Better than Take-Away: Pepper Beef Stirfry
Pepper Beef Stirfry could be in reference to the Capsicum (Bell Peppers) or the generous dose of Black Pepper in this tasty sauce. A quick, fresh and utterly addictive stirfry that is genuinely better than most take-aways when considering cost, convenience and flavour.
While it make take a little bit of time to prepare and measure out the ingredients needed for this dish, it does come together very quickly. Considering the time it takes us to drive to our local shop, place an order, wait and then drive home – the timing is generally comparable. The cost and flavour remains unmatched and this has quickly become a staple in our weekly meal plan – which you can view as additional free bonus content on Reddit.
Interestingly, all the varieties of capsicum are exceptionally high in vitamin C – which plays a role in both absorbing more iron from plant-based foods and in immune function. Oranges are usually considered one of the main sources of this important antioxdant, but Red Capsicums contain almost 3x the amount.
I don’t belive there is currently any scientific evidence that vitamin C can reduce your chances of preventing a cold, however there is some small evidence that it can reduce symptoms and duration.
If these benefits alone aren’t enough to pursuade you, please give it a try anyway if you like classic stirfry flavours. This isn’t wildly different and can be made very family friendly by customizing the level of spice or the range of vegetables. This recipe would even serve well with noodles instead of over rice if you want to make something slightly different again.
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Pepper Beef Stirfry
Sprinkle Bi-carb over meat and allow to sit for approx 10mins.
Add remaining marinade ingredients and stir to combine. Allow to sit while you continue the remaining steps. If you need to cook rice, now is probably a good time to get it started.
To Prepare the stir-fry sauce, add cornstarch to a small mixing bowl. Mix in half of the soy sauce to form a smooth paste. Add the remaining soy sauce and stir to thin out the paste a bit. Add the remaining sauce ingredients and mix well. Set mixture aside.
Heat Olive Oil in a large Saucepan or Wok over High Heat and stirfry the chopped vegetables (excluding spring onions) until just softened. Add minced garlic and ginger and fry for about a minute further.
If you have a second frypan, you can get started browning the beef strips in batches while the veg cooks. Otherwise, reserve the cooked veg once softened in a seperate bowl and use the same pan to start searing the meat. Work in batches so as not to overcrowd the pan and ensure the strips are all evenly browned. This will happen quickly because of the sugar in the marinade so be careful and make sure it doesn't burn.
Combine the cooked meat and cooked vegetables together with the spring onions and pour in the sauce we made earlier.
Continue to cook over a high heat, stirring frequently until the sauce has thickened up well.
Serve Stirfry over rice to serve. Enjoy!
Ingredients
Directions
Sprinkle Bi-carb over meat and allow to sit for approx 10mins.
Add remaining marinade ingredients and stir to combine. Allow to sit while you continue the remaining steps. If you need to cook rice, now is probably a good time to get it started.
To Prepare the stir-fry sauce, add cornstarch to a small mixing bowl. Mix in half of the soy sauce to form a smooth paste. Add the remaining soy sauce and stir to thin out the paste a bit. Add the remaining sauce ingredients and mix well. Set mixture aside.
Heat Olive Oil in a large Saucepan or Wok over High Heat and stirfry the chopped vegetables (excluding spring onions) until just softened. Add minced garlic and ginger and fry for about a minute further.
If you have a second frypan, you can get started browning the beef strips in batches while the veg cooks. Otherwise, reserve the cooked veg once softened in a seperate bowl and use the same pan to start searing the meat. Work in batches so as not to overcrowd the pan and ensure the strips are all evenly browned. This will happen quickly because of the sugar in the marinade so be careful and make sure it doesn't burn.
Combine the cooked meat and cooked vegetables together with the spring onions and pour in the sauce we made earlier.
Continue to cook over a high heat, stirring frequently until the sauce has thickened up well.
Serve Stirfry over rice to serve. Enjoy!
Notes
Recipe Notes
Also labelled as Shao Zing Wine, Shaoxing Wine or Shàoxīng Jiǔ in Australia. Popular Brands include Pandaroo and Double Phoenix. We have used both successfully in this recipe. It is made with a mix of water, rice, wheat, salt and alcohol. It adds depth and complexity, but can be substituted with dry sherry in a pinch.
Yes! It does seem a lot, and gives the dish a signature peppery zing. For me it is approx. 25 turns of my pepper grinder. If you want the dish to be a little less spicy, or if this is too hot for you, the amount can be reduced to 1/2 tsp. If you really love the peppery heat of black pepper, the amount can be increased a little too – but 1tsp is enough to get a mild bite and bold pepper flavour without overpowering everything else.
I’ve swapped a zucchini in for one of the capsicums (bell peppers) successfully. In times where capsicum peppers are expensive or out of season, other alternatives would be to replace with an equal amount of steamed sliced carrots, lightly steamed cauliflower florets, bamboo shoots or green beans.
A frozen pre-cut stirfry mix would also work well here. If using frozen vegetables, quickly sautee the garlic and ginger in 1/2tbsp of olive oil before adding the defrosted and drained vegetable mixture.
Key Ingredients
