Bell Peppers & Beef

I hope you’re as excited as I am class because today we’re back with yet another great Chinese American stir fry.  We’ve already made some classics like orange chicken, kung pao chicken, and chicken lettuce wraps all of which you should definitely check out if you haven’t already.  However, today I wanted to change it up from all the chicken-based stir fry dishes and make one with beef. And while there are plenty of great options to chose from I decided on one of the more obscure stir fry dishes, bell peppers & beef.

If you’ve never had it before then let me just say that It’s a dish that truly follows the mantra “less is more”.  I mean the name itself basically describes all you need to know about the entire dish, it’s bell peppers with beef.  Sure there are a few other things involved with making the dish, but at its core, it is about taking two simple ingredients and making them shine.  So if you’re ready to add another great Chinese American stir fry dish to your repertoire then let’s get to making our bell peppers & beef!  

Tips, Tricks & Suggestions

• If you live by an Asian market and want to make this dish a little more authentic, then I highly suggest you pick up some long hot peppers and sub them for the bell peppers.  It will definitely kick it up a notch! 
• Try placing the beef in your freezer for about an hour before slicing it up.  It will solidify it and make it much easier to make uniform cuts. 
• If you want to make this dish vegetarian-friendly then I suggest swapping out the beef with strips of portabello mushrooms.  You can also use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock for the sauce.
• I like to serve my bell peppers & beef with a side of egg fried rice or vegetable chow mein.

Bell Pepper & Beef Recipe

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 8 minutes

Servings: 4

Ingredients

¾ Lb of Flank steak

2 Green bell peppers, deseeded and cut into thin strips

3 Fresno chili peppers, deseeded and cut into thin strips

3 Cloves of garlic, minced

Half an onion, cut into thin strips

Vegetable oil for the wok

For the beef marinade:

2 Teaspoons of soy sauce

1 Teaspoon of sesame oil

1 Tablespoon of corn starch

For Sauce:

2 Tablespoons of soy sauce

1 Tablespoon of dry white wine

1 Teaspoon of hoisin sauce

½ Teaspoon of sugar

¼ Teaspoon of white pepper, ground

¼ Cup of chicken stock

Instructions

1. Prep the steak: First we are going to want to examine the flank steak to find the direction of the grain.  Once you found it make one slice through the middle of the flank steak that is parallel with the grain.  This should leave us with two pieces. Next, you use a sharp knife to cut the flank steak into thin strips perpendicular to the grain.  Transfer these thin strips of steak to a bowl and cover them with the marinade ingredients. Stir it all together and let the beef marinate for at least 30 minutes.

2. Add all of the ingredients for the sauce to a small bowl or cup and stir it all together.  Set this aside until step 5.

3. Brown the beef: After the beef has marinated for 30 minutes get out a wok or large walled skillet and add about 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil to it.  Place this over high heat, toss in the beef and stir fry it until the beef is browned. You might need to do this in batches. Once the beef is browned transfer it to a plate and set it aside until later.

4. Stir fry the veggies: Add another tablespoon of oil to the wok and toss in the minced garlic.  Stir fry this for 30 seconds making sure that the garlic doesn’t get burnt.  Then toss in the bell peppers, Fresno peppers, and onion, stir-frying everything for 3 to 4 minutes or until the peppers begin to brown up. 

5. Finish the dish:  Toss the beef back into the wok and continue to stir fry everything for another minute.  Then pour in the sauce we made in step two and stir until the sauce has thickened up and coated everything.  This last part should take a couple of minutes.

6. Serve the bell peppers & beef immediately and enjoy!

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Bell Pepper & Beef Recipe

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time8 minutes mins

Servings: 4

Ingredients

• ¾ Lb of Flank steak
• 2 Green bell peppers deseeded and cut into thin strips
• 3 Fresno chili peppers deseeded and cut into thin strips
• 3 Cloves of garlic minced
• Half an onion cut into thin strips
• Vegetable oil for the wok

For the beef marinade:

• 2 Teaspoons of soy sauce
• 1 Teaspoon of sesame oil
• 1 Tablespoon of corn starch

For Sauce:

• 2 Tablespoons of soy sauce
• 1 Tablespoon of dry white wine
• 1 Teaspoon of hoisin sauce
• ½ Teaspoon of sugar
• ¼ Teaspoon of white pepper ground
• ¼ Cup of chicken stock

Instructions

• Prep the steak: First we are going to want to examine the flank steak to find the direction of the grain. Once you found it make one slice through the middle of the flank steak that is parallel with the grain. This should leave us with two pieces. Next, you use a sharp knife to cut the flank steak into thin strips perpendicular to the grain. Transfer these thin strips of steak to a bowl and cover them with the marinade ingredients. Stir it all together and let the beef marinate for at least 30 minutes.
• Add all of the ingredients for the sauce to a small bowl or cup and stir it all together. Set this aside until step 5.
• Brown the beef: After the beef has marinated for 30 minutes get out a wok or large walled skillet and add about 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil to it. Place this over high heat, toss in the beef and stir fry it until the beef is browned. You might need to do this in batches. Once the beef is browned transer it to a plate and set it aside until later.
• Stir fry the veggies: Add another tablespoon of oil to the wok and toss in the minced garlic. Stir fry this for 30 seconds making sure that the garlic doesn’t get burnt. Then toss in the bell peppers, Fresno peppers, and onion, stir-frying everything for 3 to 4 minutes or until the peppers begin to brown up.
• Finish the dish: Toss the beef back into the wok and continue to stir fry everything for another minute. Then pour in the sauce we made in step two and stir until the sauce has thickened up and coated everything. This last part should take a couple of minutes.
• Serve the bell peppers & beef immediately and enjoy!

Inspiration from other blogs

From Dinner at the Zoo

From Woks of Life