Kitchen notes · a little help before you start
Pepper Steak Stir Fry
Tender strips of beef and bright peppers make a cheerful plate, especially with a glossy savory sauce over them. The peppers keep a little bite while the ginger and garlic warm the sauce.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 20 min
- Total
- 30 min
- Original yield
- Serves 4
- Ingredients
- 11 listed
Make it part of your week
Recipe categories & planning details
- Meal type
- Main course
- Cuisine
- Asian
- Cooking method
- Stir fry
- Preparation & total time
- Prep: 15 minutes or less · Total: 30 minutes or less
A few quick notes
1. Peppers get their own turn
Cook the pepper strips until just tender, then remove them so the steak can brown in the same pan.
2. Raise heat for steak
After the peppers come out, add the remaining oil and increase the heat to high for the seasoned flank steak.
3. Whisk before pouring
Mix the soy sauce, sugar, water and cornstarch together in a bowl before pouring it over the beef and peppers.
Get to know the ingredients
Thin flank steak
Use thinly sliced flank steak so the strips fit the short browning stage before garlic and ginger go into the pan.
Two pepper colors
Core and seed both peppers, then cut into strips before their first cooking stage in the vegetable oil.
Minced ginger
Use minced ginger alongside minced garlic. Both have only thirty seconds with the browned steak before the peppers return.
Let’s make it
Choose your servings, then check things off as you go.
Original recipe: Serves 4. Original quantities shown.
Check ingredients as you prepare them. These checks stay on this page.
How to make it
0 of 8 steps completeMake room for Pepper Steak Stir Fry
Review ingredients in your pantry before anything is added. Meal plans use your household size; grocery-only additions use the servings selected above.
The last little job
Serve when sauce thickens
Simmer the coated steak mixture for two to three minutes, or until the sauce has just thickened, then serve.
A little more help as you go
Divide the oil
Start with a teaspoon of oil for the peppers. Keep the rest for browning the steak after the peppers are removed.
Season the beef separately
Add salt and pepper to the steak before it enters the hot pan, rather than relying on the soy sauce alone.
A few questions you might have
How tender should the peppers be before removing them?
The directions cook them three to four minutes, or until just tender, before lifting them onto a plate.
Do garlic and ginger cook from the start?
They join after the steak has browned, then cook for thirty seconds before the peppers return to the pan.
Should I add dry cornstarch directly to the skillet?
Whisk it with soy sauce, sugar and the specified water in a small bowl before adding the sauce to the pan.
What color should the steak have?
Cook it over high heat until lightly browned before adding garlic and ginger. The sauce then has its own brief simmer.
Do I keep the peppers aside until serving?
Return them to the pan with the steak before pouring over the mixed sauce, so everything finishes together.
Storage & reheating safety
For cooked, perishable leftovers, refrigerate within 2 hours (1 hour above 90°F), using shallow containers for prompt cooling. Keep the refrigerator at 40°F or below, use refrigerated leftovers within 3–4 days, and reheat hot leftovers to 165°F, checked with a food thermometer. Follow any shorter package limit.
These are general safety limits, not a tested storage or freezing recommendation for this particular dish. USDA leftovers guidance · Safe cooking temperatures
Recipe source: dinneratthezoo.com. Ingredient names and quantities may be adapted for the pantry.
Preparation notes follow the recipe shown here.
