Pepper Steak Recipe • Oh Snap! Let's Eat! (2024)

This Pepper Steak Recipe is delicious and easy to make! Now, I’ve had Pepper Steak in American Chinese restaurants before, and while they are pretty yummy too, they are not as delicious as the ones my mom makes – this is her recipe!

What is Pepper Steak?

Pepper Steak is usually considered the Chinese American dish that consists of sliced beef stir fried with bell peppers in a brown sauce. Usually consists of soy sauce, ginger, and sometimes also bamboo shoots, onions, and bean sprouts.

I say usually because I grew up in a Taiwanese/Chinese family and we also make a Pepper Steak that is authentic and delicious, and super easy to make, which is this recipe!

Types of peppers to use

You can cook this Pepper Pork Stir Fry with different types of peppers! Did you know there’s over 600 types of peppers? That’s why I’m not going to list them all, but I’ll mention my two favorites:

Bell Peppers

Bell peppers come in various colors, and they actually all taste a little different. Green bell peppers have a grassy or vegetal flavor, while orange, red and yellow bells are sweeter and fruitier. The sweetest being red bell peppers.

The most common pepper to make with this dish is Green Bell peppers, however, you could try other colors of bell peppers or a mix of them to play with the various flavors.

Jalapeno Peppers

This is actually our favorite pepper to stir fry with! Jalapeno Peppers add a kick to the dish. In order to not make it super spicy, make sure to remove the seeds and give it a good rinse.

If you are using Jalapeno Peppers, you can slice it length wise, or you can actually also slice it width wise, and leave the seeds in there. The latter will make it more spicy, so be warned!

Is pepper steak healthy?

This depends on what you consider healthy, but pepper steak is high in protein because of the beef, and the peppers are also very nutritious. All varieties of peppers are packed with Vitamins A and C, potassium, and fiber. So it is a pretty healthy dish.

If you are on a paleo diet or whole30 diet, you can also enjoy this dish with a few minor tweaks:

• Instead of soy sauce, opt for coconut aminos
• Skip the rice wine – this isn’t really a required ingredient, but helps flavor the food a little extra
• Substitute the veggie oil with a paleo / whole30 friendly cooking oil or fat – such as coconut oil.
• Instead of cornstarch, you can use arrowroot flour or tapioca flour.

How to cook Pepper Steak on the stove?

My instructions below show you how to cook Pepper Steak on the stove. You can use a wok, cast iron, cooking pan, or skillet.

First gather your ingredients:

• 1 lb of beef, sliced
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tbsp cooking oil
• 1 tbsp of ginger, sliced
• 2 bell peppers, cut in to 1 inch pieces
• 2 green onions, cut to 1 inch length
• Salt, as desired

In a medium bowl, mix the sliced beef with soy sauce, cornstarch, salt, sugar, and sesame oil. Let it marinade for at least 15 minutes. You can marinade overnight too, but be sure to let it marinade in the refrigerator.

Heat cooking oil/fat of your choice in a medium cooking pan. Add ginger and cook for about a minute, and then add beef. Stir fry for a minute or 2 or until it is mostly brown/cooked (but not completely). Remove the steak and ginger from pan and place aside.

Add bell pepper to pan, and stir fry until peppers begin to soften, which usually takes about 2-3 minutes. Add the steak and ginger back to pan.

Add green onions and combine well.

Stir fry everything until steak is cooked thoroughly. Remove from heat and serve!

Pin for later!

Looking for more yummy stir fries using peppers? Check out my other delicious ones here:

• Pepper Steak with Onion Stir Fry
• Pepper Pork Stir Fry
• Jalapeño Chicken Stir Fry
• Chinese Shredded Pork with Peppers