Beef

Pepper Beef Steak

July 21, 2011
5
1 Ratings
  • Serves 2 or 4 as an appetizer
Author Notes

I saw flank steak and immediately thought grill. It's summer and it's my go-to. But I'm feeling nostalgic. This recipe is a basic stir-fry my dad used to make at our family-run restaurant. His holy trinity? Ginger, garlic, soy. That was the base for almost all of his dishes. The use of corn starch is two-fold--tenderize the meat and thicken the sauce.

In my book, it's a vintage dish. It used to be my favorite meal 30 years ago. For this recipe, I used late summer vegetables. You can use chili peppers or green peppers; scallions or onions; canned or fresh tomatoes. —edamame2003

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1 pound flank steak
  • 2 firm medium sized tomatoes (or 2 cups canned)
  • 1 medium bell pepper (or pint of padron, shishito or sweet heat peppers)
  • 4 scallions
  • 1 tablespoon minced ginger
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1/4 cup Tamari or Soy
  • 2 tablespoons Shao Xing Cooking Wine
  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil
  • 1 tablespoon agave (or sugar)
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons corn starch
  • 3 tablespoons grape seed or canola oil
Directions
  1. Slice the steak into strips 2" long and 1/2" wide. Dice the tomato and bell pepper into about 1 inch pieces. Slice the green onion.
  2. Mix the minced garlic and ginger with soy, cooking wine, agave, sesame oil, pepper. Mix in corn starch until smooth.
  3. Divide the sauce into two bowls. In one bowl, marinade the beef. Reserve the second bowl.
  4. Heat a wok or pan over medium heat for about 1-2 minutes.
  5. Add oil to the pan and allow to heat for a minute.
  6. Saute the steak until both sides are brown and the sauce begins to thicken. This takes only about 3-5 minutes.
  7. Add tomatoes and peppers.
  8. Let the tomatoes soften for about a minute and add the reserved sauce and allow to thicken.
  9. Stir in the green onions.
  10. Serve over a bowl of hot rice.
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  • Bevi
    Bevi
  • sexyLAMBCHOPx
    sexyLAMBCHOPx
  • edamame2003
    edamame2003
I work in the entertainment business, and in my free time, I really enjoy growing my own vegetables, trolling my local farmers markets and trying to re-create yummy dishes I eat at my favorite restaurants. My son is a big influence on how and what I cook. He's my guinea pig and promises to try anything I make once. Luckily the recipes on food52 are bountiful and delicious.

3 Reviews

Bevi October 1, 2012
I made a variation of this dish tonight with some leftover sirloin that I had grilled on the very rare side to use in a second-night recipe. The sauce was perfectly seasoned. I did not have tomatoes, but used a whole thinly sliced Napa cabbage in their place, which added some liquid as it cooked down. I also added peanuts at the end of the cooking. It was a nice meal served over brown basmati rice. Thanks!
 
sexyLAMBCHOPx July 21, 2011
Love the agave in pace of sugar, tomatoes and the sweet peppers. My Mom used to make something like this. I, too, 30 years ago loved it! Saved!
 
edamame2003 July 22, 2011
thanks--i hope you make it. it brought back a lot of memories for me. And takes about 20 minutes.