Pepper steak | Imamother

Amarante

Sun, Sep 10 2023, 4:02 pm

Do you mean a Chinese style pepper steak stir fry?

You need to slice the beef thinly against the grain or it will be tough. Easiest way to do this is freeze it for a bit so that it is firm and slices more easily.

This results great results as most America's Test Kitchen recipes do

I have also made their Teriyaki Beef with shiitake mushrooms and it is also excellent. I also have their recipe for Tangerine Stir-Fried Beef with Onion and Snow Peas

Excerpt From: America's Test Kitchen. “The Complete America's Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook 2001--2019.” Apple Books.

Excerpt From: America's Test Kitchen. “The Complete America's Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook 2001--2019.” Apple Books.

Beef Stir-Fry with Bell Peppers and Black Pepper Sauce

Excerpt From: America's Test Kitchen. “The Complete America's Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook 2001--2010

SERVES 4

Prepare the vegetables and aromatics while the beef is marinating. Serve with Basic White Rice.

1 tablespoon plus ¼ cup water
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 pound flank steak, trimmed, cut into 2- to 2½-inch strips with grain, each strip cut crosswise against grain into ¼-inch-thick slices
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons dry sherry or Chinese rice wine
3 teaspoons cornstarch
2½ teaspoons packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon oyster sauce - sub soy sauce if you can't find vegan kosher version
2 teaspoons rice vinegar
1½ teaspoons toasted sesame oil
2 teaspoons coarsely ground pepper
3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and cut into ¼-inch-wide strips
1 green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and cut into ¼-inch-wide strips
6 scallions, white parts sliced thin on bias, green parts cut into 2-inch pieces
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

1. Combine 1 tablespoon water and baking soda in medium bowl. Add beef and toss to coat. Let sit at room temperature for 5 minutes.

2. Whisk 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon sherry, 1½ teaspoons cornstarch, and ½ teaspoon sugar together in small bowl. Add soy sauce mixture to beef, stir to coat, and let sit at room temperature for 15 to 30 minutes.

3. Whisk remaining ¼ cup water, remaining 2 tablespoons soy sauce, remaining 2 tablespoons sherry, remaining 1½ teaspoons cornstarch, remaining 2 teaspoons sugar, oyster sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, and pepper together in second bowl.

4. Heat 2 teaspoons vegetable oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over high heat until just smoking. Add half of beef in single layer. Cook without stirring for 1 minute. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until spotty brown on both sides, about 1 minute longer. Transfer to bowl. Repeat with 2 teaspoons vegetable oil and remaining beef.

5. Return skillet to high heat, add 2 teaspoons vegetable oil, and heat until just beginning to smoke. Add bell peppers and scallion greens and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are spotty brown and crisp-tender, about 4 minutes. Transfer vegetables to bowl with beef.

6. Return now-empty skillet to medium-high heat and add remaining 4 teaspoons vegetable oil, scallion whites, garlic, and ginger. Cook, stirring frequently, until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Return beef and vegetables to skillet and stir to combine.

7. Whisk sauce to recombine. Add to skillet and cook, stirring constantly, until sauce has thickened, about 30 seconds. Serve immediately.

I have added their explanation of why this recipe works - baking soda and slicing against grain tenderizes as does the slight amount of corn starch in the marinade.

[I]WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: We discovered that in order to produce a stir-fry with velvety, tender beef normally only found in Chinese restaurants, we needed to choose the right cut of meat and treat it correctly. Flank steak, cut across the grain into bite-size pieces, delivered great beef flavor and a moderate chew. Then, our combination of meat tenderizing techniques—soaking the meat briefly in a mild baking soda solution and adding some cornstarch to the marinade before flash searing the steak in a very hot pan—finished the job of delivering a supertender, restaurant-quality beef stir-fry.
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