How to Make Pepper Steak

Pepper steak is an easy stir-fry dish consisting of tender steak and bell peppers. Many recipes also include onions and tomatoes, and you can prepare the dish with or without an accompanying sauce. Here's how to make one simple variation of this dish.

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings

1 lb (450 g) flank steak
3 Tbsp (45 ml) soy sauce
1 Tbsp (15 ml) rice wine
2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp (5 ml) sugar
1 Tbsp (15 ml) cornstarch
2 medium bell peppers
1 medium yellow onion
12 cherry tomatoes. If unavailable, use 2 regular tomatoes.
1 cup (250 ml) beef gravy (optional)
Cooking oil

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Preparing the Steak

1
Cut the steak into slices. Slice the meat into 1/4-inch (6.35-mm) strips, cutting it against the grain.^{[1]
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- If the resulting strips are still larger than bite-size, cut them in half to divide the length.
- The grain refers to the direction in which the muscle fibers in the beef are aligned, and it can be spotted by examining your steak for fine lines. Cutting with the grain means will result in tough, stringy steak, while cutting against it will make the steak more tender.^{[2]
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- If you cannot find flank steak, look for top sirloin, beef round, or chuck steaks, instead. Steaks marked "for swissing" will also work.
2
Combine the sugar, cornstarch, soy sauce, rice wine, and minced garlic. Mix these five ingredients together in a large bowl with a tight lid. Continue stirring until the cornstarch thickens up the marinade.
- If you do not have rice wine, you could also use rice wine vinegar, dry sherry, or cooking sherry.
- If you do not have minced garlic, you could also use 1/4 tsp (1 ml) garlic powder, instead.
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3
Let the steak marinate. Place the steak in the bowl with the marinade and toss gently to coat. Let sit for 10 to 30 minutes.
- There should be just enough liquid to cover the pieces of steak.
- Cover the bowl and place it in the refrigerator as the steak marinates.

Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Preparing the Vegetables

1
Divide the onion into strips. Use a serrated knife to cut the onion into thin strips. You could also cut the onion into wedges.
- If you prefer a less pungent taste, you could reduce the amount of onion down to half an onion instead of a whole one.
- Slice both the stem and root ends off the onion. If you notice that the papery skin layers are starting to come off with one of the ends, grab these outer layers and peel them away. If they do not come off as easily, you may need to slide your fingernail beneath these outer layers to loosen them and peel them away.
- Cut the onion in half from top to bottom, then in half again in the same direction.
- Make a few slices, starting in the center of each wedge. Do this for each quarter until layered slices are left behind. These layers should break apart naturally when the slices are moved.
2
Cut the peppers into chunks. Use a sharp knife to cut the peppers into 1-inch (2.5-cm) pieces.
- Use one green bell pepper and one red bell pepper.
- Cut into each indentation in the pepper without detaching the slices from the center of the vegetable. Note where the indented sections of the pepper begin on the inside top, near the stem. Begin each slice at this starting point, but do not slice through into the bottom of the stem. Cut straight down from top to bottom, freeing the bottom of each slice but not the top.
- When all slices are made, use your fingers to gently break them off from the center of the pepper. The seeded part of the pepper, located just below the stem, should not break free. As a result, you should have very few seeds to clean up. Discard this portion and turn your attention back to your strips.
- Cut each strip into 1-inch (2.5-cm) chunks. You may need to cut larger sections in half lengthwise in order to get the proper size.
3
Slice the tomatoes in half.^{[3]
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Research source} Cut each cherry tomato in half using a sharp knife.
- You could also dice a large tomato or use a drained 10-oz (310-ml) can of diced tomatoes.

Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Cooking the Pepper Steak

1
Heat oil in a large, heavy-bottomed skillet. Add 1 to 2 Tbsp (15 to 30 ml) of cooking oil to the pan and heat over medium-high heat.
- Use an oil with a high smoking point, like grape seed, safflower, or canola oil. Plain vegetable oil will also work in a pinch.
- A wok works wonderfully for this recipe, but if you do not have one, any heavy skillet pan that is at least 10 inches (25 cm) in diameter will also work.
2
Cook the beef. Add the marinated beef to the pan and stir until it is well-browned and cooked through.
- Stir or gently toss the beef strips frequently to ensure even cooking.
- Cooking the beef should only take a few minutes when it is sliced this thin, but you may need to cook it in batches if your pan is too small to allow each piece to touch the bottom.
3
Set the beef aside. Transfer the beef to a plate or bowl. Set it aside and keep it warm.
- Drain any fat from the pan before proceeding.
4
Cook the peppers and onion. Add another 1 Tbsp (15 ml) of cooking oil to the pan and reduce the heat to medium. Add the peppers and onions and cook until they are tender-crisp.
- Stir the peppers and onions continually for 3 or 4 minutes. The pepper should start feeling soft and the onion should begin turning translucent.
5
Return the beef to the pan. Once the peppers and onions are finished, return the beef to the skillet and give it a quick stir to mix it into the vegetables.
6
Stir in the gravy, if desired. For a saucier pepper steak, mix in 8 oz (250 ml) of prepared beef gravy. Pour it into the pan and heat through.
- Heating the gravy should take no longer than 1 or 2 minutes.
- Many pepper steak recipes do not include the addition of beef gravy, but if you are someone who enjoys having a sauce to go with your stir-fry, beef gravy is a convenient and appropriate option.
7
Toss in the tomatoes. Just before turning off the heat, add your tomatoes to the skillet and heat through.
- The tomatoes should be cooked for no longer than 30 seconds before removing the pan from the heat.
- Make sure that you mix the tomatoes in thoroughly as they cook.
- The tomatoes can be added whether you add the beef gravy or not.
8
Serve warm. Spoon out the pepper steak and serve it warm over a pile of hot, cooked rice.
- You can use just about any type of rice you want, including white rice, brown rice, and fried rice.
- You could also serve the pepper steak over thin spaghetti noodles, egg noodles, or rice noodles.

Community Q&A

Question

Why is the meat still tough?

Community Answer

You overcooked it.
Question

Can I use Worcestershire sauce in place of soy sauce?

Community Answer

Absolutely! Some cooks use that as a substitute for soy sauce.
Question

If I don’t have cornstarch, can I use flour?

NotJohnSmith

Community Answer

Flour can be substituted for cornstarch, so yes, you can use flour. Cornstarch is gluten free, so if you want something that's not gluten free, flour might be the best option.