugars in rice and converts them down to alcohol and then an acidic vinegar. If you don’t already keep rice wine vinegar in your pantry, this is a great excuse to pick some up! It is a great staple to have on hand for sauces and pickling.
• Light Brown Sugar: Since our sauce contains salty soy sauce and acidic rice wine vinegar, the sweet, molasses laden flavor of brown sugar helps to even the sauce out. It also does double service here in helping to thicken the sauce and give it that nice glossy finish.
• Cornstarch: We need cornstarch here to thicken the sauce. A little bit goes a long way, so I always recommend starting off small, whisking in completely and then working up to the desired consistency. If you need to add more later, a great tip for thickening any sauce without having any sort of chalky texture is by creating a slurry of cornstarch and water and adding that into the sauce.
• Vegetable Oil: For a stir-fry we need an oil with a high smoke point, because our skillet is going to get hot and stay hot. Any neutral oil like vegetable, canola, or even peanut oil will work.
• Flank Steak: Flank steak is my cut of choice for pepper steak—it’s marbled with fat, full of beefy flavor, and easy to cut into thin, tender slices. That being said, flank isn’t your only option. Skirt steak will give you a very similar result, or if you’re looking for a cheaper choice, sirloin is another great option.
• Green & Red Bell Pepper: Green, yellow, orange, and red bell peppers are all actually the same vegetable, just at different points of ripeness. Green will be the least ripe and most vegetal, while red will be the sweetest and most ripe. Feel free to use any combination of bell peppers based on your personal preference.
• Ginger & Garlic: This is a classic combination that makes stir-fry so easy to make again and again and again. The aroma and flavor combo these two root vegetable spices bring to any dish is sure to be a winner.
• White Rice: My choice to serve with this pepper steak stir-fry is white rice, but feel free to play around with your favorite variety of rice or even noodles. With stir-fry the world is your oyster.

STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS

To start this dish we need to make the sauce first. Combine soy sauce, vinegar, brown sugar, and cornstarch in a medium bowl and whisk them together to combine, until the sauce is completely homogenous and there are no streaks or clumps of unincorporated cornstarch.

Then heat a large skillet over high heat and add in a tablespoon of vegetable oil, allowing it to heat with the skillet. Once hot, add in the steak and cook, turning occasionally, for about 8 minutes or until each piece is browned on all sides. Depending on the size of your skillet, you may need to do this in batches to allow each piece of steak to have enough room to cook through evenly. Once all of your steak is cooked, set it aside.

Drop your heat down to medium and add in the remaining oil and bell peppers. Cook the peppers for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they are softened, then add in the garlic and ginger and stir while cooking for 1 minute more. Add the cooked steak and sauce into the skillet and stir to combine. If necessary, season with salt and pepper and stir again to mix thoroughly. Cook the mixture for another 2 minutes until the sauce is glossy and slightly thickened, then remove from the heat.

Prepare bowls with cooked white rice and divide the stir-fry evenly among each, being sure to give each serving a healthy amount of sauce.

The full list of ingredients and instructions can be found in the recipe below.

Recipe Tips

• Adapt the recipe to work for you. I love stir-fry recipes like this one for how easy and adaptable they are. Once you have the sauce down, you can really add whatever you want. I like to use both red and green peppers, but you can swap in whatever colors you like best. Throw in some thinly sliced onions, mushrooms, or even broccoli if you’re really missing it. Want to up the heat? Toss in a jalapeño. Not a fan of beef? This stir-fry will also work great with chicken or tofu.
• Make it in the slow cooker. If you want to make this meal more hands-off, turn to our Crockpot pepper steak recipe!

What To Serve With Pepper Steak

This dish is perfect served alongside a steaming bowl of rice, but you can also serve this stir-fry with rice noodles if you prefer. Pepper steak is practically a meal all on its own, but if you’re looking for side ideas, some bok choy, smashed cucumber salad, or papaya salad would make great additions.

Storage

Any leftovers that you have can be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 to 4 days. When reheating, you may want to whip up some fresh sauce, as the leftovers won’t be quite as moist as the first go around.