American Chinese Recipe
Pepper Steak
Pepper steak is a beef and bell pepper stir-fry in a brown sauce, common on American Chinese menus.
Recipe at a glance
| Purpose | High-frequency Chinese restaurant menu dish |
| Cuisine or format | American Chinese |
| Menu variation rule | Protein may be adjusted without creating a separate recipe family. |
Ingredients
- 12 oz flank steak or sirloin, sliced
- 2 bell peppers
- 1 onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon oyster or mushroom sauce
- 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 cup stock or water
- Cornstarch slurry
Method
- Marinate beef with soy sauce and a little cornstarch.
- Stir-fry beef quickly and remove.
- Stir-fry peppers, onion, and garlic.
- Add sauce ingredients and bring to a simmer.
- Return beef.
- Thicken lightly and serve.
Variations and substitutions
- For chicken, beef, shrimp, pork, tofu, or mixed seafood variants, keep the same sauce logic and adjust the cooking time for the protein.
- For allergies or religious dietary needs, check sauces, broth, wrappers, cooking wine, and shared wok or fryer use.
- For takeout-style dishes, sauce texture matters: the sauce should coat the food rather than become a thin soup.