This Chinese Pepper Steak is made with tender flank steak seared in a hot pan and served in a thick savory sauce. This authentic pepper steak recipe is so much better than takeout. It’s so delicious, tossed in a thick and sticky sauce that coats every piece of steak. The whole family is going to love this meal and you’ll probably find yourself adding it to you weekly meal plan quite often!
If you are loving this Asian inspired beef dinner recipe then you should also try my Koran Beef Bowl Recipe, this 30 Minute Mongolian Beef, and these Beef Teriyaki Noodles!
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Pepper Steak Recipe
This is the perfect meal for a busy weeknight. Dinner is on the table in less than 30 minutes! This Easy Pepper Steak recipe is a Chinese take out inspired dish that you can make at home! All you need is a few ingredients, most of which you probably already have in your pantry!
To make this Pepper Steak I start by searing the skirt steak in a super hot pan. Searing the steak in a hot pan for a short amount of times keeps the meat super juicy and tender. I cook the beef in two batches to make sure it cooks fast and caramelizes. When the pan gets overcrowded the steak tends to steam instead of brown.
Pepper Steak Ingredients
- Oil: Any neutral oil will work for this recipe.
- Steak: I recommend choosing either flank or sirloin steak. They are the best cuts of meat for high heat quick stir frying.
- Bell Peppers: Mini bell peppers work great for this recipe, they’re a little sweet and pair perfectly with the steak. I like to do a mix of yellow, red or green if I have it for a pop of color!
- Garlic: Freshly minced garlic is a must!
- Ginger: Fresh minced ginger adds so much flavor! You can substitute dried ginger if you have it.
- Soy Sauce: I recommend using low sodium soy sauce to keep the sodium down.
- Water: Adding water to the sauce will help thin it out just a little bit so it’s not overly thick and help to control the salt level.
- Rice Wine Vinegar: Adds a nice acidity and tang to balance out the sweetness and saltiness of the sauce.
- Pepper: The star of the show. this recipe wouldn’t be called Pepper Steak without the pepper!
- Cornstarch: To help thicken the sauce so it coats every piece of steak perfectly.
- Sesame Seeds & Green Onions: For garnish if desired!
How to Make this Recipe
- Step 1: Start by heating oil in a large skillet. When the pan is nice and hot (almost smoking) add in half of the steak. Cook for 1-2 minutes on each side. Keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn’t get too brown. Remove the steak from the pan. Repeat with the remaining steak and set aside.
- Step 2: If there isn’t enough oil left in the pan add a bit more and saute the peppers until tender, 3-4 minutes. Add in the garlic and ginger and cook for an additional minute.
- Step 3: Stir in the soy sauce, water, rice vinegar and pepper. Bring to a simmer.
- Step 4: Remove 1 tablespoon of the cooking liquid and mix with the cornstarch. Slowly add the cornstarch mixture back to the pan and simmer until thickened.
- Step 5: Add the steak back to the pan and toss to coat in the sauce.
- Step 6: Serve immediately with sesame seeds and green onions, if desired.
What to Serve with Pepper Steak
This recipe is absolutely delicious on it’s own, but you definitely want to give it a try with some of these delicious sides.
- White or brown rice. For a low carb option try cauliflower rice.
- Steamed vegetables
- Chow Mein Noodles
- Lo Mein
- Vegetable Fried Rice
Can you make Pepper Steak in the Crock Pot?
Yes you can make slow cooker pepper steak! I would suggest using sirloin steak, round steak or beef tenderloin. Add everything to the slow cooker including the sauce and cook on low for 5-6 hours. Remove the sauce from the crockpot and pour it in a small saucepan. Add cornstarch and simmer until thickened. Add back to the slow cooker and toss to combine. Serve the crockpot pepper steak with green onions and sesame seeds!
Here are more takeout inspired recipes to try!
- Slow Cooker Broccoli Beef
- Slow Cooker General Tso’s Chicken
- Easy Sesame Beef
- The BEST Fried Rice
- 20 Minute Cashew Chicken
- Easy Chicken Lo Mein
Easy Pepper Steak
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 pound flank steak or sirloin, cut into thin strips across the grain
- 1 cup mini bell peppers, diced
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon ginger, minced
- 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- sesame seeds for serving, if desired
- green onions for serving, if desired
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet.When the pan is nice and hot (almost smoking) add in half of the steak. Cook for 1-2 minutes on each side. Keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't get too brown.Remove the steak from the pan. Repeat with the remaining steak and set aside.
- If there isn't enough oil left in the pan add a bit more and saute the peppers until tender, 3-4 minutes.Add in the garlic and ginger and cook for an additional minute.
- Stir in the soy sauce, water, rice vinegar and pepper. Bring to a simmer.
- Remove 1 tablespoon of the cooking liquid and mix with the cornstarch. Slowly add the cornstarch mixture back to the pan and simmer until thickened.
- Add the steak back to the pan and toss to coat in the sauce.
- Serve immediately with sesame seeds and green onions, if desired.
Nutrition Information
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Terry
Good recipe. Very tasty. Wife wants me to cook it again. A couple things about the recipe though. Says cut the meat to ‘thin slices’. How thin is thin? Mine were about 3/8″ thick which may have been too think. How long should the slices be? My cut of flank steak was about 8-9″ wide so I cut them shorter, about 2″. Recipe calls for the skillet to be ‘nice and hot’. My range setting was just over medium which I think was too low as the meat expelled a lot of moisture and stewed the meat instead of frying it. I had printed out the recipe, so forgot about the recipe intro about where the pan is called ‘super hot’. No mention made about putting the meat back into the pan, so at the end I mixed everything on a serving plat. I should have put it back into the pan and served it that way. The photo of the meal for this article shows sesame seeds sprinkled on top. No mention of that in the recipe.